Video

Thank you National Honor Society, all of you here today and my fellow candidates.

• I have lived in Gahanna since 2006 with my husband and my twins. They just graduated from Gahanna Lincoln and are off to college.
• People have asked me why I decided to run. 
  • First I want to give back to a district that has been a wonderful place to raise my family.
  • For the past 2 years, I have been a volunteer on our school district’s Master Facilities Planning committee 
    • During this time I have worked alongside teachers, staff, administrators and community members assessing our building, listening to the community and making recommendations.
    • I have seen the opportunities we have as well as the deeper needs 
    • It was actually someone on the committee who suggested I run for the Board.
• I did a lot of research on the Board role, what is needed and realized not only would it be rewarding work if elected but also I have the skills to bring to the role.
• The purpose of a school board is to establish policies and programs that create the foundation for students’ academic achievement. To do so you need vision, strategic planning, attentive listening skills, the ability to collaborate with many different perspectives and ability to unite diverse groups.
• My time as a 15 year leader in marketing communications for OhioHealth has prepared me for this role. 
• I have led many diverse teams setting long term goals, problem solving and finding common ground
• I also have deep empathy - a strength that got me assigned to critical projects the past 2 years working alongside Well-Being clinicians, helping the frontline with fatigue and burnout.
• The world is in a challenging place right now. Everyone has been impacted by COVID in some way. As I have been going door to door meeting many in our community, I have heard how people are tired of the negativity and divisiveness that exists right now in our world and at the local level. 
• We have an amazing school district with amazing opportunities for the future.
• We need a board that can work together, lean into positive and productive dialogue taking into account all students, all families, teachers and staff  - their safety, support and needs.
• I have the skills and I have the passion for public service
• I have the desire to serve even when times get hard and we are challenged.
• I am coming into this with an open mind. I truly want to create an environment where all feel a sense of belonging so that all may thrive.
• My promise to you as students, parents, teachers, staff and administrators, is: 
  • To always listen to all perspectives
  • To always seek to understand
  • To always have the students at the center of all decisions
  • To continue to create a transparent and inclusive environment 
• The Well-Being of our teachers is important as well. Retaining and attracting high quality teachers is also important for ensuring all children have an opportunity for high quality public education. Our teacher’s, administrators have been on the frontlines of this pandemic. 
• It is important we have a culture where teachers feel empowered, trusted and supported.  
• My three areas of focus are:
  • Support robust mental health programming
  • Improve communication and engagement
  • Champion expanding hands on career and trade programming 
  • I will share more about these in the next question.
• Thank you for this opportunity. I humbly ask for your vote on November 2.

Support Robust mental health programming - 

• 1 in 5 children has a significantly impairing mental disorder; yet less than half get the treatment they need (Nationwide Children's Hospital). 
• I applaud the district for hiring additional mental health professionals. 
• Thrilled to hear about the Take Five to Save lives initiative at the high school.
• There is a lot more work we can support such as mental health first aid (which is identifying the signs of distress), education on building resilience and the importance of self-care as well as peer and group support.
• Schools offer a unique opportunity for early identification, prevention and interventions.
• My daughter was diagnosed with anxiety as a sophomore - I have seen firsthand the benefits of exceptional behavioral health. 
• Through my work at OhioHealth, I understand the importance and have the experience supporting our mental health experts. 

Improve communication and engagement with district

• In my canvassing and meeting the community the majority of comments were
  • That school families felt communication came to them through multiple places and was a lot to sort through and felt overwhelmed at times or couldn’t find easily what they were looking for.
  • The (rest of the) community felt there wasn't enough – they don’t have the same access or visibility.
• I would like to support our current communications team to form a strategic plan with actions steps to further dialogue and meet people where they are with the communication they need – using focus groups and surveys to gain insights.

Use our expansions and new buildings to bring more career and trade programming into our schools

• My son was in pre-nursing at Eastland Fairfield Career Center and I saw how this provided opportunities to explore and discover passions for life after high school.
• We can bring more of those programs into our own buildings with partnerships in the community, trade apprenticeships and with EFCTS. Many students don’t want to travel to Eastland Fairfield and leave their home school during the day,
• It is not just bricks and mortar but how we use the spaces we have.

• As a Board it is our responsibility that we never end up in that position.
• I applaud Beryl and Daphne for creating the Finance Committee, a committee open to the public to attend monthly inviting dialogue on our district budget. This is a level of transparency most districts don’t have.
• During tough financial times, the collaboration and work would focus on creative thinking in stretching our dollars in other areas and adjusting how those dollars work.
• That is my job every day at OhioHealth. We are a not-for-profit health system and every dollar is examined and assessed before we spend it.
• The welfare of our students should be at the center of all decisions. 
• To support that we need to keep budget cuts away from students. It should always be at the bottom of the list. 

Electives – 

• There is so much value in taking electives.
• For example, multiple research studies support that students who engage in the study of the arts perform better in math, reading and writing.
• Electives are also another layer of self-exploration and a student finding their passion.
• Electives also provide leadership and team building opportunities. My daughter was in DECA and Yearbook. Both provided skills she will have the rest of her life – working as a team, planning a strategic vision for a project and setting goals.
• Electives can also boost a student’s confidence. Performing on stage, working towards a goal and having people support you along the way.
• I was very active in band, choir, art and theatre – everything I learned in those electives I use to this day. Presenting to my CEO, leading a team, creating projects that connect to people – all skills from electives.
• They are a long-term benefit equally as important as the major subject areas.

Post-secondary options

• The decision of life after high school is one that brings much anxiety to students.
• As I mentioned earlier, we have a unique opportunity to expand career and trade programming.
• In addition to that we also need to invest in supporting the students in the steps needed to get on their desired paths.
  • Help with FAFSA forms
  • Essay writing
  • Scholarship applications
  • Apprenticeship programs
  • Resume writing
  • Interviewing skills
• Ideas would be to partner with area businesses and their Human Resources departments for resume and interview guidance.
• Engage with scholarship review committees to share what they look for in an essay.
• How to apply to apprenticeship programs – there are 1,300 apprenticeship opportunities and over 230 different positions available.
• Even before students get to high school we need to bring exploration in the younger years before the pressures of deciding are there. Eastland Fairfield Career and Technical Schools have camps and career days aimed at younger students.