Hello. I am running for the ISD 110 School Board And I couldn’t be more excited! I am a mom of 4 amazing kids, and I have been married to my wonderful husband for 23 years. My two oldest daughters graduated from Waconia High School. I have a daughter starting 9th grade and a son starting 6th grade.
When we were moving to Minnesota almost 5 years ago, we researched schools and chose Waconia for its amazing music programs and its great school ratings. We have fallen in love with the community and been so happy with the care and support our kids have received from Waconia’s amazing teachers. I am a lifelong educator and learner. I believe in the power of education to change lives. I believe that our community is made stronger by great schools and that great schools create an amazing community.
I am running for school board because I want to offer my help to make Waconia schools be the best they can be. I believe I have a lot to offer based on my experience as a parent, educator, former business owner, and volunteer. I am committed to approaching problems and concerns with transparency and accountability. I don’t believe in coming into a situation thinking I have all the right answers. I try to approach concerns with curiosity. I am committed to researching all aspects of a situation and learning from people with different views. I believe our community is strongest when we work together to find solutions to complicated problems. Waconia schools have so much good to offer and I am so proud to be part of this community.
The importance of getting a good education was ingrained in me as a child. My dad was a special education teacher who then became a junior high school principal. My mom was a grammar wiz who was the managing editor of the Arizona State University law school’s law and science journal. I grew up loving English, history, and government and settled on history as my major in college. I was able to get both my bachelors and masters in history and had the opportunity to conduct research for my thesis in the colonial archives in Aix-en-Provence, France. The cool thing about studying history is that it taught me how to research. The discipline taught me how to gather sources from multiple perspectives to get a more clear picture of history.
I worked as an adjunct history professor at the University of Phoenix for a few years while my two oldest children were young. I was then extremely blessed to be able to stop working for about 8 years to focus on raising our 4 kids. I decided to homeschool my two oldest for several years. Then, as my oldest reached middle school, we realized that although homeschooling had been a great decision for us, there were so many opportunities and experiences that our kids would gain if they started attending public school. When I headed back to work, I worked at an online university supporting students in the teacher preparation program. For the last 3 years I have been working part-time as a social studies teacher for an online private school teaching 6-12 graders.
I also have made volunteering a big part of my life. I have been a rape crisis councilor, boy scout leader, meals on wheels volunteer, and led organizations for children and youth. In both my work and volunteer positions, I have trained new employees and teachers. I have developed and facilitated many workshops in both my professional and volunteer capacities.