Jennifer Marks (Brighton Area Schools Board of Education, Michigan, candidate 2022)

Jennifer Marks (Nonpartisan) ran for election to Brighton Area Schools Board of Education in Michigan.^[1]

Elections

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Jennifer Marks completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Marks' 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 grew up in Michigan and was the first from my family to attend college. I studied at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, earning both a BA and Master of Public Health. After completing my graduate work, my professional career and then my husband's work required moving to several other states. We moved to Brighton in 2017 and my children enrolled in Brighton Area Schools. My personal and professional experience offer a unique perspective that will be an asset for the school board. My children attended public schools in four states and I was very involved in each district. My involvement included PTO board positions, academic initiative committees, district strategic planning and advocacy for merit based achievement. My professional career includes public health policy, data analysis, consulting and health care finance. These personal and professional roles prepared me for principled discussion, compromise, and informed decision making.

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?

• Student Opportunity: Improving student opportunity includes expanding opportunity for career pathway exploration at younger grades through hands on projects, field trips, building speakers and programs that inspire conceptual thinking.
• Academic Excellence: Includes establishing challenging curriculum for every student. Accelerated learners must receive the same level of support provided to at risk students and students that typically perform at grade level must be encouraged to reach higher. Elevating student expectations and providing adequate staffing support to meet those goals will ensure academic excellence throughout the district.
• District Collaboration: This refers to the necessity of student, family and staff shared accountability for success. Families must be included in a student's education. Improving communication between district staff and parents/guardians is imperative to this goal. Fiscal responsibility to ensure community support is essential.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Personally, I believe in community involvement. As a product of public schools, I know the power education can provide to students of all backgrounds and financial means.

• I believe the primary purpose of public school is student development and student opportunity.

• I believe district wide accountability and collaboration with families are essential for student success.

• I believe the curriculum continuum must be available to parents and regularly evaluated by the district.

• I believe a successful district is one focused on developing students capable of critical thinking, merit based

achievement, and guidance for accomplishing personal best. 

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

I believe the school board serves as a guiding influence for the district, ideally working in partnership with the superintendent to achieve mutually agreed upon goals. Primary work for the school board is to ensure a robust, comprehensive education for students in a safe environment while maintaining fiscal integrity.

Who are your constituents?

All community members living within the Brighton Area Schools (BAS) district lines, families with students that attend BAS buildings/programs, staff members employed by BAS.

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

Willingness to carefully listen and create a pathway for open communication. Recognize the school board's responsibility is for the district as a whole. Individual concerns and experiences must be acknowledged. I believe in equal opportunity education for all students. Public schools and communities have a symbiotic relationship - success of each is heavily dependent on the other. Students that receive a solid education become productive community members. Quality of life improves when a community thrives.

What will you do to build a relationship with parents in the district? What plans do you have to be inclusive of parental involvement?

I will respond to emails and always listen to family concerns. I would like to establish a type of bi-annual town hall where parents/guardians/students can come and discuss issues with school board members. I believe the curriculum must be more readily available for parents/guardians and that families need more opportunity to reach their student's teachers in a meaningful way.

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?

I believe expanding curriculum to include more career pathway exploration is a necessity. This can include a wider variety of electives in middle school, concept driven hands on projects, grade appropriate lunch & learn programming. I also believe middle school must offer three math tracks and leveled ELA - -minimally two tracks to meet the academic needs of students.

What principles drive your policies for safety in schools?

I believe we are fortunate in our district to have professional security in each building. Safety for students and staff is essential. Encouraging communication between students and staff members to express concerns, providing outlets for families/students/staff, and prompt investigation of concerns must be prioritized.

What are your views on how to address schooling during pandemic times?

As a public health professional I advocated for a return to in-person school for the fall of 2020. I continued this advocacy at the state level throughout 2021. I understand the initial closure but it was medically and scientifically clear by May 2020 that schools should be open and operating. I consider it a travesty that students were denied in-person school in many communities.

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

Integrity, honesty and availability are essential for an elected official.

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

I believe the school board serves as a guiding influence for the district, ideally working in partnership with the superintendent to achieve mutually agreed upon goals. The school board should represent concerns for district families. Primary work for the school board is to ensure a robust, comprehensive education for students in a safe environment while maintaining fiscal integrity.

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.

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[1] ↑ Submitted to Ballotpedia's candidate survey in 2022.