Gadbois touts experience as former teacher

Michelle Gadbois has taken her teaching, and her learning, way outside the classroom. Through scholarships, Gadbois has traveled the globe, embracing multiculturalism as a classroom staple and a way of life.

Now she wants to bring her experience to a seat on the Columbia School Board. Gadbois, who taught social studies at Hickman High School for nine years until 2005, is one of five contenders in the April 4 election for two vacant seats on the board.

Gadbois’ interest in different cultures started at home. She said her parents were active in Columbia’s anti-racism movements. Her father wrote letters to Washington, D.C., urging lawmakers to institute Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a national holiday. Gadbois said she and her brothers took note of their parents’ behavior.

“They raised us to be very socially conscious,” she said.

Gadbois moved to Columbia when she was 11 and attended Parkade Elementary School. She graduated from Hickman High School and went on to earn her teaching degree at MU.

Once at Hickman, she worked to implement African-American history into the social studies curriculum.

“As a teacher, what was most important to me was how to incorporate a multicultural aspect to teaching history,” she said. “What is amazing is bringing information to students they had never been exposed to.”

In the classroom, Gadbois’ teaching style was embraced by parents and teachers. Sharon Giles said her two daughters enjoyed their time in Gadbois’ African-American history class.

Giles said that Gadbois cared for all of her students, and it came through in her teaching.

“You can feel her enthusiasm for the subject,” Giles said.

The Hickman staff also noted Gadbois’ teaching skills.

“I was very pleased with her professionalism in the classroom,” said Joe Paulsen, who served as Hickman’s assistant principal while Gadbois taught there.

English teacher Jessica Lucas said that she and Gadbois were teaching partners for a joint course on American literature and history and that Gadbois stayed in close contact with students and teachers.

“Her teaching style is exciting and dynamic,” she said.

Gadbois eventually took her affinity for teaching and different cultures out of Columbia. In 2001, she won a Fulbright scholarship to study in South Africa. To Gadbois, it was a dream come true.

In South Africa, she spent six weeks visiting the country’s black and white schools and observing their education styles while researching the history of the country. She has lectured on South Africa at Hickman since her return.

In 2004, Gadbois traveled to China on another scholarship, where she spent a week at the University of Beijing studying Chinese culture.

After returning to teaching for a year, Gadbois left to help her brother with his business, a transition she said she made reluctantly.

Tony Gadbois, a dentist at Cherry Hill Dental & Associates, said that his sister would bring a fresh voice to the board and that her history in the educational system gives her an edge.

“She’s certainly going to be a strong advocate for teachers and students,” he said.

Michelle Gadbois said that, if elected, she would work to close academic achievement gaps among groups of students.

“I think one of the key issues in closing the achievement gap is getting educators to confront their own racism and sexism,” she said. “I think I would encourage programs that currently exist that allow teachers to address race and gender.”

Gadbois said that through her time at Hickman, she knows how schools function and can have an informed voice on the board.

“I think I bring in an innovate perspective on how to set policy,” she said.

Answers to three questions

Q: District records show there is a significant achievement gap between white and black students. What would you do to fix this?

A: No Child Left Behind demands that by 2014 we will lose funding and accreditation and administrators will be fired if the achievement gap is not closed. Statistics show up to a 30 to 40 percent performance gap between white and black students. Our district is busy studying the numbers and crafting volunteer programs that only make “suggestions” to teachers. We must act now and hire consultants who have a proven record for closing the gap and compensate them based on results.

Q: What would you do to address the district’s dropout rate, which is above the state average?

A: Students who are either high or low achievers can easily slip through the cracks. We must challenge our high achievers to reach their personal best and recognize troubled students early. Higher achievement in later grades is produced by literacy programs in elementary schools by giving students the tools of learning. Also, involvement outside the classroom keeps students in school. We must track students and target uninvolved students with a diversity of extracurricular choices.

Q: How do you plan to ensure quality education in the face of declining state funding and declining district reserves?

A: The district can cut the fat. We need to spend every dollar like it’s from our own wallet. We must make tough choices like consolidating redundancies in our administrative positions. Funding challenges can not be allowed to affect student/teacher ratios. Also, parent and community involvement are powerful sources of funding, and these groups must be rallied to give time and resources. The board must find ways to involve businesses as true partners in education and earn profit for both. We owe responsible spending to our students and constituency. I believe that we must spend our funds on necessities that are directly related to student achievement in the classroom.