Why am I running?

After a long time of talking about running with family, friends, coaches and mentors - it's finally real life! One of the best things about that has been all the great questions I have gotten thus far. I am hoping to share as many of those questions and answers with you here so that you can get to know me better and hear directly from me why I am so passionate about our kids and our schools. One of the questions I get the most is, "What made you decide to run?" So, here it goes! It all started at the Harper's Kroger when I ran into an old teacher and neighbor. She and I were in the Starbucks line talking about Sycamore. Part of our discussion was around how many people it takes to keep a district as awesome as ours - awesome. That conversation really made me stop and think about how many people it truly takes and how many community members have stepped up in the past to serve our kids and our community. It was in that moment that conversations I had had in the past about this all came together. I am a product of this district and the many people who served before me. I am a product of others' caring about our students and schools. I am a product of all the hard work of others and I am ready to give back! I have been attending Board Meetings as often as I can and have been learning a lot about how our district runs. In addition to my diverse board experiences I have been spending a lot of time learning about what makes an effective school board and school board member. Ultimately, my goal is to support our schools in a way that positively impacts our students and I am positive that I am cut out for the job. One key reason I want to serve is that I believe exposure leads to achievement and Sycamore has a great track record of providing our students with a variety of diverse experiences. I want to ensure that this remains a focus area and am passionate about helping our leadership teams strategically think through what that means now and in the future. Another reason I want to serve is the focus on talent and talent development a school board can help support for all leaders in the district. This is a specialty area of mine and what better way to leverage it than supporting those who support our kids day in and day out. Lastly, data! I love data and through attending board meetings have been really impressed with how we leverage data to make the best decisions for our students. This is another area where I know my passion and expertise can help to further our district. Most importantly, I really believe the district is doing great things. I want to support our Superintendent, staff and community in continuing to do great things that will help our students achieve. If they can see it, they can be it!