about will

As a parent within this school district, coupled with over twenty years of coaching football at the high school level, my role as President of the Grand Valley Youth Football League, my volunteer work with Special Olympics, and my service on the board for Adaptive Heroes, as well as my current position as your D51 School Board Director, I have a deep understanding of the challenges and obstacles our young residents face as they navigate through our local educational system.

Having direct contact with students as well as having the training of being a Residential Supervisor for nine years at a facility dedicated to assisting troubled youths, I have developed the reputation for being trustworthy and easy to talk to. My interactions with students and their parents are as a friend and confidant. These conversations give me a sense of understanding that allows me to make the best decisions for our community on the School Board.

My goal has been to create an open conversation to assist in eliminating the sense of alienation that occurs when one part of our school community is left in the dark or feels misunderstood. We have made tremendous improvements in this area and this is a major reason we have seen such improvement among our students.

I have worked hard to continue to bridge the gaps that have been inherent in the nationwide education system in reference to our minority students. Truth needs to be the key element here — truth in unity and in diversity, with the idea that education should be equal in all facets rather than only as it applies to one or two ideologies. Improvements have been made, but there is still much work to do.

Being directly connected to Grand Valley's youths, I have learned that the younger residents of Grand Junction and the surrounding communities have minds of their own and a vocabulary to accompany them. Student choices and self-accountability too often fall on deaf ears. I have worked hard to turn this around, and we are seeing the results.

Communication is the element that binds our systems together, and stressing that from the students' point of view has proven to strengthen the foundation from the ground up.

I ask for your support in my campaign for re-election. We have seen what good policy can do for our students and teachers. Let’s continue to work together to deliver a better education system for our students.