(C) Wisconsin Watch
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Arrowhead superintendent to retire in 2023, cites 'political agendas' in schools [1]
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Date: 2022-12-15
Arrowhead High School Superintendent Laura Myrah announced to staff Wednesday night that she will retire, citing the increasing politicization of schools. Her last day will be Aug. 7, 2023.
In a letter sent to staff that Myrah shared with the Journal Sentinel, she stated that "extraneous influences have forced a drastic change upon the focus of [her] job."
"I am a firm believer that political agendas (in any direction) should not have influence within classrooms and school decisions," she added. "In the field of K-12 education as of late, I see political pressures negatively impacting educators’ ability to focus on the true mission of schools ― educating kids and preparing them for successful learning, careers, and life after high school graduation," she said in the letter.
"Educators’ professional expertise and dedicated efforts on behalf of students should be respected, trusted, and valued," she continued. "Lately, teachers and administrators are encountering mistrust, disrespect, and a forced shift in our prioritized areas of focus. It is disheartening to observe and experience this."
This is not an isolated circumstance. Schools and school boards have become increasingly politicized since the 2020 elections. In Wauwatosa, fights, security issues and political divides plagued the start of the school year. Right-wing activist groups also targeted a Wauwatosa School Board meeting in October.
In the Hartland-Lakeside School District, a Hartland-Lakeside school board member used the phrase 'colored students.' Additionally, Menomonee Falls Republicans are pushing for change to school board elections, creating concerns over polarized, partisan races.
"Across the country and, most distressingly, locally the field of education has been changing in a manner I cannot accept," Myrah said. "I am at the point in my life where I am unwilling to conform to changing areas of mission, roles, and priorities that are contrary to my knowledge and beliefs about education and school leadership."
Myrah declined to be interviewed for this story, but in her letter said after three-plus decades, it is time for her to "proudly exit the K-12 education field and (her) position of superintendent at Arrowhead."
"I look forward to a new, yet-to-be-determined career path, and promise to be just as hardworking and dedicated as ever to Arrowhead through my last days of work," she said.
Myrah started as Arrowhead’s superintendent in July 2015 after serving as superintendent of the Whitefish Bay School District. Prior to that, she was Whitefish Bay's interim superintendent and before that was the district’s director of curriculum and instruction.
Before arriving at Whitefish Bay, Myrah served as a principal in the Elmbrook School District and West Bend School District.
Drew Dawson can be reached at
[email protected] or 262-289-1324.
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[1] Url:
https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/lake-country/2022/12/15/arrowhead-superintendent-to-retire-in-2023-cites-politics-in-schools/69730555007/
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