Dear Silver Schools Community,

It deeply saddens me to watch our district face, what appears to be, unending attacks. Since my arrival in early January, there has been a constant barage of assaults against our district. Some deserved, most not. Prior to my arrival, my goal was, and continues to be, to make Silver Consolidated Schools as good as it was when I attended here in the 1970s. I could not have asked for a better education. Our children certainly deserve the same type of educational opportunity.

I’m not exactly sure how or when the district got to the point where it is, and to be honest, to me we should be past that by now. By continually concentrating on the past, we will miss opportunities of the future. I have tried to maintain my focus in moving our district forward without listening to all of the rumors and negative publicity in the community. But now, I believe it is time for me to speak on behalf of and defend the many and various accusations leveled against the district and its employees.

I am referring to the two latest articles found in the Silver City Daily Press. I will leave it to the attorney to attend to the article titled, Silver withholds records in teacher DUI. I will reply to the other article, Two members down, hints of trouble in Silver District.

The title alone implies there is trouble with our Board of Education. I, too, would like to thank Mr. Wecks and Ms. Vasquez for their service to the district in serving as a Board member. Serving on the Board is community service at its finest. There is no pay involved and yet it is a demanding position. Decisions are very often difficult and sometimes very unpopular. In spite of that, the decisions are necessary for the district to be able to function and move forward. Extremely tough decisions lie ahead of us and SCEA has already been invited to be part of the process of addressing the issues at-hand.

In working closely with the three remaining members, I can assure the community that they are staunchly committed to the task at hand. They have the highest integrity, morals and values. They too, want Silver Schools to be the best it can be and are dedicated and determined to do their part in making that happen.

I find it very unfortunate that Ms. Katrina Bustillos chose to paint a picture of doom and gloom in our district. Are there any challenges we face in the district? Absolutely! Are these issues insurmountable? Absolutely not! My request and response to Ms. Bustillos comments at the most recent Board meeting have absolutely nothing to do with secrecy. My request is that, as SCEA has asked for, their leadership communicate and follow the chain of command by meeting with and informing school and district administration about issues/concerns so we have an opportunity to work with them. They have asked for that and I in turn simply ask for the same respect.

Regarding Ms. Bustillos comment in the Daily Press, “But, when things are happening in a way that seems to be secretive and non-communicative for the district,” she said, “it makes it difficult.” That is my point exactly. I am simply asking for the opportunity to know what the issues are so we can work to address them. I do not know how we can deal with issues we are not aware of. As anyone in a leadership position knows we are limited by law to what we can say in certain matters such as personnel and other legal affairs. Again, no deliberate attempt at secrecy involved.

Borrowing Albert Einstein’s quote—the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results—certainly applies here. It is no secret that I have set a district goal that none of our schools will attain a school grade lower than a B. Of course, that entails doing somethings differently to achieve changed results. Some staff are reluctant to change practices of the past and try new research-based approaches that have been proven to be effective for students. I want to make it clear, that there are VERY few staff that fit into that category. School principals have been meeting with those staff members to assist and support them in understanding the need to do so.

Silver Schools cannot and will not be content with ANY of our schools being designated as an F school. Our children, staff and community definitely deserve better. No one should be burdened with that designation.

I asked school principals to meet with school leadership teams to create a plan of how their individual school proposes to meet the overall goal of reaching and maintaining a grade of B. Central Office administration met with each and every one of our schools to hear their plan and asked them what kind of support they feel is needed. Through this process, employees were heard and their voices were not silenced. Furthermore, I have heard from numerous staff at ALL locations that this has been the best start to a school year in years, they appreciate the support they are receiving, in particular through our Instructional Coaches, and they are excited to be part of the process.

As Woodrow Wilson said, “If you want to make enemies, try to change something.” Change is not easy and usually not very popular. Times have changed and our students are going out into a different world than any of us could ever have imagined existing when we were in school. Hence, change is necessary if we are going to reach our ultimate goal of providing the best educational opportunity for our students.

I can say with all sincerity, I am very happy and proud to report that we have some of the best staff I have ever had the pleasure of working with. Parents are more than welcome to see for themselves all of the amazing teaching and other activities taking place within our schools on a daily basis.

Ms. Bustillos also said, we have many employees who arrive before and leave after their contract day. This is further proof of the dedication, determination and professionalism of our incredible staff across many job classifications. I am very proud and humbled to be working alongside them.

I am more than willing to do my part in the transformation of this district. There has been too much focus on negativity in the past even though there are many more positive areas in which to concentrate. Rather than expanding on the problems and challenges our district faces, I ask that SCEA leadership do away with all of the negativity and genuinely strive to be part of the solutions. I have no doubt that together we can accomplish what needs to be done to meet the needs of our staff to the benefit of our students. Our staff and students certainly deserve the best each of us has to offer.

Audie Brown
Superintendent
Silver Consolidated Schools

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