Candidate Forum Responses Written by Amy Plum

1. What is the role of the school board?

 The role of a school board member is to help set the vision for the district.  It is also to be a mediator, a conflict negotiator, a fact checker, a researcher, an advocate, a decision maker, a fiduciary manager, a change agent, all with regard to the health and well being of our school district with respect to our community.

2. Where will you find the information to help you as a board member? Who will you rely on for this information?

I will first and foremost have open ears to the people I serve:  students, teachers, administrators, parents, and community members.  I will make sure that I am approachable and reachable. I honestly believe the voices of students are underestimated and underrepresented.  I also believe too often community members feel left out, especially ones who may not have children, or no longer have children being served in the KM District.  I also believe it is important to look outside our community to see what innovative and creative practices are being done in other parts of the state, the country, and the world.  We are not alone with our current challenges (i.e. funding, fast changing technology).

3. What does “transformation” mean? Would you do things differently or the same?

Transformation is a strong word that likely scares some and energizes others.  It essentially means things are going to change from what they were to something else.  I think the KM District has many proud traditions and incredible strengths.   However, not to be cliché, but times are a changing.  Kids know better than many of us how fast technology is advancing. Cell phones today are a millionth the size of, a millionth the price of, and a thousand times more powerful than computers 40 years ago according to an article in last months Time Magazine entitled:  “2045:  The Year Man Becomes Immortal”.  I believe our schools do need to transform in order to stay pace with the coming ages of not only technological advancements, but a changing political, cultural, environmental, and economic world.  Every year neuroscientists make advancements that allow us to better understand the brain and how kids learn and think best.  We know that not all kids learn best in the same way.  I believe changes in the way we do things at KM should also reflect this growing knowledge. 

4. How would you make education relevant?

I would make education relevant by making sure KM academics prepares our children for the future, which I believe will be a very different future than us, their parents.  I would make sure KM schools are keeping pace with technology and a changing global human climate.  I see this occurring within the curriculum, but also through increased offerings through KM with regard to alternative educational paths, such as KM Global and KM Perform.

5. What can the school board do to provide vision?

I think it is one of the school boards most important functions to provide vision.  We can provide it by putting together our passions for education and for our children with the voices of our children, our teachers, our administrators, our parents, and our community.  With the collective voices in our community, the school board should provide a vision that lets our children know they are receiving the best education possible.  I have many ideas already, as I have been dreaming up ways to improve our schools for many years, even ones as great as KM, for all schools need a vision that grows with the times.  I believe my experience as a clinical therapist, exploring the minds and hearts of children for over 15 years, puts me in a special position to help build the KM vision.

6. The Governor has said that he is providing the local school districts the “tools” to fund their districts. Will this be adequate?

To be honest, from all I have read, from both sides of the argument, I fear that it will not be adequate.  From what I can tell, we are facing a funding shortage that will be significant in comparison with recent history.  That is why it is crucial to have folks on the board that have vision and that can provide innovative ideas to maintain the current strengths of KM and continue to transform KM to meet the demands of the future within the resources that are available to us.

7. Are there any items that you consider to be a “sacred cow?” (Should not be touched.)

I will not compromise academics and emotional development.  There will be debate on how these “sacred cows” will be accomplished.  I believe supporting our teachers is one of our highest priorities in terms of not compromising these values. I say this not because parents do not have influence on these matters, of course they do. However, when it comes to a child’s educational success or failure, as a clinical therapist for more than a decade, I can tell you how powerful the role of a teacher is in a child’s life.  We know that unfortunately the effect is not always good.  Supporting our teachers also means raising the standard for the teaching profession.  Most teachers I talk to already have an interest in this occurring.   This could mean revamping the entire way in which teachers receive their certification.   As standards are raised however, our culture needs to change the way in which we view the teaching profession.  We need to believe that teachers make the difference.  Parents will plant the seeds, but teachers are the water, air and the sun, and in some cases where seeds haven’t been planted, are the seed layers as well.  Continuing with that metaphor if I may, I would add that parents and our community needs to act as the shield that protects our children and teachers from the harshness of weather that has and will continue to come their way.  

8. What do you consider to be the second most critical challenge to the board, beyond the funding cuts?

The greatest threat to our District is our collective belief system.  By this I mean the varying beliefs that are held as a collective whole within our community that limit our thinking and our vision.  I don’t want to over dramatize this point, but we only have to look back at ourselves, those of us that were old enough to pay attention twenty years ago, would we ever of imagined a Facebook world?  What has happened in Egypt is largely being credited to the powers of Facebook.  Our children live in a world that is flying forward at an unprecedented rate than ever before in the history of the world.  Last month, the cover of Time magazine had this on its cover:  “2045:  The Year Man Becomes Immortal”.  Now whether you agree with the article or not, these ideas are forming the collective consciousness of our children.  When I graduated from college, I believed there would be jobs waiting for me, a certainty lost on today’s generation of college grads.  The world our children live in today is arguably more complicated.  This week’s cover of Newsweek features an article entitled:  “Brain Freeze, How the deluge of information paralyzes our ability to make good decisions. “  New research shows that kids today present symptoms generally associated with addiction with regard to their electronics.  As the technological world advances on our children, I would argue their emotional development is not in step.  I believe it is the responsibility of the pubic schools to not only prepare our children for the future, which is here now, and continuing to come at them fast and furious every day, but to help them close the gap between their unchanged rate of emotional development in comparison with the lightening speed of technology and fast changing global human environment.  In order to accomplish this I believe we have to shift our collective belief system within our community.  I believe we have to look outside the box, envision and understand new forms of learning and supporting learning that has not even taken shape in most peoples minds.  This will require a lot of dialogue.  If Facebook can support a successful democratic overhaul of Egypt’s government, then within our small community, we can begin to dialogue with the use of blogs and other digital media, as well as, continue open forums, to bring people in our community together in order to create the school our of dreams, for our children, so that they may truly be prepared for a world we continue to barely imagine.

9. How can the KM board impact funding at the state level?

Most of us know what it is like to have to live within a budget.  Many of us have had the experience of having to rely on creativity when it comes to managing our resources for our families, myself included.  Throughout my career I have found innovative ways to advocate for the children I work with so that they might have opportunities they would not otherwise.  I also am a great listener and I have the ability to stay focused when surrounded by strong emotions. I believe it is fair to say that the subject of KM school funding is currently a national debate.  In my opinion, there is a lot of emotion clouding the facts.  When it comes to moving advocacy forward within the community, as well as, affecting school funding legislation at the state level, it will be incredibly important to continue presenting information that is nonpartisan and legitimate that supports our funding needs.  I see this happening in the form of continued community forums and calls to state elected officials and meetings with such persons whenever possible.  I believe with any problem we face there are always three options.  Too often in debates we only focus on the two sides of the disagreement.  We have to find freedom of movement.  I believe if I am elected to the KM School Board, we will find a space in which to continue building the Kettle Moraine dream.

10. How can you individualize for each student with larger class sizes?

This question will likely take more thought, and much more discussion among all the effected voices, however, I will suggest one possibility.  Bill Gates believes larger class sizes are inevitable in these economic times.  Even the some of the best schools in the world, such as the ones in Finland, have not found a way to avoid larger class sizes.  One idea proposed by Gates is to have Mater Teachers teach lecture style classes, like one might see in college, so that an average high school history lecture class size might be a hundred.  These classes would then break into “discussion labs” where there might be eight to ten kids in a discussion group.  It is within these discussion groups that teachers can individualize for each student.  So for example, let us say there is a hundred kids that attend their history lecture class three times a week, the other two times a week they discuss the lecture material in groups of eight to ten, and they become divided into these groups of eight to ten based on learning styles.  My hope is that as we understand more about kids learning styles, we can shape their academics to fit those learning styles.  One group might process the lecture material with hands on project learning (kinesthetic learners).  Another group might process the material through journaling (visual based learners), and another group through verbal processing (auditory learners).  Groups could of course utilize more than one learning style and the hope would be that each student felt that they were able to process the material in the way that best fits their brains way of processing information. 

11. What kind of tools can be provided to allow for individualization?

I believe we can find tools to allow for individualization that are within our current resources.  This will likely mean, however, going back to an earlier question regarding  “transformation”.  Is KM prepared to make the changes necessary to meet the highest standard of academics we can imagine, yet stay within the resources limited to us?  The best tools we have right now are the minds of our board members and the ears of our board members to listen to our students, teachers, administrators, parents and our community members.  Creativity and innovation coming from the collective “us” are our greatest tools for individualization.

12. What can you do to fix the fact that the students and teachers feel at odds over the Governor’s plans?

I am sad that teachers and students feel at odds over the Governor’s plans.  However, anytime there is a plan set forth by a controlling body that makes sudden and historical changes in how things have been done without the support of the current majority, there is going to be division.  However, I love conflict resolution.  I do it all the time with the families I work when they come to me at odds with one another, often over deeply held beliefs.  I believe conflict is not a negative thing.  I believe it can energize new ideas.  Transformation comes from conflict.  If you look at our own bodies, within our own biological system, one can argue that our cellular system works in conflict to keep us alive.  Looking at a garden, one might notice the insects, and perhaps some snails.  We might not like certain members of a garden but we know that we need all those members to keep a garden healthy.  I believe if there is conflict within our schools, between its members, then discussion needs to happen in order to understand how all members are vital to the overall health of the school.  No member is more important than the other.

13. What is the board’s role in communicating with state legislators as well as citizens? 

I believe the board has a huge role in communicating with state legislators and it’s citizens in the KM District.  As a board member, I would maintain an open ear to all KM community members by making myself available through parent and community gatherings and through emails and my blog (investinkmsdkids@blogspot.com).  I would also seek continued dialogue whenever relevant and possible with state legislators to ensure that our voices are being heard and that the state is working to the best of it’s ability to support the needs of the KM District.

14. Should the board continue to cut programs for non-college bound students?

Again, I hope to find innovative ways using the financial resources available to us so that we may serve all the students within the KM District, college bound or not.  I believe it is possible that many jobs of the future are going to require training not available in a traditional liberal arts college.  Take the electronics field for example.  I was recently told that there is a shortage of electricians to meet the demands of green technology.  I believe we need to keep our students informed of the current job market opportunities and training demands outside of the requirements of a four-year college degree.  I also believe we need to have classes available to those who would like to pursue higher training in non-four-year college related fields.

15. What do you think of the new 4K program?

I understand that there are realities within the current economic constraints that face us.  I think our first priority is to the population of students that we have historically served.  Having said that, I would work extremely hard to maintain the new 4K program.  I do believe that 4K is good for our community.  I have talked with many parents who live in Waukesha County who tell me that a major factor in their choosing a school district to live in was the availability of 4K.  It is my belief that due to proposals made in the governor’s current budget plan we will be in increasing competition with surrounding districts.  We are already seeing a shrinking KM School population.  If we were to lose the new 4K program, I would fear an increasing loss to our school population as families make choices to live in nearby districts that offer this programming.  Also, I would add that my three year old currently attends Magee Elementary in their Early Child Education program due to a speech delay.  Prior to him qualifying for this program, we had him in a private early childhood program that was not gaining us the hoped for results.  I am so grateful for the outstanding quality of teaching and programming at Magee’s Elementary Early Child Education program. Even as a clinical therapist, working with children for 15 years, I am learning new ways to interact with my three year old taught to me by the teachers of this program that are enhancing my son’s learning.  My son has access to ways of learning such as smart boards and sensory tools that I simply cannot offer him in the home.  I see the benefit every day this program has brought to him.

16. How can we continue excellence without as much funding?

We can, and we will, as long as we stay creative, be innovative, rely on our strengths, and use conflict as energy to transform.

17. What are your most important policy goals?

I would say my most important policy goals for Kettle Moraine are ones that ensure that all students have an opportunity for an education that equals or perhaps even surpasses what money can buy in a private academic institution.  My sister lives outside of Memphis in an area where they do not have the benefit of a trusted public school system.  I have witnessed first hand the transformation of my nephew and niece in a school where academics truly come first, where the atmosphere is based on two solid principles, a true culture of study and learning, and character development.  Most people would argue that it is impossible to create a private school atmosphere in a public school setting.  I totally disagree.  If elected to the school board of Kettle Moraine, one of my greatest challenges to the Board, to the district, and to the community, will be to work together to create an atmosphere of serious academic concentration that I believe is currently unprecedented in most public schools throughout the country. 

18. What would you vote to cut?

This is a hard question to answer without yet seeing the “big picture” from within.  I would not vote to cut anything that puts our kids at risk for being able to compete in a global economic world. I would vote to cut anywhere I see wasted costs.  I would ask questions such as:  can we get the same results for less money?  Again, it will take creativity, vision and passion to meet our goals within the resources available to us.  We are not a business.  Business is business as they say.  I believe schools are about shaping human lives and a true investment in our future.  We need to figure out how to invest in our kids to the best of our ability, which will take more than money and book managing.  It will take belief in our children, passion for their learning, and an understanding of what is at stake for their future, which is our future.

19. What specific skills do you bring to the board?

I am a born question asker and a born listener.  Ask my Grandma how I got so many answers from my Uncle back when he was typical moody teen, not much interested in communicating with anyone. But me, a four-year-old wide eyed curious niece, was able to get him talking.  I love people.  I love kids.  I am passionate about the brain and the heart.  I will never stop seeking answers to how we can best prepare our children for the world we live in.  I am excited by challenge and by change, but equally passionate about sticking to what works, and sometimes looking back at what was forgotten.  I believe conflict can be positive when channeled into respectful dialogue that can lead to new ideas, and with enough vision and hard work:  transformation.  I bring with me 15 years of experience working with children, often collaborating with their schools, to ensure their needs are being met and their strengths being recognized and put into action.  I bring knowledge of the field of child development and learning.  And not to be underestimated, I bring the skills of a parent with three children in the district, and the love of a community member who knows the delicate balance between quality affordable living and the pride of an excellent school system.