Jacob Robinson (Dover-Eyota Public Schools, At-large, Minnesota, candidate 2024)

Jacob Robinson

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Nonpartisan

Candidate, Dover-Eyota Public Schools, At-large

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Personal

Religion

Christian

Profession

Teacher

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Jacob Robinson ran for election to the Dover-Eyota Public Schools, At-large in Minnesota. He was on the ballot in the general election on November 5, 2024.^[source]

Robinson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Jacob Robinson provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on October 1, 2024:

• Birth date: July 23, 1984
• High school: Milton High School, Milton, WI
• Bachelor's: University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, 2006
• Graduate: University of Wisconsin - Stout, 2014
• Gender: Male
• Religion: Christian
• Profession: Teacher
• Incumbent officeholder: No
• Campaign slogan: Compassion, Cooperation, Communication, Character.
• Campaign website
• Campaign Facebook

Elections

General election

General election for Dover-Eyota Public Schools, At-large (3 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Dover-Eyota Public Schools, At-large on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Tamara J. DeMuth (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Heather Duellman (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Jamie Grenz (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Jacob Robinson (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Shawnna Seaquist (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Nicholas Young (Nonpartisan)

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	Incumbency information for this election was not available.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Robinson in this election.

Campaign themes

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Jacob Robinson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Robinson's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I live in Eyota with my wife and 4 kids. I was the Ag Teacher and FFA Advisor at Dover-Eyota High School for 10 years from 2006-2016. I currently teach manufacturing and welding at Rochester Public Schools. I strive to be active, and a leader in the Dover-Eyota community, frequently serving as a coach or referee, serving on the the City of Eyota Park Board since 2008, and volunteering at my church. I also enjoy hunting, watching sports, reading, and running, you may have seen me running around town or on the country roads.

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?

• "Good Enough" is not Good Enough. We need all of our stakeholders - parents, teachers, administration, board members, paras, support staff, and students - to work together to raise Dover-Eyota up from good, to great, to elite. We have so much untapped potential from all of these groups! We need "bottom up leadership", starting with those closest to the students (themselves, their parents, their teachers) and empowering them to improve our schools. The job of bringing our schools and our children to new heights is too big to just leave up to school administrators, as a board member I will insist on getting much more input from, and empowering students, teachers, and parents to make positive changes at Dover-Eyota!
• We need far better communication in our district, both internally and externally.

  Internally: Communication needs to be strengthened between the two buildings. Much of the growth a student experiences at the elementary can be quickly eroded when elementary and high school staffs do not communicate about student needs. This is even more important now, with budget cuts eliminating the transitional style of 6th grade that used to exist.

  Externally:  We need more parent involvement and education at all levels and we can't have it stop at the elementary and ECFE levels.
  

  As a board member I will insist on better internal and external communication.
• I care about our children (my own and everybody's) and my fellow community members. We have wants and needs. We need to be honest with one another about what our wants and needs are. As a parent in a single income family with 4 kids, I understand the need to make the most efficient use of a dollar. I ask the tough questions so I can choose the best options. As a member of the school board I will ask the tough questions to make sure we are treating our students and staff with dignity and respect, while making the best use of our resources. I don't make decisions without knowing all of the facts. As a board member I will put in the work to know the facts, and to make sure we make the best choices for our students and community.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Better communication and cooperation among stakeholders. Showing compassion for our students and their teachers. Ensuring schools are a place where kids are safe and can learn academic and career skills.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

My dad. He taught me how to be a dad, which is what I consider to be my most important job.

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

3 written works:

The Chronicles of Narnia (the complete series, not just the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe).
The Lord of the Rings Triology, and The Hobbit.

The Bible.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Character, including Honesty and integrity. Compassion for their community. The ability to communicate and cooperate, even when it means compromising. We don't always get our way 100% of the time, compromising can be a sign of strength.

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

Honesty, commitment to getting a job done for my community, character, compassion, and communication skills.

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

A person elected to this office needs to put the needs of their community and its students first. A school board member needs to be honest and a good communicator.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Having left it better than I found it.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Probably the Persian Gulf War, one of my classmate's dad's was stationed in the Middle East. 1st grade.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Selling pumpkins at my family's hobby farm. My older sisters and I did this for two growing seasons.

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

Make decisions for the long and short term that are in the best interest of the school district.

Who are your constituents?

Every child in the district, every parent, every voter, every taxpayer. To summarize, everyone who has a stake in Dover-Eyota Schools.

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

By listening to them and opening up lines of communication between the board and these stakeholders. Too often information is received through a funnel, way too much is funneled out! I want to eliminate that funnel.

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

Continue to treat people with kindness. Be open to listening to suggestions and following up on those ideas.

What constitutes good teaching? How will you measure this? How will you support advanced teaching approaches?

Good teaching allows students to become the best versions of themselves, developing their character, and academic and career skills. It allows for the opportunity to be creative and engage in learning students identify with.

In what areas would you like to expand curriculum? For example, do you see a need for advanced technical training or apprenticeships? What sort of innovative programming would you advance if given the opportunity?

Dover-Eyota needs a comprehensive, district-wide character education initiative. A curriculum and school-wide plan based on virtues, timeless values that have been embraced for centuries, from the ancient Greeks, to early Christians, to the men and women who serve our country. Schools in our country are trying to teach students in a vacuum devoid of morality. The results are disastrous. The learning environment at our middle and high school is unacceptable, per conversations with our students, teachers, parents, and administration. Students need a safe and respectful learning environment. I will work with our school leaders to develop a character education plan so our students can feel safe and respected at any building in our district!

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

We need to clearly identify our "wants" from our "needs". Its okay to spend some money on our "wants", but differentiating them from "needs" is essential for responsible budgeting. Even if a referendum passes, we need responsible budgeting with that money. Establishing an exceptional learning environment that will increase student retention is also needed to maintain and increase our funding.

What principles drive your policies for safety in schools?

With new safe and secure entrances, and a school liaison officer, our schools are as safe as they can be from extreme safety issues (shooters, etc.) as long as staff follow well laid out safety guidelines. Keeping our students safe on a day to day basis is best done by establishing a safe learning environment where students are encouraged to act in a virtuous way, specifically by showing compassion and kindness to those their peers.

How might you support the mental health needs of students/faculty/staff?

A positive and safe learning environment are achieved when mental health is a priority. Mental health can best be helped at schools when teachers and students are supported by administration in enacting and enforcing policies that make sure everyone is being treated with respect. All students and staff also need to be shown that they are valued. I would plan to keep the current mental health support staff/resources we have in our buildings.

What existing district policies would you like to change, or what new policies would you like to implement?

1. A district-wide character education curriculum/philosophy to help our students become the best versions of themselves, and to ensure a better and safer learning environment.

2. Tying all decisions/choices back to strategic planning. The term "strategic plan" is used in our district, but it often doesn't appear that it's actually being implemented.

3. Regular communication between teaching staff at both buildings to help student success from the elementary school carry-over to the middle/high school.

Describe your ideal learning environment for students.

An environment that encourages students to become the best versions of themselves, developing their character, and academic and career skills. Students should be allowed the opportunity to be creative and engage in learning they can identify with.

How do you feel like your school district handled the coronavirus pandemic? What, if anything, would you do differently in the future?

I feel the district did a good job of getting students back in the building in fall of 2020. In the future, based on what we know at this point, we probably would not need to go through an entire fourth quarter where healthy/asymptomatic people are isolated from each other.

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

Respond to every request for information and every suggestion. I will represent each person honestly and openly.

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

We need to make sure our working conditions for our staff are top notch. Staff working conditions become student learning conditions. We may not be able to control how much money we have in our budget, but we can always control how we treat each other.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Complete financial transparency is absolutely necessary for the government, anything less is fraudulent.

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