Introduction
A. Motto for My Campaign
If you want to know the phrase that would encapsulate my campaign then it would be this:
“It takes a community to raise a child.”
Ancient African Proverb
B. Guiding Principles
The 8 Philosophical Pillars for Peace, which are also from my policy site (Interstellar New Deal), are the principles which will guide me as I work towards understanding problems and finding their solutions:
- Interdependence
- Humanity
- Natural World
- Sustainability
- Education
- Equity
- Justice and Compassion
- Science and Technology
If you want to know more about these guiding principles then read that page (linked to above).
C. We Must Work Together
First, let me say that I cannot guarantee or promise that any of my ideas will get done. I am only one person and I will be new to the school board and will have a lot to learn before I can work towards accomplishing anything.
If we really want to be able to accomplish anything, to effectuate real change to help our children and out community, I will NOT be able to do it alone. I will need you – the parents, the students, the teachers, and the community members – behind me. With your support and activism everything will be possible. For anything to be accomplished we will need to do it together because we are stronger together, and because it takes a community to raise a child.
I. Differentiating Me From the Other Candidates
Introduction
What sets me apart from the other candidates? I bring 3 things to the table that, I believe, the other candidates may not:
- System Outsider
- Understanding of Macro Issues
- Grassroots Oriented
A. System Outsider
I am not a current of former member of the school system, so I have not had my point of view limited or biased by experience within the system. I have a more objective and critical view from outside of the system.
B. Understanding of Macro Issues
I have spent the last 15 years trying to understand why our world is so messed up and how to fix it, and, while doing so, I have concentrated on understanding the macro issues – larger issues such as poverty, inequality, minimum wage, LGBT issues, climate issues, electoral reform, etc which effect the entirety of our country.
These macro issues are very important, because these macro issues drive and even create the local issues, therefore if we do not work towards solving them that any other work we do towards solving issues within the school system will have a limited effect.
C. Grassroots Oriented
​If your solutions are not grassroots oriented then you are denying yourself your most powerful ally because the people are the rightful masters of societal change.
James O’Neill
My ideas towards solving the issues that our schools face are community and grass roots oriented. Only through working together can we solve our issues.
II. Policies
A. General Macro Policies for Education
You can find my macro-policies for educational reform on my policy site: Interstellar New Deal.
B. Core Policies
Introduction
If you want one phrase that will embody my policies for the Baraboo School Board then it would be this:
“It takes a community to raise a child.”
Ancient African Proverb
These will change as I learn and understand more of the issues that face our school district, but here are the core issues for my campaign:
- Empowering and Supporting Parents
- Empowering and Supporting Teachers
- Increasing Transparency
- Reducing Socioeconomic Inequality
- Curriculum Changes for Compassion
- Ending Destruction of Education Through Government
1. Empowering and Supporting Parents
- Play Areas/Babysitters for Meetings
- District Parent Support Group Portal Site (DPSG PS)
- Parent Support Groups Expansion
- Parent Support Group Council
2. Empowering and Supporting Teachers
- Support Teacher’s Union
- Reduce Pay Inequality
- Teacher-to-Admin Feedback Loop
- Veteran’s Teacher Council
- Overturn Act 10 and strengthen unions.
3. Increasing Transparency
- Governing Laws and Sources
- FOIA Data Site
- Page detailing on how to run for School Board
- Meeting Presentations and Handouts Availability
- Meeting Notifications
- Set School Board Member Number
- Staff Directory Normalization
- Exit Interviews
- Meeting Recording Publishing
- Crowd-Sourcing Transcripts for Meetings
- Update and Expand the Accessibility Info
4. Reducing Socioeconomic Inequality
- Family Support Liaison (Equity position expansion?)
- Reduce/Eliminate Out-of-Pocket Expenditures
- Healthy Food Planning
5. Curriculum Changes for Compassion
a. An Educational Trip to the Nordic Countries
If we want to be the best school district in the country then we should probably start by learning from the best schools in the world – the schools in the Nordic countries. The sad part is that they learned from the US years ago and built the best education system in the world.
We can start by sending a few educators/administrators over to the Nordic Countries to learn how they do things, perhaps for a few weeks or up to a month in each of the 4 countries, or perhaps they will have a teacher exchange program of sorts.
b. A Compassion Based Curriculum
If we want to stem the tide of racism and bullying then we need a curriculum which starts with the following:
- mindfulness
- empathy
- compassion
- solidarity
- consent
- diversity
6. Ending Destruction of Education Through Government
- Connect the schools of the district to the schools of the rest of the county and then connect them to the rest of the districts of the state.
- Create a statewide activist campaign to rally for needed changes.
C. More In Depth
For the School Board Forum from 2020 I have filled out their questionnaire and their questions too. This will give more detail about my thoughts and policies beyond the outline I provide above.