State of the Corporation address
MCCSC superintendent DeMuth outlines school progress in State of the Corporation address: www.heraldtimesonline.com
By April Toler 331-4353 | atoler@heraldt.com
1/12/2012
It has been six months since Superintendent Judy DeMuth was hired as MCCSC superintendent and in that time, she has moved forward with improving school safety, maximizing student achievement, evaluating longer school days and providing referendum accountability.
The public had the opportunity to hear more about those initiatives, and the future of MCCSC, Thursday during DeMuth’s first State of the Corporation address held at the Ivy Tech John Waldron Arts Center.
Many MCCSC employees, along with the public, attended the event sponsored by the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce and the Foundation of Monroe County Community Schools.
Students from Bloomington High Schools North, South and New Tech were also on hand to demonstrate some of the programs available in the district which include advanced placement courses and dual credit opportunities; Project Lead the Way courses; and foreign language classes.
“What we tried to do is talk about all of the things our kids are involved in,” DeMuth said.
“I think these kind of public events keep in front of our public the awareness of where we’re hoping to go and give them the opportunity to think about those items and then come forward and share with us their ideas and suggestions,” she said.
In addition to programs and accomplishments already happening in the district, DeMuth also discussed where MCCSC is headed by outlining her top priorities which include student/staff safety, student achievement, referendum accountability, and what has been one of the most controversial MCCSC topics, longer school days.
In fact, the district is forming a committee to evaluate the change and whether or not it is working as it is. “(We are evaluating) can we do better, can we make it better for all,” she said.
Furthermore, DeMuth fielded written questions from the audience, one of which asked her what she considers the “big issues” facing education.
For DeMuth, some of the things that “keep her up at night” are preparing students for state testing which continues to be pushed by the state and student safety including not only protecting students from the outside world, but also dealing with bullying, hazing, and harassment.
Tom Bunger, board president of the Foundation of Monroe County Community Schools, said he was pleased with the event and would like to be a part of future, public forums regarding education.
“We have historically, in the past, had public forums on various issues and my guess is there will be more public forums and opportunities to discuss various issues within the school and the school district,” he said. “We’ve done it before and I’m sure we’ll do it again.”