What a great night! Even if the crowd was less than full capacity, there was a lot of time for candidates to explain their platforms, discuss issues affecting Hopkins Schools, and responding to an excellent set of questions over the course of an hour and half at the all-district PTO forum at Eisenhower Community Center theatre on Thursday night.
My thanks to Pam Carman and the Glen Lake PTO for spearheading this event: I felt a lot of collegiality with the other candidates as we address the road ahead for Hopkins Schools.
Even after the forum ended, I stayed for over an hour to talk to parents and families engaged in the Hopkins Schools: I am ALWAYS open to questions and discussion about the future of public education, and am excited to join others in this important work.
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Some people see things that are and ask, Why? Some people see things that could be and ask, Why not?
PLATFORM
1) Stronger Accountability: Fiscal Responsibility and Results-Oriented Budgeting for Hopkins Schools
2) Governance and Oversight: Full Transparency and Clear Communication of the Issues, Resources, and Challenges Ahead
3) More Resources for Education: Smaller Class Sizes, Full Day Kindergarten option, Reverse the trend of the past seven years and devote more spending to classroom instruction.
2) Governance and Oversight: Full Transparency and Clear Communication of the Issues, Resources, and Challenges Ahead
3) More Resources for Education: Smaller Class Sizes, Full Day Kindergarten option, Reverse the trend of the past seven years and devote more spending to classroom instruction.
Wellik in the Sun-Sailor
Excerpts from a profile in the local paper
By way of his profession as an independent strategic-planning consultant, Jamie Wellik has had vast interaction with public schools all over the country. Those experiences, he said, have given him an insight as to what works and what doesn't, something he said would be beneficial to the Hopkins School Board. "I've been working with public schools and education for about 15 years," he said. "I have a unique set of business skills, analytical skills ... and a broad understanding of the issues that face schools."
"I feel that Hopkins really needs someone with that skill set to serve on the board ... I help schools for a living, I could really help Hopkins."
Wellik lists fiscal accountability, enrollment challenges and board governance as the top issues facing the district. "Transparency, communicating with the public, just really kind of going back to what school boards are supposed to do. ... I think we've kind of lost track of that."
However, he said, any trust breached between the community and the district over the closing can be renewed through positive performance. "If you do a good job on allocating the resources, it's going to show in the classroom, it's going to show with the families, it's going to certainly show in the students. ... The results speak for themselves."
"There's challenges ahead," he said. "I'm not a handwringer, I'm not a 'I wish things could be different,' I'm a 'This is what we have, this is where we're at, this is what works.'"
By way of his profession as an independent strategic-planning consultant, Jamie Wellik has had vast interaction with public schools all over the country. Those experiences, he said, have given him an insight as to what works and what doesn't, something he said would be beneficial to the Hopkins School Board. "I've been working with public schools and education for about 15 years," he said. "I have a unique set of business skills, analytical skills ... and a broad understanding of the issues that face schools."
"I feel that Hopkins really needs someone with that skill set to serve on the board ... I help schools for a living, I could really help Hopkins."
Wellik lists fiscal accountability, enrollment challenges and board governance as the top issues facing the district. "Transparency, communicating with the public, just really kind of going back to what school boards are supposed to do. ... I think we've kind of lost track of that."
However, he said, any trust breached between the community and the district over the closing can be renewed through positive performance. "If you do a good job on allocating the resources, it's going to show in the classroom, it's going to show with the families, it's going to certainly show in the students. ... The results speak for themselves."
"There's challenges ahead," he said. "I'm not a handwringer, I'm not a 'I wish things could be different,' I'm a 'This is what we have, this is where we're at, this is what works.'"
Links
- Candidate Forum on Channel 12
- Hopkins School Board Official Site
- Board Meeting Agenda
- District Report Card for Hopkins ISD
- Report Cards for Hopkins Schools
- Hopkins School District
- Hopkins School Finances
- Report "A Fiscal Review for the Hopkins Schools"
- KnowledgeWorks Foundation
- Collaborative for High Performance School Design
- Healthy High Performing Schools
- Minnesota Department of Education
- Best Place to Help Children Succeed Outside School
- Great Schools.net
- Responsive Classroom
- PAY IT FORWARD
More About Me
- Jamie Wellik
- BULLISH ON BUILDING PROGRESS B.A. Carleton College; M.Phil. University of Cambridge; UK