My e-mail has been hacked into!

If you have received any e-mails from my primary e-mail - mommaruch@hotmail.com - please disregard them as my e-mail account has been hacked into. Several contacts have informed me that this e-mail has sent out requests for a money transfer to be sent to Western Union. Please do not respond to this hacker's request. Please check back for an updated e-mail address where you can contact me in the future. Sorry for the confusion this has caused. Thank you for understanding and please feel free to contact me with any other concerns.
We are working on getting this hotmail account cancelled, but are having issues contacting them.
Please if you can be of any assistance, please contact my daughter Kelly @ kellyruch@hotmail.com
Thank you for your kind help and enjoy the rest of your summer.

Sincerely,
The Real Betsy Ruch

WHY I AM RUNNING FOR THE SCHOOL BOARD

I feel that, because of my unique qualifications, I am in a position to help Phoenixville Area School District to move forward. The qualities that I bring to the table are: common sense, integrity, organizational skills, knowledge of the community, a vested interest by having three grandchildren in the district, an ability to see the big picture, asks questions and demands answers, fiscally minded, and have the time and willingness to devote to the district.

As our children are our future, I feel that it is so important that each child can have an opportunity to learn and be able to apply that knowledge to life situations. We should be concerned that our children are developing analytical thinking, creativity, and the ability to communicate clearly.

As a coach, I know the importance of insisting that fundamentals be taught and then built upon as the skills of the player improve. This is also true in education. We must be sure that our students are fundamentally sound and then help them to be the best that they can be and be prepared to take their places in the community and the would at large.

ISSUES

QUALITY

I see a need to improve the learning environment in the High School. Since the youth are our future, I want to have each child realize his potential. We have students that are just a bright as those in TE or Great Valley. We need to be able to showcase their abilities and have them realize, themselves, what they can do. This can be done by insuring that each student is well entrenched in the fundamentals. We should then be able to build on these fundamental skills to develop analytical thinking, creativity, the ability to express one’s self and communicate ideas clearly. I feel that we can develop a quality environment. We want to help our kids be the best that they can be.

ACCOUNTABILITY

We must have administrators who have a vision of what can be done, do it, and then be willing to be accountable for the success or failure of their tenure – and I don’t mean just results of a test. They should be willing to take academic risks and be able to measure their accomplishments. We cannot take an adversarial stance with teachers and support staff – we must all work together toward a common goal of providing a quality education in a supporting environment. There should be no “them “ against “us” mind set.

TAXES

We need to make sure that the education of our children and building of our citizen base should not be a financial burden on the community. Although it is the responsibility of the community to provide education for our children, the community should not be overwhelmed by burdensome taxes. All programs need to be examined and cuts must be made where practical and necessary. Otherwise, with the economic situation now, we will be taxing homeowners out of their homes. We must try to find alternative forms of revenue, especially for unfunded mandates.

Betsy Ruch's Resume

EDUCATION:

Masters Degree in Education – West Chester University

Bachelor of Science – Beaver College (now Arcadia University) – graduated with honors

EMPLOYMENT:

Co-founder and Co-owner – Schuylkill Valley Sporting Goods until 1982

· Participated in day-to-day operation of the business

· Served on Board of Directors

· Supervised printing

· Responsible for defective returns

Attendance Clerk – Phoenixville Area High School

· Created and expanded position of Attendance Clerk

· Served on committee to develop and implement Attendance Policy

· Served on Search Committee for Principal

· Served on Search Committee for Assistant Principal

· Served on Student Assistance Program (SAP) Team, identifying and helping students who have barriers to learning

· Mentored select students

Department Chairman – Bala Cynwyd Junior High School, Lower Merion School District

· Chaired Department of Physical Education

· Instituted interscholastic competition for girls’ sports within the school district

· Coached field hockey, volleyball, basketball, softball, and Lacrosse

Instructor – Beaver College (now Arcadia University)

· Taught general physical education

· Coached field hockey and Lacrosse

· Acted as advisor to Pentathlon

· Served as advisor to Judicial Board

Vice President of Production – Times and Seasons – a small import/manufacturing company

· Initiated and directed production schedule

· Arranged shipping schedule

· Facilitated Accounts Receivable

· Sent invoices

· Handled collections

· Participated in shipping when necessary

Customer Relations – Tenpro Corporation – a national manufacturer of aluminium baseball and softball bats

· Handled customer problems and complaints

· Sent call slips

· Charted returns and developed reports

COMMUNITY/RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES

President – 3 years - local chapter of Relief Society – largest organization for women in the world

· Oversaw temporal and spiritual welfare of 200 local women

· Directed monthly enrichment activities

· Provided system for compassionate service for those in need

· Advised weekly religious activities

· Administered welfare services

Softball Coach – Phoenixville Youth Babe Ruth League – 15 years

· Coached regular season softball teams in both Major and Minor Leagues

· Assisted with Girls’ Clinic

· Coached All-Star Teams

· Served as Softball Representative to Board

· Reviewed and helped rewrite Softball By-Laws

Troop Committee – Boy Scouts of America – Troop 524

· Kept records of achievements of scouts

· Interviewed scouts during Board of Review

· Served as Merit Badge Counselor

· Accompanied Scouts who were candidates for Eagle to Boy Scout Board of Review