News : VS School Board candidate profile: Marcia Booth

Editor's Note: Marcia Booth is one of three candidates running to fill the vacancy left by the recent resignation of Tim Bird from the Vinton-Shellsburg School Board.

We asked Marcia to share some information about herself and her experience, as well as her views on school issues.

Below, is her response:

My name is Marcia Booth. I am married to my husband Keith of 20 years and we have two children in the Vinton-Shellsburg school district. Travis is a freshman and Claire is a 4th grader at the Shellsburg Elementary building.

I graduated from Shellsburg High school in 1988. I then attended Waldorf College and graduated with a AA degree in 1990. I then transferred to UNI and graduated in 1992 with a BA in elementary teaching. After returning home after college, I did some substitute teaching in this area for 1 year before taking a teacher associate position at Center Point- Urbana. I was the kindergarten associate/substitute teacher for the next five years. In 1998, I took a paraprofessional position with Grant Wood AEA at the Linn County Juvenile Detention Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It was during this time I returned to school and began teaching in 2001 on a conditional license at the detention center. I completed my MA degree in Special Education (7-12) from Morningside College in 2004. I continued to teach at the detention center and once again returned to school and earned another MA degree in Educational Leadership in 2008. I just completed my 15th year with Grant Wood AEA. I love working with adjudicated youth who are being held for court or a court ordered placement and enjoy the work I do on a daily basis.

Our district has gone through a lot of change over the last 25 years. We have managed a school merger, re-structured our schools, and built a brand new high school. I have served on many committees to assist with planning and the vision of our district. I have been involved in the 50 year visioning committee and also on the SIAC committee.

I am pleased to hear our current enrollment status in the district is stable. This has been a great concern in the past. I am also concerned with our continued struggles with academics and many of our buildings continually being flagged as schools in need of assistance (SINA) by the Department of Education. This program is not an easy solution as the snapshot of our student achievement changes each year. This makes progress difficult to see, but also shows that we continue to struggle in certain areas of achievement. Our district has taken action by addressing this problem through extensive professional development for our teachers and new curriculums. Another problem that continues to face our district is communication. Our district has made some strides in this area but still has some improvements to make. It is essential that all stakeholders have access to the information they need from the district and can be obtain in a simple user friendly way with access to all in the district. This could be done with some website improvement/updates, use of local newspapers and cable. I would like to see student/parent/teacher communication improve at all levels.

I think my education background and experience will be instrumental in the future of the Vinton-Shellsburg school district. Please vote on September 10.