Qualifications: What training, experience and characteristics qualify you for this position?

I have been advocating for dyslexia, literacy and special education at the local and state level for the past 4 years while also being involved as a parent volunteer in the school and community activities of my children for the past 18 years.

Opportunities: What opportunities for improvement do you identify in the District and how do you feel the Board should work towards those goals?

I will always advocate for improving student outcomes and closing student achievement gaps. Putting in place strong curriculums across all subjects and giving teachers ample training in how to best implement the curriculum for maximum benefit would be a good start.

Funding: What actions can the Board take to secure the financial future of the District? Specifically, are there any expenditures you feel should be examined as a cost-saving measure?

With the state of the district's finances, it would be wise to examine spending in all areas and identify areas where efficiencies can be gained but also conduct a detailed ground-up look at staffing and expenditures. We are coming off of major budget cuts where the reference points for the cuts are only prior years' budgets, not a clean build-up analysis of necessary staffing and spending.

Supporting Teachers: What do you see as the most pressing issues facing teachers in the District? What actions can the Board take to better support and retain teachers?

Teachers are subject to the same everyday pressures as all of us - work commitments, family involvement, and financial pressures in a time of escalating living costs and inflation. To the extent that the Board can provide the best teacher salaries and avenues for them to fulfill their personal needs it should do so. The district needs to evaluate if the Teacher Incentive Allotment program should be implemented to enhance teacher salaries.

Future Voters: Assess how the District prepares students to participate in their country’s democracy and describe what the Board can do to support civic engagement efforts.

The district provides strong opportunities for students to engage in citizenship activities across all grade levels. With the increasing focus on state-tested reading and math scores, the Board must ensure that social studies, history, government, and civics education remain a priority.