Campaign Phone
307-335-4215
1. I have taught on the college level for five decades. My years of teaching high school teachers Humanities and American founding documents in New England and in Texas have helped me to appreciate the generosity of public-school teachers and to understand both their challenges and their continuing desire to learn.
2. My commitment is to conserve and share the rich legacy of the Western tradition with our future citizens and leaders from our unique community in Wyoming. My extensive teaching and curricular experience prepare me to do so.
The current Superintendent and Director of Curriculum seem intent on achieving excellence. Offering them strong support and guidance in fulfilling their high standards should be the Board’s object. It will certainly be mine. Staff development that welcomes classic texts into the curriculum would provide a common ground from which to offer the best that has been known and taught.
One way to do so is to re-emphasize the fundamentals, especially the Humanities. What are understood in current circles as “soft skills” are in fact the hard skills that lay the foundation for civic and professional leadership. Studying literature, history, and the arts develops good writing, careful attention to detail, and the rhetorical skills that will enable students to become future leaders. Finally, the desire to serve in our armed forces is unlikely without an appreciation for our legacy of liberty and the duties which protect it for posterity.
AI can be a useful research tool and a valuable resource for learning, but it should never substitute for the development of the mind and imagination. Policies should be in place to guide students in its proper use, and students should be responsible for whatever they claim to have authored.
The school board acts as a steward of the intellectual tradition that inspired the development of public education, whose aim was to form responsible future citizens. Parents, whose first duty it is to educate their children, should feel confident that the public schools assist them in forming educated, cultivated young people. Educational institutions should not be undermining the efforts of parents to rear their children in the virtues. The school board should assist the superintendent and principals to foster a learning environment conducive to that high end.
Campaign Phone
307-438-9340
I was born and raised in Lander, and I attended these schools for my K-12 education. Additionally, I have a decade of teaching experience, including as a coach and substitute teacher for FCSD #1 and as a professor at CWC. As a student, educator, and community member, I have built strong relationships with teachers and families in this district. Professionally, my wide breadth of experience working in education in this county helps me understand its needs. I'm running for school board because I want to ensure that today's students receive the same great education that I did.
My top priority is to ensure that students, teachers, and staff feel safe, valued, and supported. While campaigning, I've heard numerous concerns about bullying, academic rigor, negative work environments, and bureaucratic processes impeding individuals' capacity to thrive in our schools. We need to return our focus to student academic and personal growth and recruiting and supporting high-quality staff. To do this, we need feedback systems that are fair, effective, and professional, and the board needs to work with teachers, staff, and administrators to solve problems.
We need to trust the expertise of our teachers, counselors, and staff members. When educators are supported, they build stronger rapport with students. This positive rapport allows them to hold students to high standards and makes students want to stay in school. We also need engaging and relevant curriculum that prepares students for future workforce needs and fosters life skills like strong work ethics, curiosity, and responsibility. Finally, we need to work with the State to maintain the funding needed to support our schools, students, and employees.
AI will reshape education, and it is essential that we have forward-thinking policies that prepare students for a rapidly changing future. We need classroom practices that teach students: 1) to think for themselves, 2) how to identify reputable sources of information and AI content, and 3) to develop ethics around appropriate AI use. We also need to defend core skills like reading, writing, and math. Finally, the advent of AI will reemphasize the need for students to learn skills that can’t be replaced by AI, like: automotive, agriculture, culinary, art, and woodworking.
1) We have a serious staff/teacher retention problem. In the past 5 years we've lost many great employees to other districts. Similarly, many students have opted to homeschool or attend school online, which decreases funding to the district and weakens our sense of community. We need to identify why people are leaving and collaborate to address these issues. 2) The board should focus on big picture educational issues rather than micromanaging employees. The board needs to thoroughly consider all pros and cons of policies, as well as public input, before passing policies.
Campaign Phone
307-438-1039
Over the last 4 yrs serving on the school board I have had countless conversations about issues and accomplishments of FCSD#1. As a school psychologist I know the school culture & as a mother I have a vested interest in the success of our schools. I have a heart for service. I volunteer in many other ways besides my role as a school board member, including through my church. I attend school assemblies, field trips, sporting events, and other extracurricular events. This gives me the opportunity to connect. Serving my community is how I can make the biggest impact.
Our district provides quality education for all students in a variety of ways. Continued support to early intervention is one way to enhance this. Research has shown that early intervention can lead to improved cognitive & language development. Continuing to build a community culture with an emphasis on education is another. Many families don’t have the time and/or resources to further support their students. By continuing to hold family engagement nights, as well as to offer programs such as Lights On, our school district supports students in many ways.
Not all students learn in a traditional classroom setting and many will go on to work in environments which do not model this setting, so exploring other methods of learning is vital. Internships/work study programs will further prepare students for life beyond school. Even if our students have the most rigorous academic studies provided, but fail to understand the concepts of deadlines, critical thinking, work ethic, & adaptability, chances are they will be less successful than their peers that had opportunities to exercise these skills in their educational experience.
Artificial intelligence is becoming a part of everyday life and there is no way to prevent it from emerging in education. AI has many benefits, but unfortunately many disadvantages as well. One possible disadvantage is that these tools can be used to recite information without a student having a firm grasp on the content of learning. Another concern could be the reliance of AI without a student determining authenticity of an image, content, resource etc. Policies that guide and explain the proper usage of AI for classroom learning will help alleviate these issues.
Parental rights, transparency & funding are big issues with some cross-over. FCSD#1 receives funding based on enrollment, dropping enrollment results in less funding. If parents don't feel the school has their child’s best interest in mind they will remove them. Homeschool, private and virtual schools numbers continue to increase for a variety of reasons. If parents have chosen these due to distrust of the system, as many of them have, this can be remedied. FCSD#1 must have a culture & system of transparency & respect parental roles to ensure enrollment doesn't drop further
Campaign Phone
307-349-2121
Nearly my entire adult life has been committed to serving my country and my community. I am a veteran of the U.S. Army and have served as a law enforcement officer for the past 19 years. I have been serving on the FCSD#1 Board of Trustees for five years. All of my seven children have attended schools in Lander, with three currently in the middle school and two at LVHS. I am a principled conservative who is deeply invested in the success of our schools.
Every child in our community should and does have equal access to excellent educational opportunities. The schools in the State of Wyoming are highly competitive compared to the rest of the nation and Lander’s schools are very competitive in Wyoming. I will continue to support measures that give all of our children equal access to a great education that prepares them for whatever path they choose to follow after graduation.
Rather than just focusing on increasing this number for its own sake, we should be ensuring that students are prepared for their next steps post high school, whatever those steps may be. For many this is likely college, we do a great job preparing these students. For some students the military will provide an honorable and challenging path, and for others the trades are an excellent option. A greater focus on preparing non-college bound students for their path will likely motivate them and lead to an increase in our graduation rate.
AI is still in it’s infancy but is rapidly becoming a tool the skilled and ethical use of which will be important for our students to acquire. Our schools will need policies that help guide the integration of AI into our curriculum and prevent its abuse.
Over the last several years we have seen a decline in enrollment, much of this correlates to demographic changes seen across Wyoming while some of the decline is likely due to a lack of trust in our schools. Regardless of the reason, in the future there will be a need to confront shrinking budgets while still providing quality educational opportunities. The trust issues can be addressed by fostering a culture of transparency and accountability in our schools.
Campaign Phone
3072143875
First and foremost I would say my teaching experience in the classroom. I have nearly a decade in the classroom teaching both middle and high school in various districts and settings. I spent my first three years teaching at a charter school in Cheyenne, WY. Then to the Wind River Reservation at Ft. Washakie and now I am in FCSD #25 as a concurrent enrollment government/computer sci. instructor.
The other attribute I would highlight is my ability to listen to understand and not to respond. I am running for this office to serve the students and staff of FCSD #1.
Everything a school board does eventually filters down to the students and staff of our great district. As such, policies that are partisan in nature should be avoided if at all possible.
All students deserve to feel safe in their educational environment no matter what. The board sends a clear message by enacting policies that ensure this takes place.
I would start by identifying the reasons that students are not graduating and/or not graduating on time and begin to focus on those reasons first.
I have spoken directly to students that graduated because they had one staff member or teacher that made a connection with them. This directly ties back into the importance of recruiting and retaining the best staff for our students.
As far as post graduation focusing on a robust CTE program and continuing the collegiate advancement we already see are great starting points. Providing students with many options is critical.
Like it or not AI is here with us and it is not going anywhere. We should be teaching our students to use it responsibly and ethically to enhance their learning.
Many school districts across the United States are taking the approach of banning or blocking AI in the classroom. This is the wrong approach. We should embrace it and use it for good. As an educator I use it for many tasks from administration tools, analysis, lesson planning ideas, and much more. Students should do the same to enhance and bolster their education.
The top issues the board should address are the budget, staff retention/recruitment, and student enrollment.
All of these issues are linked and not separate. The board should spend money efficiently and in targeted areas where it is student and staff focused.
Retaining staff is critical to providing the absolute best education for our kids, as well as maintaining student enrollment.
Campaign Phone
3073496063
My 50-year career in education has given me the experience needed to serve as a school board member. In addition, I feel a great deal of compassion for students and for the role the school board can play in their lives. I am running for the board because I am qualified and motivated to provide the best education for Fremont County students.
Our students need more recognition not only as human beings but as humans with the same rights and privileges as any American. Our marginalized students are not being treated fairly. We need to keep the power to choose what books are in our school libraries with our school librarians. Mandatory drug testing does not belong in our schools. The methodology that teachers choose to use matters little to students. What matters to them is being listened to and respected by adults that care.
Nothing is more important than the people we choose to teach our students. Education thrives on relationships. Students stay in school and graduate, more than any other reason, because they believe they matter and believe someone cares for them. We need to attract and keep the very best teachers.
It's too early to tell. Undeniably, AI is here to stay, and it will become more and more prevalent. I believe that AI can be used to the benefit of education. We need a lot more thought into how AI can be of benefit to our students.
Nothing is more important than the emotional, physical, and mental safety of our students. Challenges to safety currently lie in the treatment of marginalized students, the threat of violence on campuses, and (although it may not be readily evident) in the development of curricula that enable students to develop critical thinking skills.
