Platform & Priorities
My Commitment to Our Schools & Students
Strong Support System for Students
We need better tools for identifying at-risk students early, stronger partnerships between schools and families, and real alternatives to traditional discipline that address what’s actually going on with a student. When elected, I want to be part of building that system, one that catches kids before they fall through the cracks, not after.
I believe we need to look beyond simply responding to a crisis after it happens. I will be advocating for an off-site crisis response team that can be called upon when significant behavioral, emotional, or safety concerns arise.
This team could provide specialized support during and after a crisis, allowing educators to focus on their students while trained professionals address the immediate and ongoing needs of those involved.
We need to start taking care of the whole child, not just their academic needs. Our students deserve to feel safe. Our teachers deserve to feel supported.
And our community deserves a system that does more than react after tragedy occurs.
Increased Board Visibility
It is my goal to visit each of the East Triad schools on Friday afternoons, to talk with teachers, students and administrators. I want to hear their needs, their concerns, and the solutions they already have in mind. I have spent my career in schools, and I know that the most important things happening in a building rarely make it into a board report.
I know some of what I will hear, because I live it. Every day, our teachers and support staff are being asked to do more and more in our classrooms, often taking on responsibilities they were not trained for. I know they are spending sleepless nights worrying about the safety of their students and how to better serve them. It is time we treat our educators with the respect they deserve.
When elected, I will work to ensure that our teachers and support staff are recognized as the true professionals they are. We must trust and respect their judgment when it comes to making curriculum decisions and choosing the support resources that help our kids succeed.
Our schools thrive when our educators have a real voice. Showing up on a Friday afternoon is how I intend to make sure they are finally heard.
Improving Parent & Teacher Partnerships
Teaching becomes a nearly impossible task without regular student attendance and active parental involvement. Persistent absences severely disrupt a child’s education, putting them at serious risk of falling behind.
We cannot expect schools to address this issue in isolation; we must foster stronger parental accountability and meaningful partnerships to ensure students are in the classroom where they can thrive.
Safer Learning Environments
As a teacher, I have watched discipline and behavioral concerns escalate in the classroom long before they become a crisis at home or in the community. Our community felt the devastating reality of that this year when a conflict between two students ended in tragedy.
I will not share details that are not mine to share, but I can say this: educators saw warning signs, raised concerns, and advocated for additional support, and it still was not enough.
The loss of students in our district has stayed with me. So has the reality that our students have experienced multiple lockdowns and are carrying worries about circumstances that are often completely outside of their control.
When a crisis occurs, learning comes to a halt. Teachers are then expected to navigate the immediate safety concerns, support students emotionally, restore a sense of security, and somehow continue meeting academic expectations, all while working against the clock.
This is not sustainable, and our students deserve better.
For the Kids
What it means to me
When the board talks about a budget, or about closing a school, the conversation almost always turns to what it means for the adults. Staffing, taxes, the neighborhood, parents and their schedules. Those things are real, and somebody has to weigh them.
But there is one question that gets asked last, if it gets asked at all. What does this mean for the children?
That is the question I will bring into the room. Not instead of the others, but before them. Is this still the safest place for a child to learn? Does this decision make it safer, or does it only make it easier for us?
Every decision I make will be measured against that, and that is why those three words are on my yard sign.