Trust, Freedom, and Empowerment

Author: Beth Abraham, parent of two FHH grads

A solid school district is built on the foundation of trust, freedom, and empowerment of its members. Essential partners in public education include students, parents, teachers, administrators, and taxpayers. Each must have mutual trust, freedom, and empowerment for the school district to achieve its educational, financial, and developmental goals.

Trust: Parents are trusted to know their students’ educational and emotional needs. Teachers and administrators are trusted to guide scholastic curriculum, policies, and selection of materials based on their years of experience, education, and training. Taxpaying stakeholders are trusted to financially support educational opportunities for all children in our community without endangering their safety or humanity.

Freedom to Learn: Parental freedom means parents are able to communicate with teachers and school staff about their student’s social, emotional, and educational needs. This freedom cannot be taken away by any other parent or taxpaying stakeholder.  Academic freedom means that experts who have received scholastic training and advanced education on academic topics have the ability to make choices relevant to the learning communities they serve. In instances where the parental and academic freedoms are at odds, processes are established to allow the parties to engage in a way that ensures the best outcome for individual students. Stakeholder freedom means district taxpayers are able to access information about how public funds are used to support the district. These three freedoms exist in partnership, not individually.

Empowerment: Empowerment is offering teachers autonomy in their craft and learners the freedom to grow. We support staff who have the training, education, and experience that give them the insight and knowledge relevant to our learning community. Empowerment means letting teachers teach, learners learn, and parents parent. It means handling issues respectfully and empowering students to grow and uplift our community.

Trust, freedom, and empowerment are cornerstones used to build up our district. They are not to be used to restrict, disparage, or divide our community for any political or personal agendas. The FHSD Board is accountable for handling this responsibility judiciously. 

Strong schools are built on trust — in families, educators, and the community. Parents partner with schools to support their children. Educators apply their professional training and experience to serve students well. Taxpayers deserve transparency and responsible use of public resources.

These roles work best together. When concerns arise, established processes allow respectful dialogue, prioritizing students while maintaining strong learning environments.       `

Empowerment means letting teachers teach, learners learn, and parents parent — without fear-based restrictions or political agendas. Francis Howell Forward supports candidates who protect these principles, keeping schools safe, professional, and student-centered.