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Improving Academic Achievement
Colorful flowcharts, tables and pictographs are often used to describe learning results. We are asked to celebrate the fact Jeffco’s achievement scores are better than state averages. But I know that far too many students walk out the doors of Jeffco’s elementary schools without the skills they need to be successful in middle school. Before the pandemic, over 53% of our 3rd graders district wide were not meeting grade level indications in English Language Arts, and Math was even more disappointing with over 61% of 4th graders not meeting grade level expectations. As we all guessed and now know, with 2021 CMAS scores recently released, performance has declined even further. Our son went through Jeffco Schools when funds were more limited, yet achievement was significantly higher. Today’s students deserve better, and I will fight to ensure every Jeffco student has access to a high-quality education worthy of Jeffco’s historical tradition of excellence.
Increasing Financial Transparency
As a CPA, I know it can be challenging to “follow the money” and understand how Jeffco’s billion-dollar budget is allocated each year, and how the $567 million bond funds raised in 2018 are being deployed school by school as compared to what we the voters approved. Additionally, I know it can be hard to understand how Jeffco’s $146 million in Federally approved COVID relief funds have been or will be spent. Technology has made it easy to share data; but sharing transparent information that is easily readable and understandable by all takes hard work. I will work towards ensuring key financial information is available in easy-to-understand formats. And I will demand a clear understanding of how and why the billion-dollar budget is allocated between the classrooms and administration, and the rationale and efficacy behind those recommendations. I will also increase community engagement so that all voices are heard when setting budget priorities. These are hard earned dollars being spent every day, and I will oversee them with the same careful eye I have used throughout my career and in my home life.
Respecting Parents, Families and the Community
I remember the night my husband and I walked into our home with our newborn son. The elation we had felt just a few days earlier at his birth was replaced by the overwhelming realization of the responsibility we now had to ensure this tiny infant would grow, thrive, and have access to the best opportunities we could provide. I know my parents felt the same way about me and each of my twelve siblings and my husband and I feel that way about our daughters as well. Parents are and always should be the ultimate decision makers for what is best for their children. When families send their children off to school each morning, we place immense trust in those who will transport them, teach them, feed them, and provide for their needs when they are away from us. But parents and families should not have to give up their rights to make decisions about their children during school hours. We want to be engaged in the conversation and decision-making in areas that intersect with our role as parents, including curriculum, medical choices, and the best education environments for our children. Parents’ choices should be respected. We also want to be engaged in broader conversations about issues like whether to close schools and how to prioritize and allocate funds. We want a voice. I will do what it takes to actually hear parents, families and the community and bring our voices to the board table.
Transparent Governing
With years of experience sitting on corporate, non-profit, and educational boards, I know that it takes a unique skill set to guide and govern. It is a different skill set than doing the work. Serving on the Jeffco School Board, like the boards I have been honored to be a part of, requires the ability to work as a team, set goals for the leader and ask the hard questions to ensure progress toward the desired outcome is being made. To be successful the Jeffco School Board must have members that are willing to hear the community’s priorities, not come with the agenda of special interest groups. We must have the best interests of students as our core value. I will fight to govern with the needs of students as our priority and will work from day one to provide good governance.
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