At-large candidate: John Laverty (incumbent)

Providing quality preschool has been shown through much research to be one of the most effective ways to help students succeed in elementary and secondary school. At a time when our school district has 45 percent of students from low-income households and some schools at over 90 percent (as measured by free/reduced lunch qualification), it seems critical in our community to provide those foundational skills for 4-year-olds.

The past two years have seen a 10 percent across-the-board cut in state funding and 0 percent allowable growth this year, so funding for education given our economic downturn has been challenging already. I would like to see the state review its funding formula for all of education, including for preschool. The investment in education on the front end will help us all in the long-run by providing good citizens, an educated workforce, and strong role models for future generations.

The recent Iowa Education Summit showed us that education reform will take all stakeholders to come together for what's in the best interest of students. Quality teacher preparation programs are critical, but also meaningful professional development and collaboration once in the classroom - similar to our Professional Learning Communities in Cedar Rapids schools - will be critical.

Working in college admissions for more than 20 years at The University of Iowa, I know a single standardized test isn't the best measure of a student's ability. The same goes for measuring teachers' skills. I see some kind of a new teacher quality measurement on the horizon and hope it includes multiple measures and inputs to fairly evaluate a teacher's performance in the classroom.

I also see more periodic measurements of students' learning (formative assessments). Luckily, we started working on that in Cedar Rapids schools several years ago.

I would like to see flexibility offered to districts for how students meet learning benchmarks, which traditionally has been only in terms of “seat time.” With technology and different learning styles, students should be able to learn in varied ways and show mastery of that knowledge by multiple methods supported in research.

I also would support instilling the mindset that graduating from high school is just the beginning of students' learning - whether they go onto a job training program, community college transfer program or four -year college, further education will be important to their success and that of our community and country.

Those of us who have served on the Cedar Rapids school board these past few years have worked hard to maintain the fiscal health of the district in light of the economic slowdown and our community's continued needs. We balanced our budget and are gaining momentum to replenish our cash reserves post-flood and during state funding cuts. We've maintained our AAA bond rating and we lowered the property tax levy rate this year.

It's important we continue to operate with the highest integrity, transparency, and honesty - always keeping students' needs first. All board meetings are now available on the district website, as are all financial statements and even every check.

We have excellent committees of citizen volunteers, stakeholders and community experts, including the Audit Committee, City PTA, SILO Infrastructure & Technology Committees, Enrollment & Facilities Study Committee, and others that help advise the district on important matters.

This is a public school district and the public needs to have information available to help give educated and unbiased input to those of us elected to represent you in the school district. It's critical that we, as board members, remain unbiased and are willing to listen to many viewpoints before coming to decisions. That's how good policy is made.

John Laverty is married 21 years with two children in the Cedar Rapids schools. He is the University of Iowa's associate director of admissions, a local PTA member and a volunteer in schools and at St. Paul's United Methodist Church. Comments: john-laverty@mchsi.com