Heather Lindberg

Heather Lindberg

Personal

Profession

Community volunteer

Contact

Personal website

Heather Lindberg was a candidate for the Position 1 seat on the Vancouver Board of Directors in Washington. She ran in the general election on November 3, 2015. Heather Lindberg lost the general election on November 3, 2015.

Biography

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Lindberg was born on a naval base in San Diego, California. She is the president of the Vancouver Council PTA and the Region 3 legislative chair for the Washington State PTA. She has a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in teaching. She and her husband, Michael, have two daughters.

Elections

2015

See also: Vancouver School District elections (2015)

Three of the five seats on the Vancouver Board of Directors were up for election on November 3, 2015. In the Position 1 race, incumbent Dale Rice defeated challenger Heather Lindberg. In the race for Positions 4 and 5, newcomers Michelle Giovannozzi and Rosemary Fryer, respectively, won without opposition. Former board member Nada Wheelock appeared on the ballot because her resignation from the board took place after the withdrawal deadline of May 18, 2015.

Results

Vancouver School District Board of Directors, Position 1 General Election, 4-year term, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Dale Rice Incumbent	56.5%	13,563
Heather Lindberg	43.5%	10,431
Write-in votes	0%	0
Total Votes		23,994
Source: Clark County Auditor, "November 3, 2015 General Election," November 24, 2015

Funding

Lindberg reported no contributions or expenditures to the Washington Public Disclosure Commission as of August 4, 2015.

Endorsements

Lindberg did not receive any official endorsements for this election.

Campaign themes

2015

Ballotpedia survey responses

Lindberg participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display her responses to the survey questions. When asked what her top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:

“	Certainly improving community-school board relations is a high priority. I'd also like to see board meetings and work sessions video recorded and released to the public. We should be working to provide that level of access to the public so they can feel confident that the board is working for the best interest of students and being good stewards of public money.	”
—Heather Lindberg, (2015),

Ranking the issues

The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. This table displays this candidate's rankings from most to least important:

Education policy
Click here to learn more about education policy in Washington.
Education on the ballot

Issue importance ranking
Candidate's ranking	Issue
2	Balancing or maintaining the district's budget
4	Expanding career-technical education
1	Closing the achievement gap
6	Expanding arts education
5	Improving college readiness
3	Improving education for special needs students
7	Expanding school choice options

Positions on the issues

The candidate was asked to answer 10 questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are in the left column and the candidate's responses are in the right column of the following table:

Question	Response
What is your stance on implementing Common Core standards?	"As a child I lived in a military household and understand mobility issues, so I support national educational standards. Common Core standards are now the Washington State Standards, and while I don’t agree with them 100%, we should be teaching to the standards we have while searching for feedback to shape our advocacy on a state, and national, level."
Should your district approve the creation of new charter schools?	"I'm not a fan of the way recent legislation in Washington State handles the issue of charter schools, but would be willing to discuss creation of charter schools if certain criteria are required."
Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system?	"No."
Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement?	"A single measurement will never be an accurate way to judge a student. I believe that reasonable standardized tests can provide us with insights into how our systems are working and show us where we are falling short. I do not believe that a single measurement should be used to judge individual students or teachers."
How can the district ensure equal opportunities for high and low achieving students?	"Offering academic supports that utilize researched based intervention in student's home schools is essential to providing opportunities for all high and low achieving students. Making sure that processes are inclusive of the whole student population and help identify under-performing students so that every student is working at their ability level."
How should expulsion be used in the district?	"Positive behavior strategies could go a long way in decreasing district need to exclude students (both suspension and expulsion). An increase in counselors, behavioral specialist, and clear, consistent strategies for dealing with students on a school and district level are essential. The worst thing we can do on a district-level is to set goals for decreasing suspensions and expulsions without providing our schools the tools and guidelines for implementation."
If a school is failing in your district, what steps should the school board take to help the students in that school?	"There isn't one set solution to a struggling school. The most important thing a school board can do to help students is to listen. Listen to the parents, school employees, and community to better understand the unique needs of the individual school. From there, the goal is to look at the struggles of the school community and work with stakeholders to develop strategies to move the school forward. One thing we shouldn't do is the easiest fix, which is to change the demographic of the school to fix the problem on paper. When there is a school failing, it isn't the physical building that's failing, it is the individual students that are failing. Diluting the struggling student population by moving special programs that are high performing into the school (or moving programs that are low-performing out of the school) does not help the students."
Do you support merit pay for teachers?	"Bonuses for teachers that demonstrate superior results, teach high-needs subjects and in high-needs areas make sense. I would be hesistant [sic] to base merit pay on a single test score or measure as it might encourage focusing more on a single data point then the overall quality of education."
How should the district handle underperforming teachers?	"When teachers fail, there is usually something larger in play. We need to have a system where a teacher can reach out and ask for help when they first start to struggle. We need to have open and honest ways for outside observers to bring forth issues they are observing in a safe and supportive way. Mentorships are a proven strategy for new teachers and relevant professional development is important as well."
How would you work to improve community-school board relations?	"I would meet with the community every chance I get. I have never refused a meeting with any group in the community and I never will. I will engage parents where they are, both literally by traveling throughout the district but also by addressing their concerns and suggestions and finding ways to improve the system through that discourse. I believe that we should also provide answers to the questions brought to us by the community and we need to do more than just sit, listen and move on; we need to engage in dialogue."

Candidate website

Lindberg noted the following regarding her campaign on her website:

“	Why I'm Running Vancouver is a great place to live and our schools are one of the many reasons for this. Currently, the Vancouver School District is doing a lot of great work. I have a unique perspective and focused vision to help the district realize its full potential and move to the next level. Presently, I am involved at multiple levels of child advocacy; I have a passion for improving and simplifying systems to increase accessibility for all. School districts work best when they engage all interested stakeholders. That means reaching out to students, parents, educators, businesses, and community members throughout the district. It is essential that a school board works to engage the community in as many ways as possible. I'm running for School Board to focus on three overarching areas: Authentic Community Engagement, Increased Transparency, and Reassessing District Priorities. Authentic Community Engagement Parents and Teachers know best what is working and what needs improvements in our school. The most relevant information for how well the district is doing comes from being on the ground and engaging stakeholders where they are. In order to better understand the impact policy decisions have on day-to-day operations I will: Continue to volunteer in our schools and look to expand volunteer opportunities to better engage with more stakeholders in natural environments. Respond to requests from parent groups and employee organizations and reach out to such organizations frequently. Work to continue developing relationships with the business community and commit to prioritizing investing in our local economy. Increased Transparency Government functions best when it operates transparently. Having a transparent School Board ensures that all students are best served. In order to reach this goal, I will work towards: Providing videotaped board meetings and work sessions to our community. Moving board work sessions from the Jim Parsley Center Conference Room to the Bates Center for Educational Leadership. Making district related documents easily accessible and introduce policies that minimize the need for Public Records Requests. Creating a district email list that would allow any individual, or group, to sign up to receive notice of public meetings as soon as they are posted online and to media outlets. Focus on District Priorities It is essential that a district's priorities reflect the values of the community and always put children first. It is the board's responsibility to make sure policy and financial decisions uphold the core mission and stated values of the district. In order to ensure this I will: Ask stakeholders for their thoughts on the values and mission of the district, how well they align with community values and how well the district is upholding them in daily interaction. Determine how the district budget, public policy agenda and other published materials reflect our values and ensure they are not undermining our greater vision.	”
—Heather Lindberg, (2015)

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms "Heather Lindberg" "Vancouver School District". These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Heather Lindberg - Google News

See also

• Vancouver School District, Washington
• Vancouver School District elections (2015)
• Incumbency no guarantee of success in Nov. 3 school board elections (November 6, 2015)
• What happened in Nov.'s top board elections? (November 4, 2015)

External links

Suggest a link

• Vancouver School District
• Campaign website
• Campaign Facebook page