Courtesy photo
- Occupation: office manager/accountant
- Hometown: Silverthorne
- Years in Summit County: 8
- Family: husband, Jake; daughter, Jaxon; dog, Chewy; cat, Inky
- Civic involvement: Summit Middle School parent teacher organization and school accountability committee, fourth year coach with Girls on the Run, third year Girl Scout leader, former Treasurer of Frisco Elementary parent teacher student association, and former Summit County Preschool board chair.
I have been involved with
education since my daughter was four years old; she is now a sixth grader at
Summit Middle School. Through my involvement and experience with her schools as
a parent and volunteer, I developed a strong sense of pride in our schools and
the vision of Summit School District.
With my connections
to the schools and strong accounting background, I will be a valuable addition
to our district’s leadership and make a great team member in a community that
wishes to lead the way in education. I will improve our community and the daily
lives of our community members by active participation in our school district,
making thoughtful decisions, using creative problem-solving and active
listening.
I am excited to have the opportunity to serve our
students, their families, our educators and our larger community by being a part
of this amazing team.
As a director of Summit School District, I pledge
to:
- Support the district’s mission
and strategic plan, Vision 2020 2.0 - Build relationships and increase
communication and participation - Support our teachers and
education professionals
Support the district’s mission and strategic
plan, Vision 2020 2.0
I believe all students deserve the tools they
need to be great students, active community members and successful adults. My
wish is for our students to be kind, value diversity, be confident and
resilient, think critically and be active participants in their communities. With the support of our community
members, we will continue to inspire and support our students as they learn the
importance of caring for themselves, each other and their world. We will
guide them to build healthy, positive relationships and make the right choices,
now and for years to come.
These
beliefs and values are mirrored in the mission of Summit School District and its
strategic plan, Vision 2020 2.0. The district strives to build lifelong
learners and responsible citizens by providing the tools that each student
needs to achieve success. I stand behind the district’s vision and the means by
which it will meet its goals of developing caring learners, empowering
student-centered leaning and championing student success. I encourage you to
familiarize yourself with Vision 2020 2.0, which is posted on the district
website.
Build relationships, and increase communication
and participation
We live in a small community, tight-knit and
intertwined. Our lives are enriched by our network of neighbors, friends,
family, co-workers, and individuals that we do business and/or volunteer with,
and many others. These networks look different from person to person, and many
times we may not understand the level of connectedness that we have with each
other.
As a director of the board, I would like to
build upon these connections that we have and strengthen our relationships with
each other. Our school system does not function in a vacuum. We are parents,
students, teachers, principals, staff, bus drivers, custodians, board members,
volunteers. I want to continue my involvement in the community by learning
about education issues that affect our community on local, state and national
levels; by working together with all members of our community to actively
participate in creative problem-solving and decision-making, and take action in
ways that always support the best interests of our students and their
education. I want to build our communication, advocate and educate and really
listen to our community members in order to be an effective partner, leader and
role model in the district.
Support our teachers and education professionals
Education in Colorado is up against many real challenges, a major one of which is funding. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, as of 2016, per-pupil spending was $2,703 below the national average. This amounts to $54,060 for one classroom of 20 students. While Summit County has traditionally supported education initiatives, our state school financing system is broken. How can we continue to provide quality classroom instruction and compensate teachers as the education professionals they are? We can look closely at our budget, find creative solutions, follow best practices, vote in support of education funding (notably 4A and CC on the ballot this year), and be advocates for our teachers, which will, in turn, positively affect the classroom and our students.
Find more election coverage at SummitDaily.com/election.