It is our mission to produce lifelong learners, with or without the assistance of the state or federal government
by Steven Keller, Ed.D
Education, like many businesses, is in an era of slim times. Districts around the nation have been required to make drastic cuts. Students, parents, staffs, and the communities, themselves, have suffered from cuts in public education funding. We can only speculate on what the long-term consequences of these deep reductions will be.
Fortunately, to date, thanks to the exceptional work of the RBUSD staff and our community, our schools have remained largely unscathed. We are recognized throughout the state for our rising student achievement scores. Our self-proclaimed, multi-year instructional improvement plan is nicknamed “Good to Great.” While times are indeed difficult, we do the business of educating children a little differently around here. We get the job done.
The dire conditions of schools, nationwide, has not been enough to get our politicians to address the damage caused by the funding cuts. It appears students must have measurable difficulties, be it poor test scores, falling attendance, or obsolete materials, to get the financing equation for public education changed.
The recession has forced school districts to do more with much less. At RBUSD, instructional programs are being improved, as shown by the recent approval of for the intercultural and world recognized International Baccalaureate program at Redondo Union High School. Money must be used more wisely than in the past to keep students attending and succeeding. Presently, our high school provides a strong athletics program, AVID (Advancement via Individual Determination), intra- and co-curricular programs, and many rigorous advanced placement, foreign language and visual and performing arts classes.
We must prevent cuts from impacting our children. Our goal is for all of our students to continue on to colleges and universities. Additionally, it is our mission to produce lifelong learners who are active and compassionate members of their communities. And we will do this with or without the assistance of the state or federal government.
Redondo Beach Unified has revamped the facilities that our students and staff call home with massive construction overhauls at many of our school sites, including nearly $100 million in improvements at Redondo Union High School, funded through voter-approved Measure C.
There are three new gyms, a new aquatics center, several new student services centers, multiple computer and learning labs, new fields and new play areas across Redondo Beach Unified. Many of the newly constructed facilities will be LEED certified or LEED certifiable, saving dollars in the future and furthering our students’ studies of strategies to improve stewardship of our world’s natural resources. The education of our students does not end at the classroom door. We believe students can learn through inquiry and exploration — even as our schools manage on ever tighter budgets.
Redondo Beach Unified is improving at a time when excuses for stagnation are easily made. Educational leaders are still unsure of this year’s state budget. But while we are all preparing multiple budgets for various scenarios, the true preparation is found daily, in the classroom. We will remain dedicated professionals who work with our world’s most valuable resources, whatever the costs or cuts.
When I started in this “business of children” over 25 years ago, I had a mantra: “School A is better than School B not because of the students, but because of the adult support provided inside and outside of the school.” If you are reading this piece, it is time, as part of a wider-learning community, to support our children and to help move them forward during this difficult economic time. We, the adults, must do this together.
Steven Keller Ed.D. is the superintendent of the Redondo Beach Unified School District. ER
