Student Success
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Students are the reason we’re here, and I try to keep student achievement as my main focus when making decisions. Before I joined the board, the district began an emphasis on improving graduation rates. I'm happy to see that they have increased significantly! But now it's time to take that a step further. We want our students to do more than just graduate, we want them to be equipped with the knowledge and the skills that will serve them in their careers.
I am concerned with the culture I've seen among a large portion of our high school students, who don't see the importance of being in class on time every day. We have seen, even with the recent utilization of Chromebooks, that the students who are face to face with a teacher regularly learn better and are more successful. I'd like to focus on improving attendance. Schools and parents will need to work together to help our students see the value of being in class every day. |
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Physical Safety
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As a parent and PTA volunteer, in 2013 I was asked to be a member of the Facilities Advisory Committee (FAC). We met regularly for several months, hearing from architects and studying engineering evaluations of 13 buildings in our school district. Most of the buildings we talked about did not meet earthquake codes, and were costing us more in maintenance on old systems than our annual budget could handle. I became the chairperson of the committee, and led everyone in creating a recommendation to the school board to be bold in addressing our many old schools. Ultimately, they decided to run a bond in 2014 to rebuild Sunset View, Rock Canyon, Edgemont, Provost, and Provo High. This issue was important to me, and so even though the work of the FAC was done, I chose to get involved in the campaign to share with the public why rebuilding these unsafe schools was so needed. The bond passed with over 70% of voter approval.
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As a board member in 2019, we were faced with news that Timpview was literally moving down the mountain. Although in 2014 we thought we had at least 10 years before we would need to address it, things had changed and we were now going to lose our state insurance on the building if we did not immediately address giving the students a safer place to learn. Dixon and Wasatch, over 90 and 70 years old respectively, also would need to be rebuilt soon, and so we asked voters to support a bond for all three schools. Although this bond did not pass, I stand behind asking for it. The needs are only more urgent, and costs since then have increased dramatically. Recently the board has taken steps to rebuild these schools. The main academic wing of Timpview will be completed in Summer of 2023, and Wasatch and Shoreline (the new name for the rebuilt Dixon Middle School) should be done in 2024. When these projects are completed, all of our schools will be up to current seismic codes.
Emotional Safety
Our schools should be places where our students are safe both physically and emotionally. Everyone deserves to feel loved, valued, and that they belong. To learn about the work I have done to help our schools create cultures of kindness and compassion, please see the Provo Kindness tab.
In April 2022, the board unanimously passed our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion statement. I wholeheartedly stand behind it.
In April 2022, the board unanimously passed our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion statement. I wholeheartedly stand behind it.
