Urgency needed on three key fronts

My name is Shawn Eyestone and I am running for a seat on the ICCSD school board.

My wife, Mari, and I have lived in North Liberty for the last 17 years. We have two sons who attend school in the district. Ryne is a freshman at Liberty. Dylan is in seventh grade at North Central. I have been active in their schools' parent-teacher groups for 10 years. I have been the treasurer for the Garner PTO, the treasurer for the Liberty PSTO, and the District Wide Parents' Organization representative for North Central. I have been part of the DPO for seven years - five of those as an elected officer. I have also served on multiple district committees.

I am running, in part, as a way to help protect our local public schools from the destructive changes that are happening at the national and state level. The push toward school vouchers, privatized education and decreased funding have and will continue to have a detrimental effect on the quality of our public schools. The board needs to work closely with boards across the state to remind state legislators of the benefits of a strong public school system.

The district has three strategic goals concerning improvements in math, reading and the student learning experience for all sub groups. I would like to join the board to create a sense of urgency toward improvements in these areas. This includes the academic achievement disparities for students of color and the poor reports from our LGBTQ students on their student learning experiences. Special Education in our district has vast room for improvement.

The board needs to show the new director of special education that they fully support her efforts to affect positive change in this area.

' Shawn Eyestone of North Liberty is seeking a two-year term on the Iowa City school board

Opinion content represents the viewpoint of the author or The Gazette editorial board. You can join the conversation by submitting a letter to the editor or guest column or by suggesting a topic for an editorial to editorial@thegazette.com