DODDS educators vow to maintain
focus amid post-Sept. 11 uncertainties
By Eric B. Pilgrim,
Stars and Stripes
Eric Pilgrim / Stars and Stripes
DODEA director Dr. Joseph Tafoya takes questions from kindergarten students at Rhein-Main
Air Base on Friday. |
WIESBADEN, Germany — More than 150 educators gathered this week to hold tight to
the future of students in the Department of Defense Dependents Schools in the midst of the
changing landscape.
Enthusiastic assistant principals and assistant superintendents from Europe, as well as
a teacher representative from each school, met this week at the Ramada Inn in Wiesbaden to
share ideas about improving education for DODDS students.
Terrorism was never far from their lips.
"The world has changed a lot," said Diana Ohman, the Department of Defense
Education Activity’s deputy director for Europe. "We are now guarded and carded,
observed and searched. But beyond all of that, we’re here to create a stable
environment where teachers are teaching and students are learning."
Ohman attended two of the four conference days, and DODEA director Dr. Joseph Tafoya
attended closing ceremonies on Friday.
Tafoya spoke to the group for an hour about the price of education and how important it
is to never lose sight of the children.
"What has happened since Sept. 11 is we’ve reaffirmed what we’re here to
do," Tafoya said.
He challenged the administrators to get into the classrooms every day and see what is
being taught. He challenged them to challenge their teachers, raise the bar of
expectations.
Tafoya toured several schools before the conference and told the educators on Friday
that he was pleased with their commitment to the children despite the looming weight of
terrorism.
"We’re still teaching and learning," Tafoya said. "Students are
still engaged."
Charlie Toth, the assistant superintendent at the Würzburg, Germany, school district,
oversees 24 schools with more than 10,000 students.
He said the conference has given him the opportunity to understand how much of the new
administrative computer software works, to pick the brains of experts in different fields
and to brainstorm ideas with other administrators.
Principals and superintendents will meet next week for a similar conference.
"It doesn’t happen too often," Toth said. "We get so busy in this
rat race sometimes that we don’t get time to sit down and do this."
Sept. 11 hung on his breath.
"It raised my level of commitment to the military, raised my level of
concern," Toth said.
"This is a service business. And I’m proud to be a part of it. We’re
going to do everything possible we can to make these kids’ lives quality lives."
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