Tam Agosti-Gisler
Tam Agosti-Gisler is the former Seat F incumbent on the Anchorage School Board in Alaska. She ran for re-election and won against challenger David Nees in the general election on April 7, 2015.[1] Agosti-Gisler did not seek re-election in 2018.
Agosti-Gisler participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates.
Agosti-Gisler was targeted for recall in 2015, along with fellow board members Kameron Perez-Verdia, Pat Higgins and Kathleen Plunkett. The effort was rejected by the city when two of the three allegations against the board members were either determined to not be illegal or else could not be proven.[2]
Biography
Agosti-Gisler was raised in Anchorage and attended Turnagain Elementary, Romig Junior High and West High, where she graduated with honors in 1975. She has her bachelor's degree in international relations from Stanford University. She started teaching in Anchorage School District in 1982, where she is an educator currently. Agosti-Gisler and her husband, Hans, have three children.[3]
Elections
2015
The general election in the Anchorage School District featured three seats up for election on April 7, 2015. Seat E incumbent Kathleen Plunkett faced challenger Derrick Slaughter. In the Seat F race, incumbent Tam Agosti-Gisler competed against challenger David Nees. Two newcomers, Starr Marsett and Elisa Snelling, faced off for Seat G, since incumbent Natasha von Imhof did not file for re-election.
Plunkett defeated Slaughter for Seat E. Agosti-Gisler also won re-election to Seat F by defeating Nees. Snelling defeated Marsett for Seat G.[1]
Results
| Anchorage School District, Seat F General Election, 3-year term, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Tam Agosti-Gisler Incumbent |
56.1% | 25,623 | |
| Nonpartisan | David Nees | 42.9% | 19,572 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 1% | 443 | |
| Total Votes | 45,638 | |||
| Source: Municipality of Anchorage, "Election Summary Report," accessed May 26, 2015 | ||||
Funding
Agosti-Gisler reported $20,750 in contributions and $10,584.74 in expenditures to the Alaska Public Offices Commission, which left her with $10,165.26 on hand during the election.[4]
Endorsements
Agosti-Gisler received an endorsement from the Anchorage Education Association.[5]
2012
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Tam Agosti-Gisler |
61.3% | 32,864 | |
| Nonpartisan | Richard Wanda | 37.3% | 19,975 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in | 1.4% | 776 | |
| Total Votes | 53,615 | |||
| Source: Municipality of Anchorage, "Election History," accessed February 10, 2014 | ||||
Campaign themes
2015
Ballotpedia survey responses
Agosti-Gisler participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display her responses to the survey questions. When asked what her top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:
| “ | Implementation of our CTE initatives Expansion of our optional programs, particularly in language immersion |
” |
| —Tam Agosti-Gisler (2015)[7] | ||
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. This table displays this candidate's rankings from most to least important:
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in Alaska. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving college readiness | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding career-technical education | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer 10 questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are in the left column, and the candidate's responses are in the right column of the following table:
| Question | Response |
|---|---|
| "We have implemented." | |
| "Yes" | |
| "No" | |
| "They can reflect proficiency, but I need to be convinced they can accurately reflect GROWTH." | |
| "Focus on kindergarten readiness so everyone leaves the gate at the same time Focus on early literacy | |
| "#2 and #3 is what we do; alternative educational setting for an expelled student is an option."* | |
| "Analyses of: WHY the school is failing, e.g., chronic absences of students; socio-economic factors that need mitigation; etc. | |
| "Depends on set-up. We have bonuses for those with National Board certification" | |
| "Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district." | |
| "Continue to build our highly-effective 25 year old School Business Partnership program with over partnerships already (Full disclosure- I was previously the director.), Continue our participation in the 90% by 2020 community group doing collective impact data analysis on education" | |
| *Note: The two options Agosti-Gisler referred to were the following: 2.) Expulsion should be used for serious offenses to ensure the safety of other students as well as the integrity of education at district schools. 3.)Students with behavior problems should be sent to alternative schools to remove them from their current environments rather than being expelled. | |
Candidate website
Agosti-Gisler highlighted the following issues on her campaign website:
| “ | What do I Believe?
1) About Learning • All students CAN learn; if they understand the relevance of their subjects, they will be MOTIVATED to learn. • Students will rise to the level of expectation set by parents, teachers and administrators and we MUST set that bar high. • Enhancing students' abilities to integrate thinking, feeling, and behaving prepares them for success in life,and makes them employable, contributing members of society. 2) About Teaching • Teachers are responsible for meeting the varied learning needs of all of their students through differentiation in instruction and for respecting individual and cultural differences. • Educators and students are entitled to the support needed to be successful. • Educators, administrators and parents need to hold students and themselves accountable to achieving one year's growth each academic year. 3) About 21st Century Education • The skills of our educators and modern technology must be leveraged so that students have increased access to instruction throughout and beyond the traditional school day and with a wider choice of curriculum and teachers. • Students must master three fundamental skills: how to find information, how to assess the quality of information from a vast array of sources, and how to creatively and effectively use information to accomplish a goal. • Because our world is changing at an exponential rate, we are currently preparing students for jobs that don't yet exist, using technologies that haven't yet been invented to solve problems we don't currently recognize. It is therefore crucial that students learn to think critically and express themselves clearly both orally and in writing.[6] |
” |
| —Tam Agosti-Gisler's campaign website (2015)[8] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Tam Agosti Gisler Anchorage School District. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Anchorage School District, Alaska
- Anchorage School District elections (2015)
- Hot tub Gatorade, turnout in Peoria and the Wisconsin state budget... (April 8, 2015)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Municipality of Anchorage, "Election Summary Report," accessed April 8, 2015
- ↑ Alaska Dispatch News, "Municipality denies recall petition to oust 4 Anchorage School Board members," November 16, 2015
- ↑ Anchorage School District, "Tam Agosti-Gisler," accessed February 19, 2015
- ↑ Alaska Public Offices Commission, "Campaign Finance Disclosures," accessed April 2, 2015
- ↑ Alaska Education Association, "Welcome to the Alaska Education Association," accessed March 31, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Tam Agosti-Gisler responses," February 26, 2015
- ↑ [1]
| 2015 Anchorage School District Elections | |
| Anchorage, Alaska | |
| Election date: | April 7, 2015 |
| Candidates: | Seat E: • Incumbent, Kathleen Plunkett • Derrick Slaughter
Seat F: • Incumbent, Tam Agosti-Gisler • David Nees Seat G: • Starr Marsett • Elisa Snelling |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
