Candidate's Name Dr. William Pfeifer
______ I will be able to attend the school board candidate forum of 9/30
__X___ I will not be able
to attend the school board candidate forum on 9/30
(Regretfully, I will be
unable to attend this school board forum due to the fact that
I have previously made a commitment for the 30th to attend the
public meeting for the re-presentation of the Department of Education's
final special education improvement project report. The purpose
of this meeting is to present to the public the status of the
corrective actions which were mandated by the sanctions imposed
on the KGBSD by the Alaska Dept. of Education.)
1. Please state 3 reasons why you are seeking a seat on the School Board.
It is time to accept the responsibility for decreasing the drop out rate which has been consistently one of the highest in the state for years. By assuring children have the needed educational opportunities to learn to read and to learn the basic skills, a child's success in school and in adult life will be improved.
2. Do you have school age children? If so, do they attend schools in this district?
Mary, my wife, and I are proud of our 5 children. Our oldest, Angela is a Senior this year. Chelsea is a Junior, Billy is a Freshman, Jason is in the 7th grade, and Natalie is in the 5th grade. All of our children have attended the Ketchikan public schools since kindergarten. Mary and I both have many years of experience and involvement with our local public school system.
3. What do you see as the major strengths in our school district?
The major strengths of the Ketchikan public schools are the great children of Ketchikan who are eager to learn, the professional and dedicated staff, and the families and community members who are actively involved.
4. What do you see as the major weaknesses in our school district?
A major weakness of our school district is in the provision of clear and concise information, not only to the public but to the staff. Poor communication and very limited public information disclosure allows for the district to continue the practice of not being forthright in acknowledging weaknesses of the district to the public. It further allows for the district to continue to skirt around putting into action real plans that will address meeting the educational needs of the most challenged to the brightest of our children. District disclosure to the public in a timely and easily accessible manner of all public information related to our educational system will ensure that community members can better take an active role in education by being informed. We must put trust and credibility back into public education.
5. Do you support involvement of school district employees in the decision making of the school board?
I strongly believe that it would greatly enhance our children's educational opportunities to encourage the involvement of all community individuals including district employees. Involvement of others is absolutely necessary in order to keep the board better informed of various ideas, approaches, needs and opinions. This will increase the board's knowledge base and its ability to make informed decisions that will best meet the varied educational needs of the children of Ketchikan. Also by having open input from varying and diverse sources, the board's ability to maintain a positive and respectful working environment for our educational staff will be enhanced.
6. Do you support involvement of the community in the decision making of the school board?
Definitely, as I stated in question number 5, I strongly believe that the involvement of all community individuals is absolutely necessary. It is important that community members be encouraged to take an active part in public education. After all, it is the public who funds public education. Let's keep the public in public education.
If yes, what would you do to insure [ensure] that these citizen's recommendations are implemented?
No elected official can ensure that all recommendations made by every citizen are implemented. However, I intend to take a proactive stance to solicit opinions and comments from others to increase my knowledge base in order that I will be able to make the decisions that will best benefit all of our children. The decisions are ultimately placed in the hands of the elected officials by the community members. However, I strongly believe that in order to make the best decisions it is absolutely necessary that an elected official be open and willing to listen to the varying ideas, opinions and comments of all community members.
If no, who should be making these decisions?
7. Would you support a proposal to subcontract services that are currently being preformed by school district employees? If yes, which services.
This is the classic "Who do we throw out of the life boat?" question. My first choice would be to not sacrifice anyone. Given the hard economic times that many in this community are going through and the desire of many to continue to make Ketchikan their home, working together creatively we can avoid destroying the lives and livelihoods of any of the citizens including any of the employees of this district. Ketchikan's economy and the educational system in this community are like a three legged stool. We can't sacrifice any leg of that stool and still meet the goal of having a healthy economy and the best school district in the state.
8. Research tells us that having a qualified teacher in every classroom is by far the single most important factor in student achievement. What will you do to attract and retain quality teachers in the Ketchikan School District?
As a clarification and with all due respect, research most likely tells us that having teachers qualified in the subject area is by far the single most important factor in student achievement. I believe that by consistently promoting and maintaining a working environment that demonstrates to the professional teaching staff that they are respected and valued employees of Ketchikan's schools is one important way to ensure that our community will be able to retain effective teachers. Providing specific staff development that allows for increasing expertise that will benefit both staff and students will also be another way to retain "qualified" teachers.
In attracting both teachers and administrators who are "qualified" to perform the duties as assigned, I would:
These efforts would greatly increase our community's opportunities to attract "qualified" teachers to replace those teachers who are retiring or leaving for one reason or another.
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9. What
do you see as your responsibility and/or role regarding students
passing the high school qualifying exam that will be first offered
this spring?
As a board member, my role and responsibilities "regarding students passing the high school qualifying exam" would be:
I further believe that it is a responsibility of a board member to support the teaching staff in their efforts to provide positive learning environments that will encourage and motivate students to stay in school and actively engage in learning.
10. Will you seek the opinion of the members of the Ketchikan Education Association on educational issues facing the school board? Why or why not?
I will seek and welcome the opinions and involvement of all teachers on educational issues whether they are KEA members or not. As I stated earlier, I strongly believe that it would greatly enhance our children's educational opportunities to encourage the involvement of all community individuals including district employees which would include their professional association, the KEA. In order for me to make educated and informed decisions, I strongly believe that I must utilize the expertise of our professional staff, parents, businesses and community members, as well as state and national resources and experts.
11. What role do you think the teaching staff should take in developing curriculum and selecting materials for the classroom?
The teaching staff should take an active role in refining the curriculum and selecting the educational materials. However, it is the board's responsibility to set the direction and give final approval.
12. Do you believe standardized teaching methods should be used across the district? Why or why not?
There are many teaching methods some of which have research backing with proven results that are carried out in a specific manner. I would not be in favor of cherry picking of parts of methods and programs in a randomized fashion. However, I am an advocate for applying the methods in the format the research has proven successful.
The methods utilized should not be based on one's personal philosophy but on objective diagnostic evaluations of the individual student's academic needs.
I believe there should be consistency in the teaching methods available from school to school and from grade to grade to ensure that all of the children of Ketchikan, regardless of school placement, will be able to access equal educational opportunities.
13.
Do you feel standardized teaching materials should be used across
the district? Why or why not?
In order to carry out the prescribed methods in a manner that is consistent with the research the corresponding materials would need to be made available in order to meet the same level of academic success.
I am supportive of consistency in teaching materials and required diagnostic assessments; however, this is not to exclude the supplementation of educational materials or methods. This would ensure again that all of the children of Ketchikan, regardless of school, will be able to access equal educational opportunities.
14. Do you believe that public comment at the podium during school board meetings should be limited to the agenda items? Why or why not?
I strongly believe that public comments should not be restricted at the public podium to topics on the agenda or for any other reason. Having used the public podium frequently in the past, I believe that the public podium is intended to provide the public a vehicle for communication. A speaker at the public podium should be able to speak and express their ideas, views, and comments without board imposed restrictions. This would include comments that are critical of the district or of the board.
15. If you are elected, what two major changes would you like to make to the way the Board currently functions?
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