Cd'A students not waiting for Superman

Coeur d'Alene School District students are not waiting for Superman!

The soon-to-be-released movie that sheds a disparaging light on public education does not hold true in District 271 where we already have Superman and Superwoman in the form of our amazing teachers, counselors and staff.

Sadly, many people may go to see the much-ballyhooed film and think that all public schools are in crisis and failing their students. While we cannot speak for the schools and situations featured in the film, we certainly can say what is happening within the walls of the 17 schools in the Coeur d'Alene School District.

Just this week, we learned that Coeur d'Alene High School has four Advanced Placement Scholars who are now contenders for National Merit Scholarship Finalists. Two of the three top scorers in the nation were CHS students. Also this week we learned that three Lake City High teachers - Tacey Keylon, Bill Keylon and Dan Armstrong - received the Outstanding Career and Technical Student Organization Advisor Award.

We are proud to be a district from which the state picked five Idaho Teachers of the Year within the last 12 years; a district where students consistently outperform their Idaho peers on standardized tests and almost always exceed national and state scores on college entrance exams.

Last year, our students won numerous awards in art, speech, professional-technical skills, robotics, sports and academics. Staff brought home accolades such as Region 1 Middle Level Educator of the Year (Katie Pemberton), Idaho Elementary P.E. Teacher of the Year (Trena Burt) and Pacific Northwest Outstanding Key Club Advisor (Lena Cooley.)

Those are just a few examples of our "super" staff and students.

We cannot argue with filmmaker Davis Guggenheim that every child deserves a good public-school education, and that children are the future of our nation's welfare. But lumping together all teachers unions as the obstacle, and touting charter and corporate schools as the answer is questionable.

Our teachers union works closely with our administration and school board for the benefit of not only teachers but all staff and students. With the support of the Coeur d'Alene Education Association, we have moved forward to expand choices for students, such as our magnet schools and our future Kootenai Technical Education Campus (KTEC). We have implemented collaboration to enable teachers to work together to improve instruction. We have embarked on strategic planning to serve as the compass to guide our district through the next five years, and we are currently piloting a new teacher evaluation system to ensure the highest quality teachers are in our classrooms teaching your students.

I have no doubt that Superman and Superwoman have arrived and are at work here in our district, making a positive difference in the lives of our young people.

Hazel Bauman is superintendent of the Coeur d'Alene School District.

Editor's note: The movie "Waiting for Superman" is not currently scheduled to come to Coeur d'Alene.