Amy Shandy

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Amy Shandy

Nonpartisan

Academy School District 20 school board, At-large

Tenure

2023 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

1

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 7, 2023

Education

Associate

Seward County Community College, 1992

Bachelor's

University of Central Oklahoma, 1995

Graduate

University of Northern Colorado, 2000

Personal

Birthplace

Sterling, Colo.

Religion

Christian: Nondenominational

Profession

Speech-language pathologist

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Personal website

Amy Shandy is an at-large member of the Academy School District 20 school board in Colorado. She assumed office on November 30, 2023. Her current term ends in 2027.

Shandy ran for election for an at-large seat of the Academy School District 20 school board in Colorado. She won in the general election on November 7, 2023.

Shandy completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Amy Shandy was born in Sterling, Colorado. She earned an associate degree from Seward County Community College in 1992, a bachelor's degree from the University of Central Oklahoma in 1995, and a graduate degree from the University of Northern Colorado in 2000. Her career experience includes working as a speech-language pathologist.

Elections

2023

See also: Academy School District 20, Colorado, elections (2023)

General election

General election for Academy School District 20 school board, At-large (2 seats)

Amy Shandy and Derrick Wilburn defeated incumbent Heather Cloninger and incumbent Will Temby in the general election for Academy School District 20 school board, At-large on November 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Amy Shandy (Nonpartisan)	27.6	20,988
✔		Derrick Wilburn (Nonpartisan)	26.5	20,208
		Heather Cloninger (Nonpartisan)	23.1	17,563
		Will Temby (Nonpartisan)	22.8	17,355

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 76,114
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Shandy received the following endorsements. To view a full list of Shandy's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here.

• State Sen. Paul Lundeen (R)
• State Rep. Rose Pugliese (R)
• State Rep. Don Wilson (R)
• Colo. State Board of Education Memb. Steve Durham (R)
• Colo. State Board of Education Memb. Stephen Varela (R)
• Frmr. Academy 20 School Board Memb. Catherine Bullock
• Frmr. state Sen. Bill Cadman (R)
• Frmr. state Rep. Terri Carver (R)
• Frmr. state Rep. Tim Geitner (R)
• Advocates for D20 Kids
• Colorado Conservative Patriot Alliance
• Housing and Building Association of Colorado Springs
• Moms for Liberty, El Paso County, Co.
• Smart Choice Colorado
• Jeff Crank (R) - Americans for Prosperity Regional Dir.
• Darcy Schoening - Frmr. El Paso Cnty. Moms for Liberty Chair

Pledges

Shandy signed the following pledges.

• Moms for Liberty

Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Amy Shandy completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Shandy's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a D20 parent, speech pathologist, community leader, and local business owner. In 2005 I co-founded the Shandy Clinic, an outpatient pediatric therapy facility offering speech, occupational and physical therapies. When I retired and exited the practice in 2020, the clinic had expanded its services to include ABA therapy and Autism evaluations and grown to one of the largest privately owned outpatient pediatric clinics in the United States with 12 locations, 290 employees, $23M in annual revenue, and over 18,000 completed patient appointments monthly. The Shandy Clinic was awarded ‘Best of the Springs’ and ‘Best Workplace’ by the Colorado Springs Gazette on multiple occasions. I am married to Ty, an Air Force Academy graduate and current PhD student at the University of Denver, and together we have two sons. Grant, a 2019 graduate of Air Academy High School and 2023 graduate of Colorado State University, where he completed a Bachelor of Science degree in BioChemistry. He is currently serving his country as an officer in the United States Marine Corps and is recently married. Mason attended Eagleview Middle School and is a 2021 Air Academy High School graduate and is currently studying Computer Science at Colorado School of Mines.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Academic Achievement. I am committed to cultivating a culture of excellence thought the entire organization (district) that focuses on continuous improvement, student outcomes, and fundamental academics where all students are equally important.
• Parental Rights. Parents are every child’s first and lifelong teacher. Parent engagement and accountability are directly correlated to students’ success. I support proactive school and curriculum transparency, active parent involvement, and a process to ensure the content being taught reflects community values.
• Special Education Advocate. I spent my entire professional career as a Speech-Language Pathologist assessing, evaluating and creating plans of care for patients and their families, as well as advocating for resources and services. I am committed to understanding the current SPED gaps, creative problem solving, and aligning resources to fulfill the services federally required for students on Individual Education Plans and 504s in D20.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am passionate about returning D20 back to a focused mindset where the main things are the main things: reading, writing, math, science and civics. Implementing board policy that reflects the community’s vision and values for things like age-appropriate library books will help alleviate the distractions and return to an academic focus mindset.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

When I started this journey of running for school board, I wanted to know what it meant to be a school board member, what an outstanding school board looked like, what made some boards great and others ineffective. I was referred to this book as a guide to answer all those questions. It did not disappoint.

Great on Their Behalf: Why School Boards Fail, How Yours Can Become Effective by Airick Journey Crabill

An inspirational book that the entire community should read. It inspires the adoption of a student outcomes mindset to best serve our students and equips them to be successful members of this great nation.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I have a strong drive for the truth, critical eye for assessing performance, and will identify innovative ways to address opportunities. My goal is to meet and exceed goals for ALL District 20 students.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The core responsibility of a school board member is to LISTEN to the people of the district community, work to understand their concerns and the underlying values, and find real solutions that keep moving the school system and the students to a higher level of achievement and growth. Staying focused on the values, not the issues, and on the whole community, not just a few community members.

What is the primary job of a school board member in your view?

School boards exist to create the conditions for improved student outcomes by representing the vision and values of the community. Effective school board members place the highest premium on whether or not outcomes for students are improving rather than focusing on what is being done by adults. Student outcomes don’t change until adult behaviors change. When boards stray from that premise, they let down the students they are entrusted to serve. It’s a school board members’ duty to properly govern the school system and make difficult decisions, when need be, to do what’s right for the students and communities they serve. School boards and their member must engage in a never-ending continuous improvement process.

Who are your constituents?

My constituents are those who live in District 20, however, I see my customers more broadly and includes D20 parents, students, and staff.

How would you support the diverse needs of your district’s students, faculty, staff, and community?

Make them feel seen and heard, exemplify their gifts and support their weaknesses.

How will you build relationships with members of the broader community? Which groups, organizations, stakeholders will you specifically target?

Having lived in Colorado Springs for 20 years, I have organically built a tremendous network of community partners through volunteering. Youth coaching, team treasurer, high school program designer, teacher at Dream Centers Mary’s Home, non-profit work and currently, investing in city growth and affordable housing. Through business and the building of twelve clinic locations along Colorado’s Front Range from Pueblo to Aurora, with the very first one starting right here in D20, we partnered with foundations, tradesmen, and various colleges for student placements and advanced learning.



I would engage businesses, tradesmen, higher educational institutions, trade institutions and the USAFA community to help further elevate D20 to excellence.

What strategies or plans would you advance to ensure the schools are properly funded?

I would start by reviewing the current budget, determining the top 3 waste producers (money, time, resources), and then reprioritize and reallocate resources. I would also go upstream and work on changing the way the state distributes school funds. The current model is deeply flawed and unfair with Academy District 20 receiving the lowest per pupil revenue of any school district in Colorado. D20 taxpayers pay taxes to the state and our money then gets redistributed to other school districts. We must fight at the capital for an equitable distribution of state funds. If Academy District 20 were to receive the state average of funding per pupil we would receive an additional $13 million per year.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Steve Durham, Colorado State Board of Education

Stephen Varela, Colorado State Board of Education
The Honorable Bill Cadman, Former President, Colorado Senate
The Honorable Paul Lundeen, Colorado Senate District 9, Senate Minority Leader
The Honorable Tim Geitner, Former Colorado House District 20, Assistant House Minority Leader
The Honorable Rose Pugliese, Colorado House District 14, Assistant Minority Leader
The Honorable Don Wilson, Colorado House District 20
Terri Carver, Colorado State Assembly Representative (2015-2023), House District 20 (included much of D20)
Catherine Bullock, former ASD20 School Board Member

Pastors Todd & Kelly Hudnall

What will you do to build a relationship with parents in the district?

Listen

Be slow to speak and quick to listen. Listening to parents to better understand the needs and wants for their children and school system, having respectful two way dialogue, and opportunities for engagement on a regular basis.

Train
Communicate with the community about what effective school board governance is and is not and how school boards can best serve their children. Teach the difference between board work and superintendent work.

Report

Routinely provide candid school performance reports and how the school system is progressing towards the goals. Transparency of challenges, barriers encountered, changes made to the goals along the way or strategies utilized for achievement need to be accessible and understandable to all in the community. Start-Stop-Keep. What do we need to start doing? What do we need to stop doing? What do we need to keep doing?

What are your preferred strategies for faculty, staff, and administration recruitment?

Cultivate a culture of excellence throughout the entire district where our focus consistently revolves around courageously serving D20 students and working together as a community towards a common goal. A culture where excellence is expected, fear of failure is absent, and everyone has a growth mindset.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Candidate

Academy School District 20 school board, At-large

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