Candidate Profiles

As a parent and educator I believe that our District can improve. While we are moving in the right direction, we need more people with insight and motivation to drive positive change. Over the past 45 years, I have worked with students K-college from diverse backgrounds including: children with special needs, children from under-served communities, children from war-torn countries, children with health needs, homeless children, young adults who are the first generation to attend college, young adults learning trades, young adults earning basic academic proficiency, and young adults seeking advanced degrees in medicine and law. I have participated in strategies that work to enhance the lives of children with diverse needs and can see that our District is struggling with many issues. I would like to drive policies that lead to better results supporting our students, support staff, and teachers.

Our children entered school before the pandemic and it was while navigating online school that I started noticing that the response to specific issues could be improved. Since that time I have watched recorded meetings as topics of interest arose and attended meetings when I had something to add to the conversation, when I felt my presence was a benefit to the issues at hand, and when I felt there was something to learn.

#1. I have spoken to many teachers to understand their needs in and their priority is creating and supporting an environment that is safe and conducive to learning for all students. I have observed teachers being aggressively pushed and have heard stories about a pregnant teacher being punched in the stomach, a teacher having her wrist broken, a teacher being choked, and others being bitten, spit on, and having rocks thrown at them. I have heard about aggressive bullying by students towards other students and have observed students fighting. We need better behavioral interventions to assist children with needs that cannot be met with our current interventions. I have worked with students who exhibit aggressive behaviors and would like to work with administration in creating a task force of parents, educators, and mental health professionals to create solutions that help these students while protecting other students, teachers, and staff.

#2. I have heard from many teachers that communication and trust need to be improved with the administration. There is an opinion among some teachers that complaints about and criticisms of District policy, or the actions of specific administrators, could be addressed better. I would like to facilitate creating an environment where constructive criticism is seen as an active part of critical thinking and welcomed as necessary for innovation.

#3. Our technology program must be improved. With each passing year there is more research available that demonstrates the impact of screen-based devices on the developing brain and our District must incorporate this research into their agenda. I have sought information from those who administer this program and I have not seen clear goals or assessment tools. We spend millions of dollars a year to acquire and maintain personal devices for children that have small screens and cannot be viewed from the recommended 24" distance. We do not clearly monitor the amount of time spent on devices. We force children in the lower grades to use devices while ignoring the impact on their developing brains. We do not assess digital eyestrain caused by these devices. We do not address screen addiction or the cumulative effect of screen viewing in school when combined with viewing outside of school. We use gamified programs that give children dopamine inducing visual rewards for correct answers. We do not address the fact that AI is changing our tech environment quickly and the few skills our children might learn today could be obsolete and worthless very quickly. Why are we investing money in a program with no defined goals, inappropriate devices, and no assessment tools? The solution is to administer a tech program in the upper grades that utilizes devices that are appropriate for the task and supportive for minimizing digital eyestrain while teaching skills that are defined and truly needed. At the same time, we must create tools to assess screen addiction and assist students with using devices appropriately while supporting other academic skills that enhance critical thinking. I would like to work with administration to create a task force of parents, educators, technology experts, and health care providers to facilitate creating a functional technology program that helps, and does not harm, our students.

Our District's greatest strength is our gifted teachers and support staff who care about our children and work underpaid jobs to help us raise our children to become functional adults who respect one another and can solve problems with informed choices.

Our Board must be more ACTIVE. In my opinion, our current Board needs to ask more questions and challenge our administration to achieve more. I applaud the current Board members who actively ask questions, but at times it feels like their efforts are not appreciated. Our Board oversees an entity that spends nearly $300 million dollars annually and is responsible for over 14,000 children. That is a huge undertaking that demands critical thinking achieved by seeking information. We can improve by ensuring that our elected Board members are chosen because they are experienced, highly curious, seek information, and make informed choices based on critical thinking. Our Board members have a mandate to think independently and educate themselves about each issue...they must.

That is a difficult question at this point...I need more information. i need to know how much we need to cut and why and a better overview of program expenditures. My priority is compensation for teachers and support staff and maintaining small class sizes while ensuring that the classroom environment is safe and conducive to learning. I was educated in an old building with a very small administration and have taught in similar. i learned early on that it is the teachers and support staff that truly impact our children. Administrations come and go, but we will always remember that person who saw us and heard us and challenged us to be better.

Yes and no. I support that our voters have prioritized facilities. I do not fully understand each project or the cost projections and would need more information before giving my support.

Teachers and support staff. That would include additional staff to provide services to students with exceptional needs.

Absolutely! Our District is behind in understanding computer-based curricula and their negative impact on reading comprehension, information assimilation, and expression. My dad has been a professor in computer science since 1976 and he still prints information that requires more than skim reading. Ask him why and the answer is always the same..."you can't read off of a screen if its something important." Ask google how screens impact reading comprehension and AI answers: "negatively". Computer based curricula are eye candy that engage with visual stimulation. Engagement with the screen does not mean engagement with the material. Screens are stimulating. A majority of students acknowledge experiencing symptoms of digital eyestrain that are uncomfortable and distracting. Our Board must educate themselves by reviewing research and mandate policies that support learning. Computers are tools that should be used productively to embrace processing information. The internet should be used as a source for information. Screens are visually stimulating and should not be used when less stimulating mediums are available that better support reading comprehension, information assimilation, and expression.

Our Board must actively support more intense math/science/writing curricula at an earlier age and build from there. We are falling behind or barely treading water in preparing our students with skills that will support critical thinking and better jobs.

I believe that our Board can improve by advocating for policies that limit screen exposure in the classroom for younger grades, provide less stimulating educational tools that promote better information assimilation, and engage in more challenging curricula.

I like to talk to people. While a picture might be worth a thousand words, a conversation is worth a thousand texts or emails. I am available by phone and have flexibility if in-person meetings are necessary. My choice to run was dictated by conversations I have had with teachers, parents, and support staff.

Absolutely! We have children with extreme behavioral issues from abuse, trauma, and medical conditions. We must do a better job at identifying these students with needs that cannot be met by current interventions and creating a way to address these needs. This will be person intensive and costly and we should look for ways to get legislative and private support for financing these specific issues. We are obviously underfunded in this area. We cannot continue to have students disrupt class and cause harm to other students, teachers, and support staff while having their needs unmet. If we do not assist these students now, their needs will only continue as will their impacts on those around them. This effort must be supported by our community.