1. Why do you want to win this position?

As a CHS graduate, I love our school. I loved going to school here and I’m so proud of the fact that my kids are also CHS graduates. I also love public education! Other than my parents, some of the greatest influences on my life have been educators. That is why I find the impact and the concept of offering all children in our state and our community an education to be amazing and life changing. We have a wonderful school and I want to see the successful completion of our plans for the future of our school.

2. If elected, what is your No. 1 goal on the school board?

I want us to continue our vision to involve and inspire all Cassville students for success in life, and fulfill their God given talents and abilities, by providing them with the vital paths of learning based upon their interests, strengths, and aspirations.

3. What areas of the school district do you think need improvement?

Last week the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) released the latest scores for school districts across the state. MSIP Annual Performance Report (APR) provides a glimpse of where you stand in various areas of evaluation and importance.

Like any assessment there are areas for opportunity to grow and areas of established accomplishment.

The great thing is that the administration and teaching staff already have plans and strategies for us to improve in various areas.

Based upon the report, Attendance Improvements will be an ongoing focus.

As the old saying goes, “You need to be in school to learn.” Secondly, our Success-Career Ready performance score has been designated as “approaching.”

4. What do you feel is most important for raising the quality of education provided by Cassville schools?

We are still the size of school where each student can receive personalized attention and have the ability to fulfill their potential. To make this happen it requires having great, nurturing teachers and support staff. In the State of Missouri, raising teacher pay is of the utmost importance for all schools to retain our great staff and to be able to attract the next generation of educators for

the kids in our district.

5. Taking into account a new performing arts center pending this election, what other capital projects do you think the school should pursue?

I believe it will be very important for us to continue to maintain and expand strong safety measures to keep our students and staff safe. Additionally, the Performing Arts Center will allow us to re-purpose areas in the high school. These will be opportunities for various programs to grow.

The addition of the Wild C Ranch/Research Farm also provides tons of development ideas for our FFA Department. Annually, we plan to upgrade the technology platforms for all of our students and staff.

Ongoing heating and air improvements and bus purchases are also priorities in this area.

6. Is the district’s communication with parents satisfactory or does it need work? What makes it work, or how would you improve it?

I was so happy when we hired a school communication coordinator. This has been vital to providing parents, students, and the community with essential information. Mindi has done a wonderful job in providing all types of communication outlets, which include the following: School Messenger, Text messaging, Social Media, School website, district App, district Publications, apps such as Seesaw, Canvas, plus articles in the Cassville Democrat and Barry County Advertiser.

Mindi, along with the administration and staff are continually looking for ways to extend our ability to provide timely information. We’ve definitely come a long way from the days of pinning a note to each kid as the primary form of communication when I started Kindergarten.

7. What classes or programs would you like to see added?

I would like for us to continue to expand our career readiness initiatives.

Specifically, adding computer science and coding classes would greatly benefit our students. These expansions continue to allow our students to gain skills that put them in an incredible position for gaining great jobs after graduation.

Additionally, I would like to see continued opportunities to reach at risk students and the development of an outdoor classroom area, when applicable, to give students an opportunity to change up the context of their learning experience, which can potentially spark creativity.

8. How do you hope to help students succeed after graduation?

The addition of the JAG Program (Jobs After Graduation) is a wonderful example of allowing our graduates to be career ready and take advantage of jobs after graduation. This is very exciting. Additionally, the opportunities afforded students attending our affiliated program at Scott Tech Center has been life changing for many graduates.

Our students who choose to attend college or enter the military continue to be very successful in their pursuits. I am so proud when I see publicity about CHS graduates excelling in life.