Vision
Despite being the largest district with big classes, tight budgets and serving a huge area with varying needs, Alpine performs well in so many ways. Educators and communities work together, and work hard, to achieve great graduation rates, high college and career readiness and generally high rankings across categories. The new board needs to roll all of that excellence over while also using the fresh start to tackle our biggest challenge- growth. In short, we need to build!
Doings things differently from Alpine is also at the heart of why we split in the first place. To me, that means carefully prioritizing things we want to differently, to do better. With input from staff and parents we can tackle those things we care most about. For example:
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Adopt a standardized behavior response plan
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Finish school safety initiatives and plans
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Address chronic absenteeism
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Implement digital hall passes (tackle drug use in school)
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Expand literacy intervention services
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Plan to reduce class sizes
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Fully fund specialized programs like ALL and SpEd
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And more... keep reading
Culture
An educator friend of mine introduced me to the well-known saying, "Culture eats curriculum for breakfast, everyday". We have a tendency to want to talk about the new stuff- programs, trainings, curriculums, etc. However, our district primarily needs to focus on the culture by putting the student first, supporting our teachers and striving for excellence. A board that works with district leadership to make this our focus will create great places to work for our staff, improve students outcomes and develop a culture that outlasts any individual member.
Support
Supporting teachers and staff is at the core of my vision for Lake Mountain. A dedicated, supported workforce is key to student success and school excellence. In practice, this mean listening and then taking action. Our educators know what the problems are, I want to make sure I’m proactively focused on helping to address them. We also need to be careful to work towards high coherence (uniformity and adoption) through all our school.
To go fast we need to go slow. Let's ensure we transition with care and make strategic changes that get fully supported and adopted before always cruising right into the next thing.
Governance
I advocate for common sense governance, a passion for tackling hard problems and transparent decision-making that prioritizes the needs of our students and community. We have to set meaningful goals, keep focused on that vision and measure our activities/efforts to know if we are winning or losing.
Excellence
Fostering a culture of accountability and continuous improvement is essential. I am committed to creating goals and policies that support a focus on leading indicators of action and success rather than just test scores. Let’s create clear and concise expectations, be supportive every way we can, and finally, respond and adjust promptly when we fall short.
Community Voice
Listening to our community concerns and ideas is vital. I will serve as a strong voice for parents, students, and staff to ensure our schools reflect our shared values and priorities. All of our work should be guided by and focused on achieving our shared vision and goals. Even better, let’s build ways to help our parents actively participate and volunteer in unique and creative ways.
Arts & Legacy
There's something truly special about schools' Performing Arts programs. Our exceptional teachers practice a model of excellence in the way they teach and collaborate, both within and between schools. With this model as a blueprint, I believe that we can expand and create a legacy of excellence within our Performing Arts programs. This collaboration model can also apply to other programs, disciplines and areas of curriculum leaving a life-long impact on our students and the entire district community.