Priorities

1. Support a School Start Times Change.

There’s nothing radical about saying a later set of school start times is a good idea.  Many parents, educational scholars, pediatricians, administrators & teachers agree the evidence of improved health benefits alone justifies such a change.  In fact, Education Week recently included this  newest report from Harvard researchers, which suggests teens would benefit most if start times should were pushed all the way back to 10:00 a.m.

As a candidate, John believes it important to advance the issue of a start times change for District 621.  The challenge lies in the implementation– how to successfully navigate a transition that doesn’t create more problems than it solves.  While Mounds View Public Schools enjoy a well-earned reputation for the quality of its graduates, it is not a system blessed with an abundance of space for academic or co-curricular activities.  Because of this limitation, student and families’ schedules & lives would be significantly affected if a time change were made without careful consideration.

To deliberate the impacts on student connectedness, families and financial costs that prevented the district from moving forward last October, John would support the district’s use of a citizen advisory committee that was authorized by the Minnesota Legislature in 2013.  Broadly, MN Statute 120B.11 is designed to allow citizen input on matters of student achievement, curriculum and technology.  Key to the statute is a provision that permits creation of an advisory committee with recommendation authority to the school board.

The Mounds View District attendance area is one that is rich with qualified, professional, and intellectually honest citizens who could properly consider and decide on the start times question.  One set of local leaders whose engine for change is gathering steam makes its findings and position available here.

If District 621 delegated the study of start times to a community advisory group that recommended a change, a potential start time adjustment in Mounds View Schools could be done well beginning on Day 1 of a transition.

2. Increase student awareness about the challenges & opportunities of personal electronic device use.

The proliferation of personal electronic devices in daily life now spans all age groups.  Obviously, PEDs can be be very useful tools, both as information retrieval and communication devices.  For many Minnesota school districts (Mounds View included), it’s only been three full school years since PEDs went from being banned outright to encouraged as supplemental tools in the classroom– in what was essentially a 180-degree shift in approach.

The District has had an acceptable use policy in place that directs PEDs to be used for educational purposes since before August 2011, but for the most part, individual teachers have been expected to develop the PED guidelines in her/his particular classroom during the time period PEDs have been permitted.  In the view of this candidate, this inconsistency has left both students and teachers without a workable plan and led to an often inefficient use of instructional time.

Gradually, teachers have begun leaning on the district policy to strengthen the technology use sections of their course syllabi.  At the high school level, improper use of PEDs may pose less of a challenge due to the increasing seriousness of students at that age.  Kudos also to the district personnel who prepared the ‘My Unthoughtful Tweet’ video that seeks to help students understand their cyber identities and practice good communication etiquette.

It is an assertion of this campaign that more could be done to help students choose appropriately regarding their PEDs, however.  Two ideas for helping students & families cope more effectively are: (1) the district or a contracted entity administering a scientifically-reliable survey that assesses PED use (a ‘tech check’, if you will) for the purpose of making more productive decisions and (2) an informational literacy course that helps students (or families if offered through the Community Education Dept.) better leverage the strengths & weaknesses of  electronic vs. traditional methods of learning.

Mounds View Public Schools has long prided itself on being ahead of the curve regarding the curricular needs of its students.  By placing a focus on helping students effectively deal with the exponentially-growing number of learning delivery methods, the district would only strengthen this well-earned reputation.

3.  Develop a Mounds View School Board relationship with Ramsey County  Libraries.

Annually, 621’s school board members are assigned as liaisons to a number of city governments and schools within the district.  In 2015, each of the 7 members were assigned to at least one city council and one district school building, per this document.   In addition to these assignments, members also serve as district representatives to various education policy & rulemaking bodies, per this document.

Given the new regional library approved for construction in Shoreview, the time may be right for the Mounds View School Board to forge a new kind of relationship with Ramsey County Libraries.  One key step to accomplishing this might involve each entity selecting a representative to communicate with the other.

Due to the intricacies that accompany board work, electing John would provide a strong possibility of creating the new district-to-county-library relationship, seeing as he is already a volunteer Ramsey County Library board member.

As attributed to Ramsey County Library Director Susan Nemitz in this Lillie News piece, the new regional library stands to be a library with improved spaces and programming for children & teens.  In John’s estimation (not an official position of the library), establishing a formal connection between District 621 and RCL would create optimal alignment for learning & education, open up new collaborative possibilities and provide a template for additional, future relationships between the county’s library system and K12 schools in the region.

Note:  For personal testimonials to John’s candidacy, please see Visitor Posts in the left-hand column beneath the photos.  Once on the page, click on the words ‘visitor posts’ to review all entries.