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Jared Buswell

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Jared Buswell
Image of Jared Buswell

Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments
Last election

April 4, 2023

Education

Bachelor's

Oral Roberts University, College of Arts and Sciences, 2005

Personal
Birthplace
Rockford, Ill.
Religion
Christ Follower
Profession
Nonprofit director
Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

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Personal LinkedIn

Jared Buswell ran for election to the Tulsa Public Schools Board of Education to represent District 1 in Oklahoma. He lost in the general election on April 4, 2023.

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

Biography

Jared Buswell was born in Rockford, Illinois. He earned a bachelor's degree from the Oral Roberts University, College of Arts and Sciences in 2005. His career experience includes working as a nonprofit director.[1]

Buswell has been affiliated with the following organizations:[1]

  • Tulsa Chamber of Commerce
  • Southwest Tulsa Chamber of Commerce
  • Young Businessmen of Tulsa
  • Regent Bank Executive Lunch Series; Faith in Business Series
  • Oklahomans Against Trafficking Humans (OATH)
  • Access Tulsa & Collab Tulsa
  • Turkey Urban Wilderness Coalition
  • Wesleyan Covenant Association
  • Influencers Global Ministries
  • 10 Days Prayer Network
  • International Virtual Reality Photographers Association
  • Asbury Church, Tulsa, OK
  • City Elders, Tulsa, OK
  • Experience Writing, Tulsa, OK
  • Releasing Purpose, Tulsa, OK
  • Legacy Covenant Foundation, Tulsa, OK

Elections

2023

See also: Tulsa Public Schools, Oklahoma, elections (2023)

General election

General election for Tulsa Public Schools Board of Education District 1

Incumbent Stacey Woolley defeated Jared Buswell in the general election for Tulsa Public Schools Board of Education District 1 on April 4, 2023.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Stacey Woolley
Stacey Woolley (Nonpartisan)
 
68.3
 
1,511
Image of Jared Buswell
Jared Buswell (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
31.7
 
702

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 2,213
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

The primary election was canceled. Incumbent Stacey Woolley and Jared Buswell advanced from the primary for Tulsa Public Schools Board of Education District 1.

Endorsements

Buswell received the following endorsements.

Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

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

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Jared Buswell is the Board Chair of Favor International, a $7 million African education nonprofit transforming war-affected communities with leadership development and economic empowerment. He began serving as a volunteer web designer in 2012 and worked every position from partner development to legal and accounting so that now Favor is 20x financially larger today. On the board, Jared is responsible for advancing and protecting the strategic vision of this donation-supported movement.

Locally, Jared owns an award-winning virtual tour and commercial photography company. Recently he started two additional nonprofits training individuals to discern and implement their unique vocation journey and legacy planning.

Jared is a graduate of Oral Roberts University, completing programs from four different departments. After graduation, ORU hired him to teach interactive media, graphic design, and soon the senior mass communication capstone course serving international humanitarian projects, until he launched his VR photography small business in 2009. His diverse education experience includes designing online courses, writing curriculum, training the 2010 federal census workers who surveyed west Tulsa, and assisting an oral education project for Afghanistan's first presidential election.

Jared is a National Merit Scholar, a Google Trusted Photographer, certified life design coach, and a 15-year resident of west Tulsa. He and Janice are nearing 17 years of marriage.
  • Restore representation of the community on the Tulsa school board (parents, support staff, and teachers instead of special interests).
  • Dramatically improve literacy and key skills so students enjoy mastering new abilities and graduate with real life skills they need.
  • Make schools safe and stable so students have a consistent learning environment and teachers have better support to teach.
I am particularly motivated to serve on the school board to raise students’ enjoyment of learning true knowledge and mastering valuable skills. There is no greater thrill than learning how the world really works beyond one’s initial expectation and to find one’s useful place in it. My passion is seeing parents and teachers succeed in this life-giving process for young people. Lack of quality education ensures the poor become poorer while the rich become richer.

Among the many places in the world where I could serve, I was particularly urged to prioritize Tulsa Public Schools because of the board’s decisions to close the school district to in-person learning for most of a school year. Those decisions – and the choices to not make a comprehensive plan to radically recover from lost learning opportunities – alarmed me to stop other pursuits I was engaged in to serve in this capacity.

Lastly, I am very internally motivated to provide reprieve and opportunity for hard-working educators (both parents and teachers). There are thousands of people diligently serving children every day under unnecessary administrative burdens and/or a lack of resources in the classroom. I am very excited about the prospect of loosening existing resources for more use in the classroom and spreading more decision-making authority to the people who are the most responsible to make those choices. Bringing relief to virtuous people is a cause I’m excited to get up and work for every day.
Many, many people in west Tulsa have had a productive interaction with City Councilor Jeannie Cue. Everyone has a Jeannie story. For me, as just a regular citizen not being involved in local politics, I remember happening to come across her and talking about the need for sidewalks on Union Avenue because of the large number of people without cars having to climb that hill on grass to go to the nearest grocery store. Jeannie was already on it and had INCOG revise their road expansion plans to include sidewalks on both sides for that mile of road. Also, she handled very well the community protests against the proposed outlet mall adjacent to Turkey Mountain.

When I was in a restaurant having coffee with someone, Jeanie came in to buy girl scout cookies from him, to my surprise. While they were out, I chatted with the waitress about Jeannie Cue, and the waitress told me, "One time, she came in hear and paid for everyone in the restaurant!" Then she said she wanted to be like Jeannie when she grew up - and gave a cute sigh. The funny thing is that their age difference is not that much.

So, everyone has a Jeannie story, because for 16 years Jeannie has been giving great customer service as a public servant. I'd like to be "the next Jeannie Cue of the school board," because we really need one in Tulsa.
For understanding the essential ingredients in effective secondary education, I have long been impressed with the John Templeton-funded study titled "Smart & Good High Schools: Integrating Excellence and Ethics for Success in School, Work, and Beyond." I recommend its findings as a starting point for a healthy discussion that incorporates both idealized theory and practical application.

Often discussions of "improving schools" or "re-imagining education" stray too long in either theoretical platitudes or, on the other hand, focuses only on yet another tactical improvement-of-the-day that promises to solve a problem but only lays a new burden on teachers. Healthy school boards can and must discuss strategy, which requires each participant to simultaneously hold both the values and mission of the organization, along with measuring and fine-tuning individual tactics. That quality of discussion is rare, but I encourage you to peruse that report if you want to understand my baseline for a healthy educational philosophy that works in real life.

You can read and download the 257-page PDF here: https://www.slideshare.net/mannrentoy/smart-and-good-high-schools
Nonprofit board service since 2016; Board Chair of a complex international education nonprofit since 2018 (with a one-year sabbatical in 2022): This experience in board leadership equips me with the ability to listen to diverse opinions from around the world, prioritize strategic goals, and wrangle busy, talented people to accomplish great work.

Intellectual accolades (such as National Merit Scholar) and experiences (such as finishing Calculus 1, 2, 3, and Differential Equations by age 17) from my very positive public school K-12 experience: These experiences help me view educational reform from a position of health (what actually works), rather than only fixing what is apparently wrong (temporary Band-Aids that don’t address root issues, or new-fangled ideas that create two new problems for every one they solve).

Small business entrepreneurship, particularly in VR photography: This experience of photographing over 2,000 places for hire in eight states equips me with the knowledge of what issues diverse industries face and how they operate. I am an on-the-ground expert knowing many of our regional companies and what they need from an educated workforce, as well as having walked the difficulties of starting and running my own small venture that I am still operating 14 years later.

Varied education specialist experiences, from teaching at the university level (including a senior capstone source), to designing a university degree program, to producing online courses, to writing curriculum, and studying educational design: these experiences help me appreciate and ask the right questions of the instructional design aspects of our school district.

Varied life experiences, such as interning on an oral education project in Afghanistan in 2004, or living in Uganda for a semester to train local leaders: these experiences provide a unique platform for me to ask deep questions about how TPS is receiving Afghan refugees, for example (as I know some of the culture).
The role of a school board member is to faithfully exercise delegated authority to ensure and support the school district’s fulfillment of its public responsibilities.

A public school district in Oklahoma has two “bosses:” the state of Oklahoma and the local community. While the state charters the district, provides the majority of funding, and establishes legal requirements for its operations, the local community informs the priorities for the schools on all matters not delineated by the state. A healthy school board investigates and confirms that district operations meet state requirements, while simultaneously advancing the agendas of local parents, teachers, and invested leaders for the advancement of quality education in the community.

The public trusts their local school districts with significant life-changing and community-building responsibilities. The job of the school board is to ensure that this priceless trust in the district is being rewarded in the present and will continue to be merited in the future.

In that light, the primary work of an individual school board member is to listen to invested voices, investigate potential operational infractions, foresee dangers to the district’s mission, prioritize resources for strategic success, speak effectively for the best ideas to build coalitions of agreement, and to identify and empower effective champions to execute healthy solutions to achieve the public’s goals. This unpaid job is not for the faint of heart. Doing genuinely well might not be recognized by many people. It’s a leadership role listening, serving, and empowering many kinds of people to accomplish their best work for children and families.

The current slim majority of Tulsa Board of Education members who vote 100% together are keeping the board from performing its essential and required duties. My #1 goal for running - which we can accomplish immediately upon election - is to return the board to its proper independence.
My first job was working all positions at the local supermarket (except deli and cashier), starting at age 15 for $4.25/hr. My mother had to drop me off and pick me up from work each shift.

This job lasted one summer. The manager loved my work so much that he wanted me to continue,even if only one day per month, but my school's weekend schedule was so packed there was not a way to make it work.
Picking a favorite is like choosing your favorite from among your children.

The first one that comes to mind is "Dynamics of World History" by Christopher Dawson. I always love books that help me dive into the real ROOT reality of various questions and debates people have. This collection of essays from an amazing thinker presents a metahistory that approaches a description of what really happened and still is happening in the present age from a really wide (and accurate) lens.

When I first discovered this book in college, I actually stayed up through an entire night reading as much as I could and highlighting along the way. It was a very energizing and eye-opening experience.
A school board member must faithfully exercise delegated authority to ensure and support the school district’s fulfillment of its public responsibilities.

A public school district in Oklahoma has two “bosses:” the state of Oklahoma and the local community. While the state charters the district, provides the majority of funding, and establishes legal requirements for its operations, the local community informs the priorities for the schools on all matters not delineated by the state. A healthy school board investigates and confirms that district operations meet state requirements, while simultaneously advancing the agendas of local parents, teachers, and invested leaders for the advancement of quality education in the community.

The public trusts their local school districts with significant life-changing and community-building responsibilities. The job of the school board is to ensure that this priceless trust in the district

Though a school board has two “bosses,” the division of labor is rarely 50/50. Most of the attention of a healthy school board will be providing oversight and accountability of the school’s operations to ensure they are in alignment with the community’s values and priorities. An unhealthy school board, on the other hand, spends less time listening to the community’s values and priorities, or in seeking to understand why schools are producing the results they are producing (whether or not those results are positive). Instead, they spend a higher percentage of their time keeping up with rules - perhaps even playing catch-up to remain in legal compliance with the state. More of their time is focused on fulfilling state requirements to keep the funding coming - whether or not children are learning and families are being served well. Rarely will you find a school board spending half of its focus on meeting state requirements and half on honoring community values and priorities - their time is usually more invested in one or the other.
1) The local community (parents, grandparents, support staff, teachers, invested community and business leaders, and lastly taxpayers in their role as taxpayers).

2) The State of Oklahoma (for legal compliance, and to communicate to them may objective, fact-based ways laws need to be improved to achieve educational outcomes.
3) The superintendent: supporting her in her countless roles and juggling balls. Because she has to wear so many hats, if she needs something the board can give her, then by all needs give her what she need to fulfill our mutual goals of providing strong educations for students, so their family's interests are served.
4) The support staff, teachers, and employees of Tulsa Public Schools - they have the place of honor within #1 as member of the community.

I am less interested in "ranking" the priority of each individual constituent group and more interested in treating ALL invested individuals with respect, patience, professionalism, and unmatched customer service.
Because resources aren’t limitless, they must be prioritized correctly through extraordinary listening and clear communication. The public must have the opportunity to weigh in on the process and when all ideas aren’t immediately, to trust that all numbers and reasons were clearly communicated in good faith.

Without waiting for more funding, the school board can hear and implement ideas that multiply the funds Tulsa is spending. There are many available “force multipliers” we can use that derive greater results from paid staff, parents, and community volunteers working together. Mentor relationships for teachers and students, utilizing college interns, and fostering more in-building parental involvement should be considered.

Finally, we can reduce waste in many areas. Our first funds should go to classrooms and staff who work directly with children, then later to consultants for special projects. We must rethink which core functions are outsourced. As Tulsa’s 3rd-largest employer, TPS's HR functions should be brought in-house. Our current food service arrangement is not providing the health students need to learn.

The most impactful investments we make cannot be measured in $.

Don’t pretend that there is infinite money. Also don’t pretend that the lack of money is an excuse to not accomplish something critically important. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

Find the right people passionate about accomplishing something with their own ingenuity, and release them to do it. Give them the resources they need to accomplish 10x more than the dollar value of what we spent.

Consistency, predictability, clear expectations, and communication all save money without cost.
Prioritize our first dollars to classrooms, not consultants. Let the core functions and most contributing team members be fully and amply funded first before spending on special and temporary projects.

Advocate and lobby as individuals at the state capitol, yes, but don't wait for more funds from the state before stepping up and achieving the results our teachers, children, and families need right now. We can accomplish our primary goals without waiting for new state funds by releasing the talent and genius of Tulsa immediately.
We must begin by reviewing the district's current preparation for physical threats to our students, review our security staff organizational chart to ensure that responsibilities and duties are clear, and to review our discipline policies to ensure our students, teachers, and staff are all working in an environment safe from one another.

These reviews have all been blocked by the special interest voting bloc on the TPS board throughout 2022. My election to the school board will open up this topic of HIGH interest to the community to be on the agenda.
Oklahomans for Health & Parental Rights

Greater Tulsa Association of Realtors
School Boards for Kids*
Parental Rights in Education
Women for Tulsa
Moms for Liberty - Tulsa County
Pamela Smith Foundation/Mothers Against Injustice
City Elders

Fmr. Governor Frank Keating
Lt. Governor Matt Pinell
House of Representatives District 1 Kevin Hern*
State Senator Cody Rogers
State Representative Lonnie Sims
State Representative Mark Tedford
State Representative Chris Banning
Fmr. Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett

RegentBank CEO Sean Kouplen
School districts need to foster deep learning experiences that build up a student’s passion and capabilities outside of technology, in order that students can utilize technology as a tool, and not serve it as a master.

Core human aptitudes include using one’s imagination, hearing and recounting stories and information, writing and drawing with one’s own hand, accomplishing results with a wide variety of people, receiving new and original insights from long periods of thinking or even boredom, and more. Having these experiences empowers a child to desire and employ them more regularly, without being forced or reminded to do them. To have them in one’s arsenal of capabilities is fundamental to develop higher-order thinking and creative skills every student is going to need in today’s world. Having these aptitudes positively affects one’s identity. A student’s mental and psychological development is deeply affected by whether or not they have the capacity to produce as well as to consume, instead of the broad and easy way of only consuming.
School districts need to assume students have free and excessive screen time at home. As such, our learning environments need to be distraction-free places where students can take part in deep academic and social activities they might find otherwise.
Now that all students have access to professional publishing tools (through social media and other means), it is even more important - not less - to have something interesting to say.

Schools need to be oases of deep, critical thinking and applied knowledge in a social setting, amidst a desert of mindless consumption of digital and social media. Students should leave school each day encouraged and empowered by their school experiences to produce something with the digital technology they have at home. Schools can expose students to the best quality content that inspires and builds academic proficiencies, while giving students valuable screen-free space to wrestle with that content.
The response of the Tulsa school board to the pandemic immediately raised the alarm for me to see why the Board of Education makes the decisions it does. In my view, preventing students from attending in-person learning for nearly an entire school year was one of the worst decisions that could have been inflicted on these children, because of how people grow developmentally, and especially in light of other trends affecting families. This episode affects the psychological development of youth and children far more than it affected the mental health of adults (which was also severe). It didn't have to be this way. We knew from the science that there would be no loss of life if schools opened for regular in-person learning once the school year started again in fall 2020. For those parents who would have been uncomfortable with their children in the school environment, then there was always the option of enrolling in Tulsa's (or one of Oklahoma's many) virtual charter schools. But not giving ALL the parents the option to enroll their children in in-person learning for an entire school year was a devastating decision developmentally. We will continue to see the unexpected effects of this willful instability across all social institutions for decades to come as these children grow to be adults who think fundamentally differently about the consistency of organizations and social bonds.

Those board decisions – and the additional choice to not make an effective plan to radically recover from lost learning opportunities – alarmed me to look more closely at how TPS makes decisions.

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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on March 24, 2023
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