Why should you care about excellence in education?

By PAUL HEVESY
Guest Columnist

Paul the Apostle in his first-century letter to the people of ancient Philippi wrote, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, what is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”

While much attention can and should be given to focusing on bringing all these attributes of Paul’s ancient letter back into our schools and community as a whole, a focus on excellence, especially in our community schools, must once again become a priority. In fact, the term “excellence in education” is in HSE Schools’ mission statement as a promise to our community.

But why should excellence in education matter to our community and what steps must the HSES Board of Trustees take to restore it?

Excellence is defined by the quality of being truly the best at something. It means preeminence in a given area or possessing good qualities in high degree. As a community we can all agree we want our schools to produce graduates who are the best, who are preeminent and possessing good academic qualities in a high degree. And what qualities should our students possess in a high degree? Saint Augustine of Hippo originally spoke of these most important academic qualities in his famous autobiographical work Confessions when he wrote in Latin the following: “legere et scribere et numerare discitur” (learning to read, and write, and do arithmetic).

So, why must we expect our community schools to prepare our children to learn to be excellent in reading, writing, and arithmetic?

Being excellent in reading allows students to comprehend many, varied subjects, grow in their knowledge beyond the classroom, and gain understanding of many complex topics. It is through reading, especially reading various subjects, that students learn how to think, not what to think.

Being excellent in writing opens up a world of possibilities from writing a great resume to being able to communicate with purpose and clarity which is a necessity for success in any career field. Reading comprehension coupled with excellent writing skills allows students to clearly articulate all sides of an issue and their own viewpoints and expectations.

Being excellent in math builds character through the process of learning and understanding complex problems. This skill instills in our future community members the ability to effectively manage their finances, make good, reasoned decisions, and be best prepared for the most complex jobs of the future.

As parents and community members, it is our solemn duty to ensure our community schools are preparing our children and the next generation of community leaders in the basics of academics. So, are we?

The first step to return HSE Schools to the top of the academic rankings in Indiana is to establish accountability. Our current HSE School Board is focused on anything but academic excellence. Whether it was being the last school district in Hamilton County to fully re-open in 2021, adding divisive language to the student handbook creating national news and further dividing the community, or allowing activism in the classroom that has led to an independent investigation, the current HSE School Board has lost its way … and our students are paying the price.

A new HSE School Board focused on accountability can ensure every grade level has a transparent academic curriculum, free of activism and political influence. We need a curriculum that builds on each academic year in a way that prepares all students for academic success and is easily accessible online to all parents. A new HSE School Board can ensure fiscal responsibility by directing all available funds away from social activism and toward hiring the best teachers and providing our teachers with continuing education around academics.

Our community deserves a school board that takes to heart the words of Aristotle who said, “Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution.” There are four HSE School Board candidates running who have publicly committed to returning academic excellence to HSE Schools through accountability, transparency, and fiscal responsibility to our once proud school district:

• Tiffany Pascoe – District 1
• Juanita Albright – District 2
• Dawn Lang – District 3
• Ben Orr – District 4

Now is the time once again for HSE Schools to possess the quality of truly being great at academics. It is the most important thing our schools should be providing to all our children. As you go to the polls in November, may excellence for our schools be your expectation as you vote to appoint a new HSE School Board committed once again to excellence in education!