Jamey J. Lewchanin

In 2015, I lost by 163 votes and I dedicated the last two years to a more thorough understanding of the strengths and needs of CCPS. To clear the air, I would like to address one area, in particular, from the last time I campaigned. My opponent did not attack me on my ideas or policies. She focused energy on the fact that my children attend school in a neighboring county. I work as a Physical Education Teacher and Physical Education Liaison in Spotsylvania County Public Schools. I live in Milford, Caroline County, Virginia. In my various roles in my professional career ,as well as, time reflecting with my wife (and fellow SCPS teacher) it is a clear priority of school divisions to work collaboratively with neighboring divisions to grow and progress for the success of all children. I have 5 children who are the driving force for all I do. My wife and I intend to raise positive and productive members of society. We make personal sacrifices, so as to better enrich their young lives. Of utmost value in all of this is our time spent together. Teaching requires a specific type of dedication of time within the calendar of the school year. Our children recognize the cost and benefit of being "teachers' kids" and we talk openly about those compromises on a regular basis. One area we are unwilling to compromise as a family is the amount of quality time we have, each day, to spend in our face-time with each other. So, we do bring our children with us to the SCPS division. This allows me time in the car to talk, sing, and laugh with my children and on the way home I can debrief on their day. Before I was in a position to have my children attend school with me, they received high quality care from Janice’s Day Care in Caroline County. My children participate in Parks and Rec in Caroline, we go pumpkin picking (Mt. Olympus) in Caroline, we grocery shop (Food Lion) in Caroline, we go to the playgrounds, public libraries, and the YMCA in Caroline. I learn from my children about the perspective of today's child, both the challenges they face and the realizations of their successes. If anything, I feel a definitive advantage I have on a regular basis to interact in positive and productive ways with my own children, members of our Caroline community , and our neighboring communities to envision a CCPS exceeding the vision we set forth. I believe in the best educational environment for ALL children. I am dedicated to improving the learning environments for the students of CCPS because I am a parent, I am a community member, I am a citizen focused on where we are, where we want to be, and how we will move forward toward these goals.

I believe in our community and that is why I would sacrifice time with my family in order to help shape the school system. I believe I have ideas that would be beneficial to the community and a passion for education