My Principles

Quality leadership matters. Leadership is bigger than making decisions. It means modeling the kind of culture that develops collaborative, engaging, and honorable work with others.

These principles have always guided my work and I will take them with me to my service on the School Board.

Trust

I believe that school systems function best when students, teachers, families, administrators, and the community are open and honest with one another. By speaking and acting in consistent ways and by continually demonstrating a high regard for all members of the school environment, trust flourishes--and employee engagement, student connectedness and achievement, and community satisfaction with the school district grows.

Respect

I believe that respect means valuing others. As a school district, our greatest resource is the employees who come to work each day. Whether they teach our children, clean and maintain our facilities, drive children to school, monitor recesses, support students one-on-one, counsel children, lead and oversee schools or programs, or perform any one of countless other tasks--our mission simply is impossible without them. That is why I believe in hiring the best and treating them as professionals.

Dialogue

Dialogue is a back-and-forth sharing of ideas. It means seeking out and thoughtfully considering feedback from all stakeholders before making important, life-altering decisions. The Board must ultimately make decisions that weigh all available evidence and it is critical that people know that they have been heard.

Dialogue is more than talking. It also is more than listening. Dialogue is engagement with others in constructive conversation that exposes all points of view, tests ideas, and considers the thinking of others with an open mind.

Distributed leadership

I believe that leadership occurs best in a collaborative manner. Distributed leadership is the belief that many people are brought to the table rather than having one or two people make many decisions independently. As a district, we can continue to build upon existing structures to ensure that the Board of Directors, administrative teams, teacher leadership teams, teachers, staff members, students, parents, and community members work together seamlessly for the benefit of our system.

Stewardship

The school district's revenue comes directly from taxpayers - a fact I do not take lightly. I believe it is important to maintain sound oversight to ensure all school resources are used in legal, ethical, and efficient ways. Judicious planning and use of resources builds trust with the community.

Integrity

I believe that integrity means continually seeking the best for others, even when it may not be personally convenient. It's rising above political processes by holding oneself and others accountable for responsibilities.

My promise to the community

If elected, I promise that decisions I make while serving on the ICSD Board of Directors will demonstrate the principles of trust, respect, dialogue, distributed leadership, stewardship, and integrity.

• I will listen and thoughtfully consider ideas and feedback from students, teachers, administrators, families, and the community.
• I will pursue world-class academic and extracurricular opportunities for all students.
• I will advocate for our students, teachers, staff, families, and community through all means to ensure that we prepare our students for career and life success.