Jennifer McPherson

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

Jennifer McPherson

Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 2, 2021

Personal

Birthplace

St. Paul, Minn.

Religion

Christian

Contact

Campaign website

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Jennifer McPherson ran for election for an at-large seat of the Saint Paul Board of Education in Minnesota. She lost in the general election on November 2, 2021.

McPherson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Jennifer McPherson was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. She attended Apostolic Bible Institute, St. Paul College, and Vatterott College for undergraduate study. McPherson's career experience includes working in member services for Twin Cities PBS and at Wendy's. She has been affiliated with the NAACP and the New Black Panthers.

Elections

2021

See also: Saint Paul Public Schools, Minnesota, elections (2021)

General election

General election for Saint Paul Board of Education At-large (3 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Saint Paul Board of Education At-large on November 2, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Jim Vue (Nonpartisan)	23.9	26,767
✔		Halla Henderson (Nonpartisan)	21.5	24,090
✔		Uriah Ward (Nonpartisan)	20.1	22,466
	Submit photo	James Farnsworth (Nonpartisan)	18.9	21,188
		Jennifer McPherson (Nonpartisan)	10.3	11,520
	Submit photo	Ryan Williams (Nonpartisan)	4.2	4,699
		Other/Write-in votes	1.0	1,106

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 111,836
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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2019

See also: Saint Paul Public Schools, Minnesota, elections (2019)

General election

General election for Saint Paul Board of Education At-large (4 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Saint Paul Board of Education At-large on November 5, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Steve Marchese (Nonpartisan)	17.1	23,845
✔		Zuki Ellis (Nonpartisan)	17.0	23,753
✔		Jessica Kopp (Nonpartisan)	14.3	20,021
✔	Submit photo	Chauntyll Allen (Nonpartisan)	13.8	19,209
	Submit photo	Charlie Castro (Nonpartisan)	8.6	11,950
		Jennifer McPherson (Nonpartisan)	7.6	10,557
		Omar Syed (Nonpartisan)	7.0	9,833
		Tiffany Fearing (Nonpartisan)	5.7	8,024
	Submit photo	Ryan Williams (Nonpartisan)	5.0	6,920
	Submit photo	Elijah Norris-Holliday (Nonpartisan)	3.1	4,325
		Other/Write-in votes	0.8	1,147

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 139,584
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2021

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Jennifer McPherson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by McPherson'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.

I am a strong leader, listener, friend, problem solver, activist, organizer, and Mother. I live my life with common sense and compassion I listen to others before rushing to judgement I am a positive and fair person.

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?

• My plan is to break the system and make it for everyone
• Give parents and families school choice
• Stop the bullying at all levels

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am passionate about the formation of the public and education policy.

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

Honesty, integrity, compassion, leadership, team player, good listener, bravery, loyalty, courage, and willingness

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

The qualities that I have that will make me successful are honesty,integrity, loyalty, understanding, leadership,independence

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

The Challenger blowing up I was 4

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Jem from Jem and the Holograms

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

To be the voice of the community and families.

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

I would put a freeze on raises at district level, get a new superintendent, and partner with local businesses to adopt a school to provide additional funding.

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

Schooling is a mess right now we need a pandemic response team that follows the truth. When the teachers went on strike we should have had all iPads at home and planning for online learning. We need the school board members to have control of the school board not the superintendent. Elementary students should be using Seesaw not Schoology. I would've had the high schools go back first

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.

2019

Jennifer McPherson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by McPherson'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.

I was born and raised in St. Paul I'm the first female wrestler for St. Paul schools. I'm a former Sunday school teacher and assistant youth leader. I'm a former parent academy facilitator and a mother of St. Paul public school students. I believe in equality, diversity, and inclusion.

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?

• 3 strike policy no more bullying of any kind at all levels
• New world studies curriculum schools need to educate using all truths
• Family, community, and school partnerships so we can breakdown all barriers

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

Sui-yep Cafe I was 15 years old I worked for 3 months.

Who are your constituents?

The people of St. Paul

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

Never giving up on the student being willing to work on an area even after moving on. I will measure this by doing classroom visits, looking at students work, and the interaction between teachers and students.

What role do you imagine technology playing in (and outside) the classroom in the future? How would you prepare the district for this?

More teaching from the iPads, virtual classrooms during snow days.

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.

Note: McPherson submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on October 27, 2019.

Show past responsesHide past responses

October 23 submission

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I was born and raised in St. Paul I'm the first female wrestler for St. Paul schools. I'm a former Sunday school teacher and assistant youth leader. I'm a former parent academy facilitator and a mother of St. Paul public school students. I believe in equality, diversity, and inclusion.

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?

• 3 strike policy no more bullying of any kind at all levels
• New world studies curriculum schools need to educate using all truths
• Family, community, and school partnerships so we can breakdown all barriers

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I'm very passionate about education and public safety they are both important for our future.

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

Kwame McDonald and Bobby Hickman they created something for children to be what they wanted to be, they taught us how to love ourselves and how to be strong and proud.

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

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution

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

Honesty, integrity, and sensitivity

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

I truly care for everyone and I listen to all sides to come up with a plan or solution that is beneficial for all. I believe education should be free but top notch. I'm a problem solver and quick thinker. I'm very passionate and determined to make our district great.

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

Listen to the community, parents, staff, and students and give them what they need. Public schools are a reflection of the community.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I want a leave a legacy of change, compassion, and understanding. I want to remember me as a fighter who gave up.

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

I was 4 the Challenger space shuttle blew up on t.v.

What is your favorite book? Why?

The Bible because it has all the answers and always puts you better mood.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Jem from Jem and the holograms.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Jason Weaver From now until forever

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

To be the voice of the community and make sure the schools are a reflection of the community.

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

Translate homework to students home language so the parents can help and be engaged.

Have family support groups in the schools so families can come together and make connections with other families.
Have partnerships with landlords and property management companies to help with housing.

Partnerships with local businesses host hiring events.

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

I would build more relationships with local businesses and individuals who focus on mental health and behavioral therapy bring these practices into the schools and reduce discipline issues.

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

I would give the parents/families a voice as well as be that listening ear. I think a reward system would be a great way to get more parents involved example if a family attends a school function they will earn points that they can turn in for field trips, book fairs, or any school function.

Do you believe it is important to intentionally recruit with the aim of diversifying the district’s faculty, staff, and administration? If so, what would be your policy to achieve this?

Yes studies have shown that children do better when they see people who look like them and the chances of them going to college are higher. We can show students how to become teachers with starting a K-12 trade school with teaching being a career. We can also reach out to families and let them know how to become SPPS staff.

What issues get in the way of quality education? How would you address these obstacles?

Issues in the home no power or water, no heat, no food, no clothes I would address these issues by equipping the schools with the tools they need to help every student succeed. Some children suffer from anxiety and can't physically get up and go to school or shutdown at school and can't move from class to class or even communicate what is wrong.

What type of skills should students be learning for success in the 21st century?

Trade skills, cursive, banking, and homemaking skills.

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 would like to see a k-12 trade school, world studies curriculum the true American history, the teal story of Cinco de Mayo, etc.

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

Looking at each school's individual needs and creating their budget around that.

What principles drive your policies for safety in schools?

I believe that every child in America is uncomfortable and on edge at school and it's showing through their behavior and interactions. I want children to go to school and focus on school like we were able to do.

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

By bringing in mental health staff and partnerships so we can train teachers to identify children so we can notify the family so the family and the teacher can teacher all the children in the class instead of one child being a distraction.

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.

Note: McPherson submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on October 23, 2019.

Ballotpedia biographical submission form

The candidate completed Ballotpedia's biographical information submission form:

“	What is your political philosophy? Equality New curriculum Safety Special education Cultural awareness Bullying 3 strike policy Is there anything you would like to add? I am very passionate about education, I believe education is the key to freedom and reading keeps you free.	”
—Jennifer McPherson

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Saint Paul Board of Education At-large

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