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PLATFORM
Student-focused progress.
Our children are our greatest asset, and we owe them the best education Lebanon can offer! This means we need to emphasize, seek out, and reward quality teaching and instruction, build on and expand successful academic and extra-curricular programs within our schools, enhance technological resources, invest responsibly in necessary infrastructure, and provide Lebanon students with on-going, quality opportunities for growth. The Board will need to look closely at our schools to ensure that our facilities and curriculum keep our students educationally challenged and thoughtfully engaged. The Board should also become more involved with education legislation at the state level to make sure that our local students’ concerns and needs are being addressed.
Increased transparency in our district.
First, we need better communication between the district and the community at large. Zoom broadcasts have increased public participation in Board meetings this year, and we should continue to expand community access to Board deliberations and enhance relationships between the district and community businesses, non-profits, and government as we seek to modernize our schools going forward. I would like the Board to be proactive in seeking more community involvement in district programs and discussions and use social media and other platforms to inform the community about issues, changes, and news in concise, clear terms.
Second, we need to do a better job of connecting and communicating with parents and teachers at the district level, bringing parents from diverse backgrounds and teachers who see our kids every day into our conversations about student needs, programs, and engagement in Lebanon schools. To that end, we should look for new ways to reach, engage, and involve parents.
Evidence-based, data-driven decisions.
When the pandemic began, the many unknowns meant decisions had to be made based on limited information and lots of assumptions. Thankfully, we now have more information available to make more informed decisions. The next Board will face the challenge of helping students socio-emotionally and academically in a post-COVID world. But first we have to ask hard questions, find out who has the answers we need, and then listen carefully to all stakeholders. We are fortunate in Lebanon to have so many community resources and so much expertise available to us. We need to work actively to seek out and invite all relevant voices into our conversations, listen to what they have to say, and then work together to make proactive decisions that will benefit our students, our schools, and our community going forward.
Compassionate questioning & listening.
One attribute that will serve me well as a future member of the Board is my penchant for asking the right questions and listening intently to all answers. I believe it is important for the Board to hear all perspectives during the decision-making process, including parents, teachers, administrators, and community members, and I will work to invite those voices into the conversation, particularly those who may have been ignored or overlooked previously. Our district needs to be as inclusive as possible at every level and that begins with the Board actively seeking divergent perspectives and modeling how to seek out and include under-represented groups in our deliberations, particularly as we face upcoming difficult discussions on sensitive topics. The more voices we hear, the stronger our schools will be.
Contact me to share what matters to YOU!
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