Wow! We won! And I say "WE" because it is you who decided this election ... and I am honored to have been your choice to serve on the ISD191 School Board. Without the public support, I would not have this opportunity to serve our students and our community, and it is public support we need to strengthen and grow our schools.
Please know I will work for you and our students. Thank you for your support and I look forward to continuing my service to our students in this capacity. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
I may not be official until January, but the job starts now.
Thanks again!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Sunday, November 2, 2008
My Personal Story
There are many changes coming up in the months ahead for our district. And I have faith in the decisions of our current board that they are positive changes - but it's going to also take a strong leader to see these through to fruition - and I am that person.
When I was in high school, I was in a head-on car crash that left me in a coma for a week, hospitalized for two more weeks, and in a wheelchair for three months. I was severely scarred and broken, in body but not in spirit.
The doctors told my parents to expect some loss of cognitive ability, and with therapy I may walk normally in a year. I told them I would be skiing at the next snowfall - and I was. And I like to say, with a grin, that I have experienced no loss of mental ability. However, a week after I was free of my wheelchair,and three weeks before my high school graduation, my father died of a massive heart attack.
I know what it's like to face tough times and rise above. I know to not make excuses and instead make something happen.
I learned at a young age not to give up. I promise to fight for what's important to you, our students, and our community ... and nothing is as tough a battle as I've already come - and I will prevail.
I ask for your vote on Nov. 4th. Thank you for your support.
When I was in high school, I was in a head-on car crash that left me in a coma for a week, hospitalized for two more weeks, and in a wheelchair for three months. I was severely scarred and broken, in body but not in spirit.
The doctors told my parents to expect some loss of cognitive ability, and with therapy I may walk normally in a year. I told them I would be skiing at the next snowfall - and I was. And I like to say, with a grin, that I have experienced no loss of mental ability. However, a week after I was free of my wheelchair,and three weeks before my high school graduation, my father died of a massive heart attack.
I know what it's like to face tough times and rise above. I know to not make excuses and instead make something happen.
I learned at a young age not to give up. I promise to fight for what's important to you, our students, and our community ... and nothing is as tough a battle as I've already come - and I will prevail.
I ask for your vote on Nov. 4th. Thank you for your support.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Residents Without Children In Our Schools
A recent candidate forum brought forth many items for discussion. One item noted that approximately 70 per cent of the residents living within the boundaries of ISD 191 do not have children in ISD 191 schools. What are some ways the district can reach this group and engage them?
My thoughts: If you fall into this group, I think you are greatly overlooked as to the wealth of information you can provide. What do you think of our schools? What changes have you witnessed in the last 10 (or more) years? If you have children, did they attend 191 schools?
What kind of community do you think Burnsville-Eagan-Savage is? What do you want it to be? Do you think a community that provides a quality education is important? Do you feel that great schools help ensure great property values?
The fact is, all of us who live and work in this community - and I mean community as a whole including schools, businesses, and residents - have a financial stake in making this the best community we can. When we shop local businesses, we are putting our dollars back into our neighborhood. When we eat at local restaurants, we are supporting local family owners. And when we support our public schools, we are creating a more attractive educational environment that will attract higher-quality teachers, provide a higher-quality education, and make ISD 191 a place to which parents want to send their children. And guess what? Then when any of us go to sell our home, there are people that want to buy it.
So, my feeling is that each and every person has an affect on our schools. If you fall into any group, or in the group that does not have children in our schools as we mentioned, I welcome your comments. We ARE all in this together, and I look forward to working with you as a member of the ISD 191 School Board.
My thoughts: If you fall into this group, I think you are greatly overlooked as to the wealth of information you can provide. What do you think of our schools? What changes have you witnessed in the last 10 (or more) years? If you have children, did they attend 191 schools?
What kind of community do you think Burnsville-Eagan-Savage is? What do you want it to be? Do you think a community that provides a quality education is important? Do you feel that great schools help ensure great property values?
The fact is, all of us who live and work in this community - and I mean community as a whole including schools, businesses, and residents - have a financial stake in making this the best community we can. When we shop local businesses, we are putting our dollars back into our neighborhood. When we eat at local restaurants, we are supporting local family owners. And when we support our public schools, we are creating a more attractive educational environment that will attract higher-quality teachers, provide a higher-quality education, and make ISD 191 a place to which parents want to send their children. And guess what? Then when any of us go to sell our home, there are people that want to buy it.
So, my feeling is that each and every person has an affect on our schools. If you fall into any group, or in the group that does not have children in our schools as we mentioned, I welcome your comments. We ARE all in this together, and I look forward to working with you as a member of the ISD 191 School Board.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Questions: Financial and Perception Challenges
What is your plan for meeting the financial challenges of the district?
What I’m going to tell you perhaps sounds like Pollyanna, but I must admit that I am an optimist. We need to focus on the children in the district and what we can and must do for them – and that’s to provide a top-of-the-line education. At the same time, I realize that the board sets fiscal policy for the district. In my younger days, I served as a project manager for a major home builder so I’m familiar with high-dollar budgets, and I’m practical enough to realize that our district must live within its means. However, at every point along the line I intend to consider the impact on our schools’ ability to provide a quality education for the children of District 191. If we do that as a board, we will have the support of the public.
How would you describe relations between the district and the community?
I don’t believe that the perception of District 191 – particularly the perception of the high school – is nearly as strong as it should be. I can cite specific cases this fall where parents have chosen to send their children to neighboring districts rather than enroll their children in Burnsville High School. That hurts. Our high school is better than that and we need to tell the stories of success. I can share any number of stories of success at our schools and stories of the commitment of our teachers. Those are the stories that need to be shared within the community. Whether you call it marketing or public relations, we really need to work at letting people know the “good” of our schools. Part of the way to do that, of course, is to work with media, but another part is opening the doors of our academic leaders to the community. We need to be transparent as a board and as a school system. If we have, as I believe, a qualified and committed group of educators, we will be well served by being willing to share our efforts with the community.
I also worry that we have failed to place an emphasis on – or acknowledge often enough – one of the real strengths of the district – the diversity that we have in our schools. We have a higher proportion minority and immigrant students and a higher proportion of students living in poverty in District 191 than our neighboring districts, giving us a student population that more accurately represents the world our students will enter when they graduate. Some may call that a disadvantage for our schools, and I do admit it’s a challenge, but it also presents an opportunity. The challenge is maintaining high test scores, but the opportunity lies in showing our success at meeting the needs across the boundaries of race, ethnicity and poverty.
What I’m going to tell you perhaps sounds like Pollyanna, but I must admit that I am an optimist. We need to focus on the children in the district and what we can and must do for them – and that’s to provide a top-of-the-line education. At the same time, I realize that the board sets fiscal policy for the district. In my younger days
How would you describe relations between the district and the community?
I don’t believe that the perception of District 191 – particularly the perception of the high school – is nearly as strong as it should be. I can cite specific cases this fall where parents have chosen to send their children to neighboring districts rather than enroll their children in Burnsville High School. That hurts. Our high school is better than that and we need to tell the stories of success. I can share any number of stories of success at our schools and stories of the commitment of our teachers. Those are the stories that need to be shared within the community. Whether you call it marketing or public relations, we really need to work at letting people know the “good” of our schools. Part of the way to do that, of course, is to work with media, but another part is opening the doors of our academic leaders to the community. We need to be transparent as a board and as a school system. If we have, as I believe, a qualified and committed group of educators, we will be well served by being willing to share our efforts with the community.
I also worry that we have failed to place an emphasis on – or acknowledge often enough – one of the real strengths of the district – the diversity that we have in our schools. We have a higher proportion minority and immigrant students and a higher proportion of students living in poverty in District 191 than our neighboring districts, giving us a student population that more accurately represents the world our students will enter when they graduate. Some may call that a disadvantage for our schools, and I do admit it’s a challenge, but it also presents an opportunity. The challenge is maintaining high test scores, but the opportunity lies in showing our success at meeting the needs across the boundaries of race, ethnicity and poverty.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
An Advocate for Students and Teachers
I am an unabashed advocate for students and I support the district's quality teachers and administrators. Excellent teachers and astute administrators make the schools work - and they provide most of the direct contact with students. We have many of these teachers and administrators in our district and too often their work goes unnoticed.
A recent story in the media about homeless students brought back memories of students I met while working in the Counseling and Guidance Office at Burnsville High School.
In one case, a father told his son, when he turned 18, to move out. The student was new to the country and had no other family. He had few options. BHS staff and teachers rallied to find accommodations and provide moral support to keep interruptions to his education as minimal as possible. Those staff and teachers, by always having an open door and knowledge of available resources, went above and beyond what would normally be expected. This student completed high school while learning how to live on his own. Today this student is an extremely successful college student.
There are other cases, some similar to the one above, which show the dedication of the staff and teachers and their commitment to the students - outside the classroom as well as within - that we need to support and celebrate at Burnsville High School.
These efforts and work in other similar cases in a district with a diverse student body and a higher poverty rate than neighboring districts give a whole new meaning to "No Student Left Behind." Too little is known of these efforts. I hope to support that dedication and commitment as a member of the school board.
A recent story in the media about homeless students brought back memories of students I met while working in the Counseling and Guidance Office at Burnsville High School.
In one case, a father told his son, when he turned 18, to move out. The student was new to the country and had no other family. He had few options. BHS staff and teachers rallied to find accommodations and provide moral support to keep interruptions to his education as minimal as possible. Those staff and teachers, by always having an open door and knowledge of available resources, went above and beyond what would normally be expected. This student completed high school while learning how to live on his own. Today this student is an extremely successful college student.
There are other cases, some similar to the one above, which show the dedication of the staff and teachers and their commitment to the students - outside the classroom as well as within - that we need to support and celebrate at Burnsville High School.
These efforts and work in other similar cases in a district with a diverse student body and a higher poverty rate than neighboring districts give a whole new meaning to "No Student Left Behind." Too little is known of these efforts. I hope to support that dedication and commitment as a member of the school board.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Running for I.S.D. 191 School Board
I am a strong advocate for both students and public education. My professional and personal experience in public education will serve the district well. I served seven years at Burnsville High School and more than eight years as a volunteer at the elementary school level in Colorado, working in the reading, inclusion education, and gifted and talented programs. I am also the parent of a Burnsville High School graduate.
It is important that a school system such as ours strives to provide equal and appropriate programming for all students while still meeting individual student needs at all academic levels. It is imperative that we work to insure that all students are given the opportunity to successfully meet the challenges that lie ahead in our rapidly changing world.
I believe, too, that my marketing and public relations experience will provide a positive boost to the school district. I currently serve as the marketing director of the 934th Services Squadron for the U.S. Air Force Reserve in the Twin Cities. I am also a graduate of Metropolitan State University, St. Paul.
I encourage you to contact me with your concerns and I look forward to serving you in the years ahead.
It is important that a school system such as ours strives to provide equal and appropriate programming for all students while still meeting individual student needs at all academic levels. It is imperative that we work to insure that all students are given the opportunity to successfully meet the challenges that lie ahead in our rapidly changing world.
I believe, too, that my marketing and public relations experience will provide a positive boost to the school district. I currently serve as the marketing director of the 934th Services Squadron for the U.S. Air Force Reserve in the Twin Cities. I am also a graduate of Metropolitan State University, St. Paul.
I encourage you to contact me with your concerns and I look forward to serving you in the years ahead.
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