Candidate: Cathy Janiak

I have served Charlotte County Public Schools for 34 years. I was a classroom teacher for 17 years at both the Middle school and Elementary school level. I have been a school counselor for the past 17 years, serving at two elementary schools and one middle school.  I have been an integral part of school leadership teams at three different schools.  I have served as the school leader in implementing the process for identifying and addressing instructional and behavioral needs of students with learning issues. In addition, I was the coordinator of the program to identify, serve, and assess students who are learning English.  I have also served as a part of the school assessment team at both elementary and middle school levels.

My ultimate goal for Charlotte County Public Schools is to meet the district’s vision, Student Success, for all students. In order to do this, we must retain our quality staff. Our teachers and staff earn less in Charlotte County than in other surrounding counties so we often lose highly effective teachers to Sarasota, Lee and Desoto.  We must increase salaries and benefits. I would like CCPS to increase the school day by at least 30 minutes.  This would give more teaching time as well as higher salaries for much of the staff. 

Students must feel safe in school in order to learn and parents and guardians must feel their children are as safe as possible.  I certainly support the “hardening” of the schools and adding more School Resource Officers, school psychologists and social workers to the high schools.  I look at this as the first steps of an overall district school safety plan.  In the near future, the Board must be proactive and take the next steps in providing more mental health resources at the middle and elementary levels. 

CCPS needs to support career preparation for all students.  There are some options available for students at the high school level and several of the middle schools have programs that offer students certifications when completed.  Once again, the Board must be proactive. There should be on-going career education programs beginning in elementary school.  We also need to take better advantage of Charlotte Technical College by exploring new vocational programs. 

I would like to re-Vision Charlotte County Public School’s vision.    I would like to increase the transparency of the school district by getting input from all stakeholders – parents, students, CCPS staff and community members - in order to discover the top priorities of community members and rewrite the CCPS Vision, Mission and Goals, if necessary.

Leadership in a school district requires a unique perspective and skill set. Charlotte County has been my home since 1979 and CCPS has been a part of my life for most of that time.  I am an experienced Charlotte County educator with a working knowledge of our school district unlike any other candidate. I have been in leadership roles throughout my career. I know how to complete any endeavor I start. I have insights no other candidate has and I have a vision for Charlotte County Public Schools.