"My View of the Elements of a Successful School System"

By Dr. Douglas L. Ragland

A successful school system must have a variety of components in order to be successful. The education ruler to success includes safe and disciplined schools equaling an environment conducive to learning and success, highly qualified and certified teachers, which in turn will manifest the highest level of teaching and learning for optimal efficiency in meeting all the needs of all students, challenging curricular to meet the needs of all children, academically, through extra-curricular activities, via technology enhancements and the like, and active involvement from all leaders and stakeholders within the school setting and in the community at large in an effort to provide support of learning through service learning and providing resources to foster academic excellence beyond the funding of state resources and input on collaborative processes in meeting the needs of students as well as the community at large.

All in all, there must be a team approach and a successful school system subscribes to the philosophy “Together Everyone Accomplishes More”(TEAM), teaching the whole child in meeting his or her needs academically, socially, emotionally, physically, and through extra-curricular activities, and last but not least, it must reflect safety and discipline, professionally developed, caring and highly qualified staff, challenging curriculum in preparing the children to become productive citizens in society by meeting and surpassing local, state, national and global standards, and involvement of all stakeholders in providing leadership and support.

This is my view of the elements needed for a school system to be a successful.