Erica Shields

Erica Shields

Contact

Personal website

Erica Shields was a candidate for District 2 representative on the Jeffco Public Schools school board in Colorado. Shields was defeated in the at-large general election on November 7, 2017.

Elections

2017

See also: Jeffco Public Schools elections (2017)

Three of the five seats on the Jeffco Public Schools Board of Education in Colorado were up for nonpartisan general election on November 7, 2017. In his bid for re-election to District 1, incumbent Brad Rupert defeated Matt Van Gieson. The District 2 race included incumbent Susan Harmon and Erica Shields. Harmon won re-election. District 5 incumbent Ron Mitchell ran unopposed and won another term on the board. The three incumbents ran together as the Keep Jeffco Moving Forward candidate slate. They all won election to the board in a 2015 recall election.

Results

Jeffco Public Schools, District 2 General Election, 4-year term, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Susan Harmon Incumbent	59.62%	73,914
Erica Shields	40.38%	50,053
Total Votes		123,967
Source: Jefferson Coun[https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/CO/71802/Web02-state/#/c/C_2 Colorado Secretary of State, "Official Results," accessed August 28, 2023

Funding

See also: Campaign finance in the Jeffco Public Schools election

Shields reported $4,938.50 in contributions and $4,603.79 in expenditures to the Colorado Secretary of State, which left her campaign with $334.71 on hand in the election.

Endorsements

Shields was endorsed by Jeffco Students First Action, and she received support from the Jeffco Republicans Men's Club.

Campaign themes

2017

Candidate website

Shields highlighted the following issues on her campaign website:

“	STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT While great things happen everyday in our Jeffco schools, we need to make sure EVERY student in EVERY school has the opportunity to achieve and succeed. Current results show that only about 50% of students in 3rd through 8th grade meet or exceed state standards in English Language Arts and only 40% of 3rd graders read at grade level. Recent results also show less than 50% of our students are meeting or exceeding state standards in math and science and only 49% of our juniors are meeting college readiness benchmarks for both math and reading. Although test scores don’t paint the entire picture of a student’s learning or capabilities, we need to do a better job at ensuring our students are achieving at a higher level. We need to better understand how our billion-dollar budget is being spent to support student success. RECRUIT AND RETAIN THE BEST TEACHERS AND STAFF Outside of family, our teachers are the most important people in our children’s lives during their formative years. In order to ensure that our children have the BEST teachers, we need to make sure that Jeffco is providing competitive salaries and opportunities to actually teach without undue burdens so that great people want to come to work in our schools. We now live in a world where public education competes with many different professions to attract the very best people. Our teachers and staff are overloaded and underappreciated. With all the requirements placed upon teachers, our teachers are overwhelmed and frustrated which has led to an ever-increasing teacher turn-over rate over the last few years. This trend is discouraging, and I will advocate to not only recruit and retain the best, but also value and appreciate the best teachers and staff for ALL of our children. FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Jeffco spends nearly one billion dollars a year educating our students. We need to ask the tough questions to better understand how the entire billion-dollar budget is spent, before raising taxes. We need ensure that our children are our priority, and to confirm every dollar is being spent as promised so that all students have the opportunities they need to succeed. SCHOOL CHOICE I went to public schools and all four of my children have gone to district-operated public schools and received a great education. Most of my children’s education has been in our neighborhood public schools, and one of my children went to a public charter school for a year. Thanks to my parents and all the teachers who have influenced my life and my children’s lives, I have developed a passion for education and a love of learning. I have been a substitute teacher in K-12 and have taught at the college level. In my experience, I know first-hand that not all students learn the same way, nor does one approach to education work for all families. I believe in public school choice and in having opportunities for students to express their individuality and creativity so their love of learning is fostered. KEEP OUR NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS OPEN One of the top three priorities for families looking to move into a neighborhood is access to good schools. Our schools are an integral part of our community and make up the fabric of what makes our neighborhoods thrive. Far too many Jeffco district-operated neighborhood schools have been threatened with closure the last two years. These closure threats make parents nervous and force many to choose schools that aren’t their neighborhood school, reducing enrollment in the threatened schools even more. I am opposed to closing our neighborhood schools as well as moving 6th graders to middle school before really understanding and evaluating the cost and benefits and before spending millions on a plan the community AS A WHOLE does not support. BALANCE TO THE BOARD Community members tell me it is important to have representation for all voices and all families in Jefferson County on our school board. Many tell me they do not feel their voice is being heard and want balance on the school board so that our student’s learning is the most important priority. It is critical that we have diversity of thought and balance. With this diversity on the board, we can work together to make our schools the best they can be for our children. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Studies have shown that student achievement is not only impacted by their learning in their schools, but also by the support of their families and communities. When communities support one another and are actively engaged to make their schools great, communities thrive and so do our children. Being active in serving our community runs deep in my family. When I work with our veterans they often share how important their public education was in creating a passion for serving our country. Like our veterans, I have a deep appreciation for our teachers and staff and I believe that they deserve to be appreciated for what they do to lead and inspire our children toward fulfilling their dreams. My experience and ability to bring the diverse voices of the community together is exactly what is needed on our school board.	”
—Erica Shields (2017)

Chalkbeat Colorado survey

Shields participated in the following survey conducted by Chalkbeat Colorado. The survey questions appear bolded, and Shields' responses follow below.

Tell us a bit about yourself. How long have you lived in the school district? What do you do for a living?

“	I am a happily married mom of four children and have lived in Jeffco for over 10 years. I was adopted when I was 3 ½ out of a foster home by two loving yet strict parents, who instilled in me the importance of education and who taught me that education was the key to success and opportunity. I went to public schools my entire life, and graduated from high school as a Sterling Scholar. I went on to get my B.S., M.P.H. and eventually my Ph.D in public health education. I have spent my entire career in health and fitness, working with at-risk children and families. Service-learning and community engagement is important to me. I serve our homeless populations including school-aged children, our active-duty military, and veterans. I recently received the honor of being inducted into the Rotary whose motto is 'Service Above Self'.	”
—Erica Shields (2017)

Tell us about your connection to the school district.

“	All four of my children have been through JeffCo public schools; I have two who have graduated and one each in elementary and middle school. I am a very active volunteer and have attended field trips, worked in classrooms, helped with PTA and fundraisers. I believe it is crucial our students learn to read, so I also spend time reading in classrooms and in our high poverty elementary schools. I have many friends who are district staff members, and I know first-hand how important having great teachers, support staff, and a healthy, safe, and nurturing school environment is to us all.	”
—Erica Shields (2017)

Superintendent Jason Glass recently announced a moratorium on school closures. Under what circumstances do you believe school closures, if ever, are correct to consider, and which factors should be weighed?

“	I strongly believe that our neighborhood schools are the fabric of our community, and when closed, cause disruption and anxiety to not only the children and families, but to the entire school community. In 2011, the Superintendent promised there wouldn’t be school closures and then surprised the board, asking them to close Martensen elementary. The board closed the school, which split the community. So I know that the Superintendent does not have the authority to decide schools won’t close. That is a board responsibility. This year, the current board surprised communities threatening to close high quality and low enrollment schools. This scares families, lowers enrollment and creates a downward cycle which isn’t good for communities. My opponent voted to close a high performing neighborhood school, Stober, which fortunately didn’t close. She also voted to close Pleasant View which did close. The community which served many students in poverty, had just a few months to make adjustments. Neighbors are now attending two different schools, which don’t have the same level of supports for their students. Communities should never be surprised with the threat of closure. We MUST create transparent processes that fully engages communities so that these surprises don’t happen.	”
—Erica Shields (2017)

Another focus of the new superintendent has been to concentrate more on equity issues. What do you think are the most critical equity issues facing Jeffco Public Schools, and what can the district do to ensure better opportunities and achievement for all students?

“	While Jeffco’s growth scores are improving, 50 percent of all third through eigth graders aren’t meeting the grade level standards in English Language Arts or Math. For our minority students and those who live in poverty their scores are significantly lower, and the gap is not closing. That is just unacceptable. I know from the hours I spend reading in classrooms all across the district, families want the same things for their children. They want their children to have a great education. We need to take pressures off our teachers and let them have the flexibility to meet the needs of their students. We need to provide the training our teachers and staff need to meet the needs of all of their students. When the principal of one of Jeffco’s lowest performing schools presented to the board discussing why her students had such great improvement last year, she said it was a result of the things her staff had learned. They were part of a state-wide learning community and refocused their efforts, learning from others across the state and from each other. Jeffco must attract and retain the very best teachers so every child has access to great education.	”
—Erica Shields (2017)

What role do you believe charter schools should have in the district?

“	I know first-hand that not all children learn the same, and there is not a one-size-fits-all education solution which can serve all children. In fact, one of my children attended a charter school for a year that best met his needs at the time. Charter schools in Jeffco offer models and curriculums not available in district-run schools. We have an amazing Waldorf charter, many Montessori and Core Knowledge/Classical charters and even a new Arts Integrated Academy. We also have a charter which serves new immigrants with extended hours that allows students to learn at their pace. These offerings aren’t available in all neighborhoods in our district-run schools and many charter schools have wait lists. Clearly charter schools offer a public school choice to families whose students’ needs aren’t met in district-run schools. This is a crucial role for charter schools. Charter schools are the ultimate in locally controlled schools as parents and teachers govern them and can ask for flexibility from state and district policies to better meet the need of their students. The role of charter schools, like all public schools, is to educate our students and prepare them for college or career.	”
—Erica Shields (2017)

Do you think the district should reconsider a ballot measure to ask voters for a tax increase for the school district? Is there something the district should do differently if they do ask?

“	What community members are telling me is they won’t support increasing their taxes until they know how the nearly billion dollar budget improves student achievement. They are disheartened that in all grades nearly 50 percent of students don’t meet grade-level expectations. They don’t understand how the increases in spending on things like a new math curriculum have improved student achievement. I am also hearing that they don’t understand how the board brought them a bond proposal that would cost a billion dollars to pay back but had so little allocated to fixing facilities. They didn’t like closing small elementary schools and building large schools. They don’t support moving sixth graders to middle school and building classrooms when there are already many empty seats. They don’t want $50 million to be spent adding onto middle schools. They want money to go the teachers, the classroom, and toward updating schools that need it like Wheat Ridge and Green Mountain High Schools. It is important that we be responsible with our budget and obtain community support before we ask for tax increases. As a board member, I wouldn’t support increasing taxes if the community as a whole doesn’t.	”
—Erica Shields (2017)

What do you see as the biggest issue facing Jeffco schools today and how do you hope to have an impact on that issue as a school board member?

“	The biggest issue facing Jeffco is the need to significantly increase community engagement. Far too many people tell me the board is moving forward with plans the board set without listening to communities. Community members want the board to focus on improving student achievement. They want to know how their tax dollars are spent each year and why only 50 percent of third through eigth graders aren’t meeting grade-level expectations. I will ask how the dollars we spend improve achievement so we are investing in programs that work. I will ask for spending transparency so the data is presented so it can be understood. I will ask that we set student achievement improvement goals. I will engage communities and respectfully bring their wishes to the board table. I will take the time to listen, hear and integrate community ideas into the district’s plans. I seek to focus the board on what our students need to be successful. Having children still in Jeffco schools and two who have graduated, I know how important it is for students to be career and college ready. I want to make sure EVERY student has access to a great public education.	”
—Erica Shields (2017)

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Erica Shields Jeffco Public Schools school board. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Erica Shields - Google News

See also

• Jeffco Public Schools, Colorado
• Jeffco Public Schools elections (2017)

External links

Suggest a link

• Jeffco Public Schools
• Campaign website
• Twitter account