Janel Schermerhorn

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Janel Schermerhorn

Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 7, 2023

Education

Bachelor's

University of California, Santa Barbara, 1995

Graduate

San Diego State University, 2006

Contact

Campaign website

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Janel Schermerhorn ran for election to the Lake Washington School District School Board to represent District 5. She lost in the general election on November 7, 2023.

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

Biography

Janel Schermerhorn earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1995 and a graduate degree from San Diego State University in 2006.

Elections

2023

See also: Lake Washington School District, Washington, elections (2023)

General election

General election for Lake Washington School District school board District 5

Lindsey Yocum defeated Janel Schermerhorn in the general election for Lake Washington School District school board District 5 on November 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lindsey Yocum (Nonpartisan)	72.4	28,101
		Janel Schermerhorn (Nonpartisan)	27.0	10,485
		Other/Write-in votes	0.6	250

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 38,836
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

The primary election was canceled. Janel Schermerhorn and Lindsey Yocum advanced from the primary for Lake Washington School District school board District 5.

Endorsements

Schermerhorn received the following endorsements.

• State Rep. Larry Springer (D)
• Redmond Mayor Angela Birney
• Redmond City Cncl. Memb. Jeralee Anderson (D)
• Kirkland City Cncl. Memb. Neal Black
• Redmond City Cncl. Memb. Jessica Forsythe
• Frmr. Redmond Mayor John Marchione
• King County, Wash., Democratic Party
• Legis. District 1, Wash., Democratic Party
• Legis. District 48, Wash., Democratic Party
• Lake Washington, Wash., Education Association
• Everytown for Gun Safety
• National Women's Political Caucus of Washington
• Washington Education Association

Ratings

Schermerhorn received ratings or grades from the following organizations.

• Citizens Alliance for Property Rights

Pledges

Schermerhorn signed the following pledges.

• Defense of Democracy
• Everytown for Gun Safety

Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Janel Schermerhorn completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Schermerhorn'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.

Public education allowed me to pursue professional roles in research and corporate organizations over the course of decades. I’ve learned how to set vision and policy, assess and solve complex problems, manage people and budgets, and bring people together to keep things moving. I have had many successes, but have also made mistakes, and from those came lessons. The most important is that while my technical skills are necessary, results are best earned through integrity, collaboration, and a bit of perspective.

In addition to my professional career, I am a lifelong student, a parent, and I have spent many years volunteering in schools and my community, including serving on nonprofit boards. From these experiences, I appreciate the important role our public schools play in building healthy communities.

Our district is very strong but also has many opportunities to improve, including responding to the changing needs of our students and the changing world they will enter. I understand the complexities and constraints of this large district, spanning multiple cities, and am prepared to partner with the many stakeholders to prepare our students for their future.

I would be honored to serve my community as a Lake Washington School District Director.

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?

• Our excellent schools must respond to societal changes and commit to every student’s success. I will advocate for a high-quality, future-focused education for all, regardless of starting point, background, or path after graduation. This means building systems for academic and social success, like ensuring students can access challenging pathways early and often and ensuring the district uses more robust data analyses to understand performance gaps and deliver targeted support.
• Having my own child in the district, I have seen first-hand how student and teacher mental health impacts the classroom environment and learning. I will advocate for protecting well-being in our education environment through curriculum, support, and key partnerships.
• We must embrace and adapt to technologies impacting teaching, learning, and career preparation. I will champion district-wide digital literacy that harnesses the benefits and risks of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

When I see that something could be better in our communities, it often comes down to these public policies: public education, equity and inclusion in public infrastructure, mental health and safety, and environmental sustainability.

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

Honesty, transparency, humility, careful listening, respecting others, and always keeping students as the number one priority.

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

I remember the day the Challenger exploded in 1986. I was in 7th grade and one of the teachers at my school was in line to replace Christa McAuliffe if she'd backed out before the mission. It was shocking to watch it happen on TV and think about a person being alive one moment then not the next. I thought a lot about how the teacher at my school was lucky to not be in the accident, even thought she had probably been disappointed right up until it happened. In later years, when studying Organizational Psychology, I found the Challenger's o'ring case study a very helpful example of the role human factors played in the accident.

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

My first job was as a cashier for my university's bookstore during my last year of school. This was my first opportunity to learn three key things: how to set aside my personal stress and distractions to focus on doing a good job, how to show up on time every shift, no matter how many competing priorities I had, and how to diffuse a frustrated customer by listening and finding a reasonable solution.

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

To represent the values and priorities of the community and hold the district accountable by setting policies, monitoring outcomes, and ensuring fiscal responsibility.

Who are your constituents?

Voters residing in the Lake Washington School District boundary

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

Developing partnerships and holding the district accountable for stakeholder engagement, so that all stakeholders have a representative voice.

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

I believe consistent and transparent meetings between the board and each of the cities/communities of our district are needed to ensure the best possible collaboration, sharing of resources, and agreement on key issues. I also think it's the board's responsibility to forge relationships with community organizations that support youth, particularly nonprofit and cultural organizations connecting with youth from traditionally marginalized communities. I believe the board can improve community engagement by going to where community members work and gather, leveraging language translators when needed, to help overcome barriers to attending school and board meetings. Finally, the board should proactively organize more stakeholder committees for recommendations on key issues and decisions in the district.

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?

Two significant areas for expanding curriculum include sustainability and emerging technology. In the case of sustainability, this subject should not be limited to the sciences but can be integrated across multiple disciplines and should include practical application challenges directly on campus. In the case of emerging technologies, like artificial intelligence, the curriculum needs to address literacy on what these tools are, how they can be used, and what the ethical and legal considerations are.

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

A number of our funding models are outdated and do not reflect current costs or operational design. Convincing the legislature to recognize this gap will take coordination across multiple districts demonstrating a need for the changes.

What principles drive your policies for safety in schools?

I will advocate to make decisions based on evidence and the circumstances of our district, rather than responding to emotions and national hot button issues.

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

Mental health starts with the curriculum we offer and give all students access to. Programs like music, art, theater and sports not only support academic success, but they support mental health. When students need mental health support, we need to ensure we are allocating resources for on-campus response, but that we are also leveraging the numerous resources available to youth through community organizations. Finally, the Surgeon General has declared this his number one priority, so we should be looking for resources, research and best practices coming from the federal government in coming years.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Key Organizations:

National Women's Political Caucus of Washington
Lake Washington Education Association
King County Democrats
48th Legislative District Democrats
1st Legislative District Democrats

Key Individuals (titles for identification only):
Roy Captain, former President, Lake Washington School Foundation Board of Trustees
Angela Davila, WA State World Language Program Supervisor, K-12, Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (‘15-’20)
Larry Springer, WA State Representative
Angela Birney, Mayor, City of Redmond
John Marchione, former Mayor, City of Redmond
Jessica Forsythe, Councilmember & President, Redmond
Jeralee Anderson, Councilmember, Redmond

Neal Black, Councilmember, Kirkland

Describe your ideal learning environment for students.

The learning environment should be a positive, safe, and welcoming space for all students. All students should have access to the best possible challenges and support early and throughout their education.

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

Something our district handled well was setting up the technical aspects and supplies for getting school online as quickly as possible. Another effective effort was collaboration between districts to share information and ensure consistency in the region. Something I would do now in anticipation of future events, is ensure our policies and contracts are set up to allow for continuous operations in the case of a similar event.

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.

Other survey responses

Ballotpedia identified the following surveys, interviews, and questionnaires Schermerhorn completed for other organizations. If you are aware of a link that should be added, email us.

• League of Women Voters

See also

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Lake Washington School District school board District 5

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