New Jenks Superintendent Stacey Butterfield says she is focused on making the best decisions for the students. JAMES GIBBARD/Tulsa World
Stacey Butterfield, the new superintendent at Jenks Public Schools, says she couldn't possibly fill the shoes of her predecessor, Kirby Lehman, so she won't try.
"He left his footprint," Butterfield said of Lehman, who spent 23 years as chief of the district. "My hope and vision is to leave my footprint."
Her focus, she says, is to look for more opportunities to serve students and to better prepare them for their next step in life.
On Monday, Butterfield began her tenure clearly focused on making sure that every decision by the district is the best one for students.
"I have a passion for young people and a passion for making a difference in the lives of young people," she said. "But it's not about me. It's about our students, our district and all of us working together."
Her entire 24-year career in public education has been in Jenks, where she spent the first decade teaching first- and second-graders.
Since then, she's worked her way through the ranks - from principal to director of communications, from assistant superintendent positions to deputy superintendent.
Butterfield said she intends to do a lot of listening - to parents, to students, to teachers and to community members.
"It's so important to listen. And while we may not always agree on issues, people want to be heard," she said. "That's just human nature. All of us should be listening more than we are talking."
Butterfield is intent on ensuring that the district keeps up with changes in technology and on enhancing its blended learning model, a mix of classroom time and online courses.
"It's our responsibility to keep up with changes in technology so that our students are prepared for life beyond pre-K-12 experiences. It's going to be a constant moving target," she said.
Another aim is to provide teachers with more professional development opportunities and to increase their salaries. Oklahoma is losing teachers to other states in the region because teacher salaries are among the lowest, she said.
"Research shows there's nothing more important than an effective teacher in every classroom to increase student achievement," Butterfield said. "So if we want to increase student achievement, we want to have an effective teacher. And to have an effective teacher, we have to be competitive with salaries."
The state's education budget is a continuing concern because it directly affects students.
Public schools in the state are educating 32,000 more students than they were five years ago, yet funding remains at 2008 levels, she said. "If we want to compete, we have to be willing to fund the dollars."
Butterfield is disturbed by the rising movement toward more high-stakes testing.
"Absolutely we want accountability. Accountability is beneficial. It's beneficial to students. It's beneficial to teachers. It's beneficial to administrators and parents," she said.
"High expectations for all. I am a firm believer in that. But being test-centric, where testing is a primary focus, is not beneficial to students."
Although she and Lehman are different in some ways, they share many core beliefs, including the importance of public education to democracy.
"I struggle to hear public education criticized over and over and not recognized for the success that is occurring," Butterfield said.
Public educators need to do a better job of communicating the positive experiences and outcomes that students experience in public education, she said.
"A lot of times you hear only the negative. But you don't have to look very far to see the success that students are achieving in public education," Butterfield said. "Can we improve? Absolutely. There is not a profession or service in our country that can't improve.
"But that doesn't mean public education is broken and should be abandoned."
Kim Archer 918-581-8315
kim.archer@tulsaworld.com
Original Print Headline: Next step for Jenks
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