Getting back to basics

After 24 years as a West Valley School Board member, Jim Williams has watched many improvements unfold for schoolchildren.

However, Williams wants to make sure that traditional civics lessons – teaching kids about how to become good citizens – don’t get lost within the school year’s packed-full instruction. Williams sees lessons such as civics losing some emphasis as schools focus more on students passing the Washington Assessment of Student Learning.

“If we’re going to prepare people for the work force in the 21st century, we also need to prepare them to be good citizens in the 21st century,” said Williams, who recently was named to a national panel of district-level administrators and policymakers working to deepen support for citizenship education and service learning in schools.

Williams, 67, is hoping his involvement with the 100 District Leaders for Civic Engagement and Service-Learning Network will offer ideas to strengthen and encourage civics lessons statewide. He was selected from among a national pool of candidates.

“Civics is a major area that interests me,” said Williams who served previously as a founding member of the Spokane Public Facilities District board that built the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. He also has long ties serving with community-involved groups, including the Spokane Valley Rotary Club and the Valley Chamber of Commerce.

“With all the emphasis on the WASL, the reform movement, the basics, some things have lost an emphasis,” Williams said. “We need to make sure our graduates understand how our government works and their role as citizens. It requires people to be involved.”

Williams added that because the national group is scheduled to meet for the first time Feb. 28, he is still learning about the process. They will meet at the American Association of School Administrators National Conference on Education in New Orleans.

Williams will receive a portion of travel expense, about $400, from the Education Commission of the States, which selected the district leaders. Williams also has approval from the West Valley School Board for the district to cover any remaining travel and hotel costs. There is no conference registration fee.

The 100 District Leaders include nationwide district superintendents and school board members.

The ECS is an interstate compact created by states, territories and the U.S. Congress that helps governors, legislators, state education officials and others identify, develop and implement public policies to improve student learning.

“I need to thank my fellow district board members and district administrators for their support,” Williams said. “I believe there are five appointees from Washington state. I’m the only one on the East Side.”

Although he is just beginning to absorb the panels’ documents, he believes the group will work to encourage state-level policy for citizenship and service education.

An ECS news release also described that “network members will deepen support for citizenship education and service-learning in their district, and broaden awareness of the importance of these issues by writing articles, conducting workshops at state and national conferences and hosting policy forums.”

In West Valley, Williams is proud of the district’s support of City School, a magnet school that embraces service learning as students fill all the roles in a simulated city, and Spokane Valley High School that offers relevant hands-on learning opportunities to teach citizenship and civic responsibility. Williams also points to steps West Valley has taken district-wide to focus on citizenship and service education.

“I have seen graduates move on to become leaders. Business leaders, government officials, judges and attorneys and members of my own Rotary Club are (West Valley) graduates. Their successes and efforts have contributed to a strong community.”

Williams grew up in Grangeville, Idaho, and then Burbank, Calif., during his high school years. He moved to Spokane Valley in 1959.

He and his wife, Gayle, have five children who all went through the West Valley School District. He unsuccessfully ran for Spokane County commissioner in 1988 and as a state representative candidate in 1998.

He is recently retired from work as a construction lending inspector. His term as school board member expires in 2009. He also lists character education in schools, the district’s Outdoor Learning Center, and strategic planning that calls for regular goal-setting, among the accomplishments he’s helped support through the school board.

Williams said his own experience and involvement in politics and government have taught him much about one citizen’s crucial role in the process.

“I see where an understanding of how the national, state and local government works is essential.”