Standing for local school board of trustees...

Pic Source: Pixabay

 Today, I handed in my 400-word brief and nomination form for a local school's board of trustees elections as it's the closing date for candidate's expressions of interest to be voted on for upcoming elections.

Over the years I've been on several schools boards of trustees ranging from primary, intermediate and full school campus. At one time I had put my name into three schools that my children and sister were attending and the unthinkable happened and I was given the opportunity to stand on all three boards.

Suffice to say that it was a quick learning curve in being a chair in one, a vice chair in another and a member in the third. It was a crazy juggle as I had to manage my monthly board meetings around my family activities, work and studies. This time around, I've decided to stay with the one and will see if I am successful.

For me, the importance of being on a school board is about staying abreast of what is happening in the education sector especially with the upcoming changes and to hold the school accountable for various budget considerations, the annual reporting and the list goes on. 

It also gives me an insight into how the power relations work within the school as I keep an eye on my child's learning and how things are going for the students in the school for all students but particularly for Pacific and Maori and minority and/or vulnerable students.

It's important to keep an ear to the ground on what's happening in the school and to challenge any questionable situations or actions that might negatively affect the learning of students. On more than one occasion I've had to challenge or call out questionable negative attitudes of some educators but by in large those are few and far between as we have many dedicated and ethical teachers out there, who care about doing the best practice in their classroom.