Issues

  • I’m not a fan of the old, industrialized “one–size fits all” approach to education. I have 3 children and I can’t get them to eat the same breakfast, much less learn at the same pace! Technology now gives us the tools to assess every child so that we can teach them based on their own individual needs. All kids are unique and should be assessed, instructed, challenged and measured for growth to ensure they reach their greatest potential. Student engagement is key to learning, but they can’t be engaged unless they are treated as unique individuals. LEAD 2021 brings us this individualized learning model, which will enable us to compete with area districts.
  •  Being a “destination” school district is important for all of us. The largest percentage of our local tax bills goes to education. We need to streamline spending, make budget decisions thoughtfully in accordance with our strategic plan, and conservatively manage our fund balance to ensure that we give our taxpayers an excellent return on their investment by supporting students to achieve their personal best.
  • We need to deliver the promises of LEAD 2021. I was honored to be 1 of only 30 members of our district’s LEAD 2021 10-year Strategic Planning Team. That team set the strategic objectives and strategies for our district and then hundreds of other members joined the various sub-teams. At that stage I joined the Curriculum sub-team researching best practices in other districts and the latest proven learning models utilizing student engagement. The process resulted in what I believe is a very strong plan for our district to remain competitive in the years ahead and a great excitement for what this means for our students. My goal for being on the board is to ensure that we use the community’s resources strategically and in line with that plan.  Parents need to be aware of LEAD 2021 and hold the district and board accountable for its implementation.
  • Parents are an incredible resource to our district and should be considered as partners in the education process for both our district and to our board of trustees.  I started SAGE because I learned that we were the only district in NE Tarrant County without a parent support group for their gifted and talented students. Parent groups support the students and programs within the schools, connect parents to valuable resources and to each other; and educate and support their teachers and administrators. For SAGE, within 1 year over 1,000 parents had actively subscribed to our communications proving that there was definitely an unmet need for a group like that in our community. Many other parent groups, booster clubs, and PTA/PTSAs exist throughout our district providing a critical supplement to our district’s increasingly limited resources.
  • We have to create models of learning that support our teachers and give them the curriculum, tools and training they need to be successful. My mom is a choral director at Diamond-Hill Jarvis on the North Side of Fort Worth. Through creating meaningful and relevant learning opportunities for her students, such as a performing Tejano band and digital music class, she has seen kids get scholarships to college when their parents didn’t ever graduate from high school.  Once, she even got a call from the backstage of the Grammys from a former student who wanted her to know that she would not have been there without my mom’s guidance in high school! I believe in the impact that a single teacher can make in the life of a child.
  • The current state of funding for Texas public schools is our biggest challenge as a district right now. Thanks to our previous boards of trustees, we have a healthy fund balance, or savings account, that is helping us right now, but if nothing changes in the next legislative session, we won’t have a choice but to make drastic changes. The current funding formulas are outdated, unfairly cap our revenue and take away our local control. Our district is looking at alternative sources of revenue for the district but nothing can make up for a $14 million dollar hit, if that projected number becomes our reality. We must work with legislators and other districts like ours to remedy this inequitable and outdated funding model.