Jessica Kelly
Jessica Kelly was an at-large member of the Ann Arbor Board of Education in Michigan. She assumed office in 2016. She left office on December 31, 2022.
Kelly ran for re-election for an at-large seat of the Ann Arbor Board of Education in Michigan. She won in the general election on November 6, 2018.
Kelly completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2018. Click here to read the survey answers.
She was appointed in 2016 after Donna Lasinski resigned to represent District 52 in the Michigan House of Representatives.[1]
Elections
2018
General election
General election for Ann Arbor Board of Education At-large (4 seats)
The following candidates ran in the general election for Ann Arbor Board of Education At-large on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jessica Kelly (Nonpartisan)  | 15.6 | 29,801 |
| ✔ |  | Rebecca Lazarus (Nonpartisan) | 15.2 | 28,990 |
| ✔ |  | Bryan Johnson (Nonpartisan) | 14.5 | 27,545 |
| ✔ |  | Susan Baskett (Nonpartisan) | 12.3 | 23,492 |
 | Lucas Cole (Nonpartisan) | 12.3 | 23,346 | |
 | Christine Stead (Nonpartisan) | 11.0 | 21,021 | |
 | Patricia Ashford Manley (Nonpartisan) | 9.6 | 18,288 | |
| Suzanne Perkins (Nonpartisan) | 9.1 | 17,385 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 585 | ||
| Total votes: 190,453 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Campaign themes
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Jessica Kelly completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Kelly's responses.
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
Equity for students. Ann Arbor Public Schools consistently rank among the districts with the highest achieving students in the state. However, Ann Arbor is not immune to the disparities in achievement or in discipline rates that plague diverse districts. While we have made progress in reducing the disparities in achievement and discipline over the last 5-7 years through systemic changes, we still find that student from a few vulnerable populations–including students of color, students in the special education system, and students from homes impacted by poverty– are less likely to be college- or career-ready by graduation and more likely to serve out-of-school suspensions than other students. I believe that our recent investment in Equal Opportunity Schools (EOS), and in our Behavior Intervention Specialist (BIS) Program, as well as our specific focus on equity in the latest iteration of the district's strategic plan will break through our current plateau and further improve opportunities for all students. Compensation and workload for teachers. As a trustee, I have accepted every invitation to meet that has been extended to me from teachers, union leadership, and union caucuses. From the Elementary Caucus, Secondary Caucus, and Student Intervention and Support Services (SISS) Caucus, I have heard concerns about work load, school safety, the burdens of electronic reporting and evaluation, and more—along with thoughtful suggestions for system improvements. Every time that I have had the opportunity to listen to teachers, I have advocated for improvement at the board and administrative levels based on what I've learned. I commit to continue doing this because I have a goal of frequent, open, and honest dialogue between the union members and school board members. I believe that if we commit to working together on a shared vision, we can effect real change for public education and its most valuable resource–teachers–in Michigan. Funding. At the risk of sounding like my third wish from the genie is for more wishes, my priority is to advocate for better funding from Lansing and Washington DC. Nearly every issue that our district, and public education in general, is facing right now can be linked to the systematic de-funding of public education. From low teacher wages, to the privatization of janitorial, transportation, and food service, to purchasing latest curriculum and materials, to equitable programming, to special education services…they all depend on funding that comes from outside of the district. To combat this, I have worked in both Lansing and Washington DC over the last 2 years, talking to lawmakers about restoring the promised funding.
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
I am passionate about the fact that public schools serve *everyone.* Unlike private or charter schools, public schools do not discriminate on the basis of income level, educational needs, family background, language spoken, sexual orientation or gender identity. Some students come to public school with very expensive and complicated needs, and it is our critical mission to receive every one of those students and fulfill the promise to prepare him/her/them for the future.
What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?
As a graduate of U of M, Wayne State University Law School, and the William & Mary Law Institute of Special Education Advocacy, I have been in practice as a Special Education Advocate and Consultant since 2014. Before that, I was an Accreditation Coordinator for an agency recognized by the US Department of Education. For years, I have been active with several nonprofit organizations that advocate for women's and children's rights. This work is also personal for me. I have been a parent in the Ann Arbor schools for 11 years, with kids currently in high school, middle school, and elementary school. Every day, my service reflects the hopes and dreams of families in this district in the most intimate way. No other candidate has my combination of strong advocacy skills, regulatory knowledge, deep understanding of Special Education, and legal training, along with the perspective of a parent with children at all three levels (high, middle, and elementary).
How will you build relationships with members of the broader community? Which groups, organizations, stakeholders will you specifically target?
Collaboration has been at the heart of the work I've been doing, so much so that I have earned the endorsements of trustees from neighboring districts with whom I have collaborated. I currently act as the AAPS representative to the Washtenaw Association of School Boards legislative group, and engage with the Federal Relations Network of the Michigan Association of School Boards. In February of 2018, I attended the National Association of School Boards Advocacy Institute. In all of these roles, I work with colleagues from other districts to speak in a united voice on behalf of public schools. We have advocated for things like ensuring student data privacy, reauthorizing the Higher Education Act, and finalizing the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act in Congress (and similar CTE bills in Michigan). Specific examples of this collaborative work are numerous, but I will share one. Trustees from the South Redford district, the lobbyist for Oakland Schools, and I met with Congresswoman Dingell in her DC office to discuss the needs of Michigan schools. While there, I asked her to fully fund the IDEA and include public school buildings in any infrastructure package that Congress considers. It was important that Rep. Dingell (and other members) heard that we were speaking together on behalf of public schools.
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?
We must make literacy a priority. Two-thirds of students who don't read proficiently by 3rd grade will be incarcerated or live in poverty as adults. However, the current MI 3rd grade reading law lacks recognition of dyslexia as a significant cause of reading difficulty that affects as many as 1 in 5 people from all demographics. The law lacks evidence-based requirements for literacy coaches, universal screening tools, and remediation. It also lacks any funding for districts to properly implement the mandates.
What principles drive your policies for safety in schools?
Without a doubt, Ann Arbor Public Schools are leading in student safety. We are extremely proud of our win in the Michigan Supreme Court this summer in the gun case, and we also know that we need to stay vigilant about the gun bills in the House of Representatives. I also want to reassure our community that we are actively working to prevent violence in our schools. Prevention is our investment in students' social/emotional, behavioral, and mental health needs with additional staff members—especially those assigned to students at critical times of transition and to students who are most at-risk—and trained peer support. Prevention also includes consulting with our security experts to assess our campuses and make changes to the physical structures, technology, equipment, policies, procedures, and training. We have also been actively implementing best practices for emergency response. From joint FEMA training with the city and university, to education on nationally-recognized best practices learned at the National Association of School Safety and Law Enforcement Officials National Conference, to FBI Threat Assessment for Schools recommendations released in July 2018, AAPS is committed to adopting best practices for school safety. If there is more to be done as best practice recommendations evolve, we will implement it. We are mitigating threats, but ultimately I believe that it's our prevention work that will deliver us into a future where our children aren't expected to do active shooter drills, and safety isn't the number one issue in the minds of parents.
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.
See also
External links
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Personal |
Footnotes
| Ann Arbor Public Schools elections in 2018 | |
| Washtenaw County, Michigan | |
| Election date: | November 6, 2018 |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
