Below is a transcript of a short talk I gave. It is a summary of my background, qualifications and priorities. We will add other campaign material in the future:
Hello, I am Steve Moore, a long time Evendale and Princeton District
resident. I currently have 2 children that have been in Princeton since pre-school. Catherine, is in the 7th grade at the Middle School—where she is a great student and plays flute in the concert band. My son, Michael, is a sophomore in the honors program, he plays trumpet in the High School jazz ensemble and symphonic band, and participates in sports.
Many at the schools know my wonderful wife, Gail, who retired from P&G as an HR Director, and who has worked on the PTA and other volunteer programs.
It seems the Moore family life revolves around Princeton Schools.
For me, I recently retired from Procter & Gamble with nearly 30 years of business and Research & Development experience, where I have led large technical organizations, and managed complex business programs and budgets.
I have been looking for the right opportunities to contribute and “give back” to the community in ways that use my skills .
I’ve found that working with our schools is something I have a lot of passion for —it excites me. I feel my problem solving and leadership skills can make a lasting difference with our children and our schools.
So,…what are the challenges we face at Princeton? How can I help?
Princeton is a wonderfully and incredibly diverse school district and community---with 5500 students and 800 teachers and employees from Evendale, Glendale, Lincoln Heights, Sharonville, Springdale, and Woodlawn. Indeed, there is no other district like Princeton.
Our family was drawn to Princeton because of this diversity—the diversity that better represents what our children experience in their real day to day life—now and especially in the future.
As a father, I want what you want…academic excellence for my children…whether they have unique struggles, or are solid, middle of the road students who need a challenging and stimulating environment, or gifted academic students who need unique educational challenges.
Therefore, Priority ONE for me as a school board leader will be achieving academic excellence for ALL students and getting ALL schools to an Excellent Rating. In ALL of our communities we have children with special learning needs, and children struggling to meet state testing standards. At the same time in ALL our communities we have incredibly bright and gifted students who will someday be National Merit Scholars.
In Princeton we MUST continue to design and grow our educational approach to meet ALL students’ needs.
Specifically what does this mean? First, I believe we MUST accelerate the efforts to get Lincoln Heights school out of Ohio’s “Academic Watch” status. I have talked with Mr. Mackey, and the Principal, Ms. Deborah Jackson and I think the school and the students are doing the right things with new educational procedures. We will need to invest in them during their journey.
Second, we MUST keep the Honors, Advanced Placement, and International Baccalaureate program intact and growing. This program is a great gemstone, unmatched by most schools.
As a leader on the school board, I will not lose sight that student achievement is “Job One” for our Schools.
My second priority is what I call operational excellence—which means using great discipline to keep fiscal systems in control, and operating our school board and systems with effective and forward looking approaches.
We historically have had low taxes thanks to our great business and industry base, and managing our operational costs was not as important.
The world is different now--costs are rising and tax laws are changing. We must learn how to operate more cost effectively, without affecting the quality of our education.
Also, I have recently been to several school board meetings—my impression is we can be more effective leaders by focusing on the right issues at the right time. We seem to get too caught up reacting to today’s urgencies. I believe more time is needed on the difficult dilemmas facing the schools and developing sound strategies for the future.
My Third Priority Is Princeton School District Pride:
When I moved to Cincinnati 30 years ago, Princeton was a “Famous” school district seen as one of the places to go for great schools for your family.
Where are we today? We have improved our schools and programs but, we don’t have that visible external feeling of pride. Other “school districts” receive a lot of favorable press, while they do not have nearly the educational capabilities we have.
I think developing visible pride is an issue of leadership. We have plenty to be proud about, NOW.
Historically, we have not put enough attention into pointedly managing our public relations like many schools and businesses do. We should do more to teach the community about the many great positive aspects of our schools—and to dispel untrue beliefs about Princeton.
There is a lot we could do to build the reputation we deserve…like empowering our Alumni Association to be more active and visible, and building a Princeton Foundation —as top schools in the state have done. Also, we could build stronger relationships and ties with local businesses.
This is not just an issue of Pride or feeling good about ourselves….it is an opportunity to bring more attention and more resources to our teachers and schools---and to attract more families to Princeton.
I wish I had more time to talk to you about our schools…so I hope to see you at community events. Please email me with questions at my website at Princeton-Deserves-Moore.com
Again, my priorities are
1. ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE for ALL
2. OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE—fiscally and strategically
3. ESTABLISHING VISIBLE PRINCETON PRIDE
I am ready to bring my passion, my time, and my leadership skills to the schools. I hope you give me the chance to make a difference …by Voting for Moore on November 6th.