Dear Editor:
The Brandon School District is in the middle of a $73 million bond project.
After dozens of ‘town hall? meetings brought to the public to answer any questions about what the school district was looking to accomplish, the bond was voted for by a majority of our community; a majority who recognized the need for building renovation, infrastructure updating, and technological reconfiguring of our district.
If you have any doubts about the bond progress, check out www.brandon.k12.mi.us for an update.
We are nearing the end of the Phase I project and as any of you who have done a home renovation knows, it’s excruciating and mentally challenging to take on this type of project and get through it without second-guessing, and revisiting decisions, even the smallest decision. I have heard enough negative talk about the district and feel you need to read some facts. The mentality has become ‘say whatever you want and let someone else prove it wrong.? We are building a stronger district to give the children of our community the very best chance of surviving in this new world. The new state-of-the-art technology that is being installed in all the buildings will bring the world to the classroom. Children will emerge as young men and women with the ability to succeed as they face the challenges of the 21st century.
Installation of a sound amplification system allows the students to hear easily, whether it is the teacher or a fellow classmate speaking, without raising voices so everyone can hear. You will find that learning in a calm, comfortable situation is much more productive for students.
The classroom of ‘yesterday,? where the teacher stands at the front of the room and lectures, or writes on the chalkboard and hopes to pass on something to the students, is a thing of the past here at Brandon. Students aren’t shrinking in their desks, hoping the teacher won’t call on them; or straining to hear what another student said across the room. In our classrooms of ‘tomorrow,? students actively participate in their own education. They raise their hands eagerly, anxiously awaiting their turn to use the interactive whiteboard for demonstrating mathematical formulas, finding missing words in a sentence, writing music, and an infinite amount of other class activities. The students can watch scientists explore the oceans and then ask questions of them as they speak directly to them from across the country. They can take an interactive tour of the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., or the Louvre Museum in Paris, without leaving the room. The teachers of Brandon have only begun to see the many options they have for their curriculum. RM Education (educational software company) worked with our teaching staff to develop the secondary education package which has been implemented in our middle and high school, the first district in the United States to use this curriculum package. Our state, and our country, is slipping into a downward spiral, but we do not have to ‘go down with the ship.? Someone has to realize that we don’t have to take this negative view and ride along. We need to set a good example and spread a positive attitude. We have been given a chance to make Brandon School District a great place to learn, and with the new technology, the renovated buildings, a new elementary and more importantly?.a ‘new attitude,? we can rise above and show those who are determined to bring us down, that we are better than they keep insisting. To take a line from a favorite movie of mine:
‘If you build it, they will come?? and when those around us see what our district has evolved into?..a 21st century, state-of-the-art, educational experience beyond the ordinary?..our community will begin to turn around and expand. We need to get the word out, that we are a great place to learn. Stop bickering, slandering, complaining?..and look around you. This district, ‘is? a great place to learn and we can start by focusing on the positive and where we are heading?. Straight into the future and our students are going to be prepared for it.
Debra Fulkerson
30-year resident of Ortonville