USD 333 hosts Community Education Retreat

A remodeled Concordia Middle School was on display during the Unified School District 333 Community Education Retreat on Thursday at the facility.
Those attending the retreat had an opportunity to tour the middle school building and see the improvements made.
The middle school is being reopened this school year and will house the fifth-and sixth-grade students in the district.
The education retreat also included several breakout sessions for the public. Topics for the sessions included long-range planning for the district, the portrait of a successful high school graduate, school bond finance, and the social-emotional needs at the district facilities.
A forum for candidates seeking positions on the USD 333 board of education, hosted by the Concordia High School Student Council, was also included in the retreat.
Four candidates took part in the forum.
Mike Cleveland and Jerlynn Johnston are running for the Position 3, Sub-District 3 position currently held by Tony Miller, who has filed for re-election.
Bryan Cleveland and Amber Lambertz are seeking the member at-large position.
“The big picture is, I want to see us pursue excellence in education,” Mike Cleveland said in response to the question of why he was seeking a position on the school board.
Cleveland said that he thinks the quality of education in the United States is not what it was when he went to school.
“I guess I want to get back to the basics a little bit and try to create that quality of education that maybe has slipped away because of society,” Cleveland said.
Johnston, who has two children in school in the district, said that she was running for a position on the school board because she wants to get involved.
“I have had some personal experience with the district that has me asking questions. I want to dig deeper and I want to get involved,” Johnston said.
Bryan Cleveland said he has concerns about the education process.
“My focus, really, for joining the board is, I do have two sons who are still in high school, and I am concerned about the direction of education in general, not just in Concordia, but I think the quality and standards we expect as parents are falling a little bit short,” Cleveland said.
Lambertz said that she sees some needs at the district level and within the schools and wants to get involved to help address to those needs.
“I want to help facilitate the collaboration between the community and the board,” Lambertz said.