February 26, 2025 • 47 mins
Katie is a candidate for Mokena 159 Elementary School District. She has two children in 159 schools, holds a Masters Degree from Lewis University and works as a social worker. We talked about what she would bring to the school board and how she thinks she can strengthen communication and improve our schools.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
All right, katie, thank you for joining me and
sitting down to talk with metonight.
You decided to be a candidatefor school board for 159, so I
appreciate you taking the timeto talk with me and kind of
share with the community who youare and what's important to you
and why you're running.
So, just to get started, youwant to tell us a little bit
(00:31):
about you and your family, sure?
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Well, how far do you want me to go back?
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Whatever, Maybe you can tell us you're married, kids
I am I am.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
So I've been married.
I got married in 2010.
I have two kids, kaylin andJace.
Kaylin is in seventh grade andJace is in fifth grade.
I've lived in Mokena since 2010.
Prior to that, I grew up in ina northwest suburb, roselle Sure
(01:08):
, and I lived there with my momand my dad.
They were happily married.
My dad passed away in 2008.
I've got two siblings.
I'm the baby, so if that tellsyou anything about this, I've
got two siblings I'm the baby,so if that tells you anything.
So I have an older brother andan older sister Went to public
(01:35):
school my whole life.
I ended up going to EasternIllinois University and there I
got my undergraduate inrecreation administration and I
got a concentration intherapeutic recreation.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
What was your thought when you got your degree?
Like what?
I don't know if that's what youwent into or not, but what made
you want to do that?
Speaker 2 (01:55):
So we could be here forever as many college students
go through.
You know what to do.
It took a while for me to kindof figure out what I was going
to do, but eventually whathappened was I had I went there
for teaching.
You know, I was going to besome type of teacher probably
something to do with athletics,maybe gym, maybe be like a
(02:17):
trainer and then I had a classwhere I had to teach kids that
were young, and I had a classthen where we had to teach kids
that had disabilities, and Iloved the class with the kids
with the disabilities.
They were very appreciative ofmy time, and so from there I
(02:40):
looked into what I could do withpeople with disabilities, and
that kind of led me torecreation and that
concentration in therapeuticrecreation, because that's
really working with people withdisabilities.
It was kind of thinking I woulddo like OT, pt type stuff with
people with disabilities.
But I got a job in college thatwas working with people with
(03:02):
disabilities and from there Inever left and I stayed in that
field up until 2019.
And then I kind of took a breakbecause my kids were in school
and they needed some attentionfrom me.
So I decided to kind ofreevaluate what I was doing,
(03:23):
because at the time I wasputting in a lot of work, a lot
of hours at my current job, andso I decided to kind of take a
step back and ended up getting ajob in foster care.
Like a year later A friend ofmine from the past kind of
reemerged and asked if I wantedto take a look at where she was
working.
And I've been in that for aboutfour years and it's been.
(03:47):
It's been great, it's veryrewarding so maybe it can't just
talk a little bit I'm sure youcan't go too deep, but what that
involves and what you're doingwith that yeah, so I work for a
foster care and adoption agencyand so we contract with DCFS so
(04:10):
I get to experience working withthat agency and a lot of what I
do specifically is intake andso a lot of what I have to do is
read backgrounds on familiesand kids and kind of their
stories and their trauma andthen I work with our foster
families.
So we have, you know, over ahundred foster families that we
(04:33):
have and I work with matchingthe kids to families that could
meet their needs.
So I do a lot of assessments onkids that have gone through a
lot of trauma.
They have a lot of mentalhealth needs and I just
interview them and then work,you know, with the families to
try to match them to a home.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Wow that you must see quite a range of experiences.
I do.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Lots of stories.
I could tell Lots of stories.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Talk a little bit about how you ended up in Mokena
.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
So it's a funny question.
I was living in Midlothian soafter I graduated from college,
where I was working at the timewas out like like Joliet, and so
I had to move.
I grew up in Roselle, so I hadto move a little bit closer to
Joliet, so somehow I ended up inMidlothian um, I think it was
(05:31):
just probably closer to Jolietand that's what I could afford
at the time, and I stayed therefor a handful of years and then
my husband and I were livingthere and we, um, unfortunately,
uh, his mom passed away, andbefore she passed away she had
(05:52):
actually bought a piece of landin Mokina and she was going to
build there, and so a coupleyears after she had passed away,
we got the land.
Um, his dad decided he wasn'tgoing to live there anymore, you
know, and he was going to go ina different direction, and so
we took the opportunity to take,you know, to get the land from
(06:14):
him and we built the house there.
And I mean, I remember growingup, one of the things when I
lived in Roselle like we justplaying high school sports and
things like that, like it wasalways like Lincoln Way, like we
got to beat lincoln way theywere always.
There was always thisreputation, um, that they were
so great and um.
So when we, you know, heard, uh, or decided that you know we
(06:35):
were going to move here, I waslike the first thing I thought
it was like great schools, likegreat schools, the great area
couldn't couldn be happier.
So that's kind of how how wecame here.
It was not really planned, butit ended up working out.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
That's great.
What do you do for fun?
Talk about recreationactivities or.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Yeah, oh, let's see God, old people and fun.
I don't, you know I'm going toit's.
It's not the popular thing todo, but I love to watch, stay
home and binge watch shows onNetflix.
Of course, I do a lot of murdershows.
You know a lot of 2020 Dateline.
I'm into the crime shows.
I also, of course, love, youknow, doing things with my kids.
(07:15):
We do a lot of activities,whether it's their, you know,
sports, playing with them.
We just got a puppy, likeplaying with their dog, got a
cat.
And then you, we just got apuppy, so like playing with
their dog, got a cat.
And then, you know, I do whatmost people do to unwind hang
out with friends, go out dinner.
We're, we're, I would say.
Me and my husband are bigfoodies.
We like to go around, trydifferent restaurants, eat at
(07:36):
different places, but I mean,that's kind of what you do when
you get older, right, you justfind places to eat and drink,
yeah we're gonna eat and drinktonight, um yeah and your kids
are very involved in sports,right?
Speaker 1 (07:48):
I know that we've met uh through that with would be
football and or baseball.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Yeah, well, pretty much, my son plays baseball okay
, he's big baseball guy.
And then, um, my daughter ismore of a theater, um and dance,
so which kind of segues intohow this whole board thing came
to be.
She was going to, she goes to,street of Dreams, so she's done
(08:14):
their theater program and she'sdone their dance program.
And when she was going intomiddle school she got super
excited because the school had atheater program.
So she's like, oh, I canfinally do a play, you know,
with the school and my friends.
You know not that she doesn'thave friends at street of dreams
, but you know, this is theschool, you know friends, so a
lot of people at street ofdreams are from different
schools and things like that.
(08:35):
So so she was excited that shewas going to finally get to do
that.
And then, um, and then thebusine thing, and it got put on
hold, or there wasn't a directorfor the theater program there.
And my first involvement withthe school board was after I
(08:58):
found out there was no theaterprogram, or I don't even know if
that's the right way to say it,but after pretty much.
You know, that was put on holdbecause they didn't have a
director.
So prior to that I was, youknow, not involved, you know,
with going to school boardmeetings, or you know I kind of
consider myself to be what mostpeople probably do is just kind
(09:20):
of hang in the background, likeif there's not a problem.
You know, I didn't need to goto the school for anything.
You know, to my knowledge, myexperience with the school has
been great.
My kids have had awesometeachers.
I have never had any complaints.
My kids do pretty well inschool, so I'm fortunate.
I feel like they're learning.
You know there's no issuesthere.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
And when is the time frame you're talking about?
Speaker 2 (09:50):
When did this happen?
So this theater program, oh god, she's in seventh grade, so
it's sixth grade.
Okay, I think it was sixthgrade.
Um, right, so last year, so notthat long ago, um, and then so
so the the theater thinghappened and we were
disappointed because she wasreally excited about that and
that's what kind of got metalking to other people about,
you know, just the school ingeneral and and things going on
in the school, school boardteachers, and so I started kind
(10:13):
of going or watching somemeetings and then towards, well,
it was probably the end of theyear.
Then we got the email about thesuperintendent leaving.
Well, it was probably the endof the year.
Then we got the email about thesuperintendent leaving.
(10:40):
So after I had gone to Eastern acouple years later, like in my,
after I had worked where I wasat after I graduated college, I
ended up getting my master's atLewis in leadership,
organizational leadership.
So a big part of what I do inmy professional life is work on
like organizational culture,working with teams, working with
conflict management andcommunication.
(11:01):
So a big part of my master'sprogram was teaching me how to
basically, you know, helpbusinesses have a healthy
workplace culture.
And so when I saw the emailabout the superintendent leaving
, you know my leadership braingoes to well, most of the time
people leave people.
(11:22):
So we had this thing happenwith the theater thing.
This great woman teacher left,you know, and then we have a
superintendent who leaves.
So my brain is going well,people leave people.
So there's got to be somepeople issues which I am very
well versed in because I'm a bigpeople person.
(11:42):
All of my jobs have been withpeople.
I mean, I've worked.
You know, the job that I workedwith before foster care for a
very long time was with peoplewith disabilities and mental
illness, and so I mean, like Isaid earlier, the stories of
just the people I've met, thekinds of people I've worked with
, the staff that I've, you know,led and supervised, is it all
(12:05):
kind of came up in my brain whenI was like why are people
leaving?
Like something's going on.
So the type of person I am, Ijust was talking to people and
investigating and what's goingon and are there's issues and
things like that, and so that'skind of how I started getting
involved.
Was the theater thing, then thesuperintendent thing, and then
just gathering information,talking to people and hearing
(12:27):
that you know there would beseats available on the school
board.
And so I was like, well, thisseems kind of right up my alley
for what I do in my professionallife and I have time.
Now my kids are older, theydon't need me as much.
(12:47):
As much as that, you know,tears me to pieces.
I have time for myself now.
So, and I've always like,advocated and worked for other
people and I thought this isreally a way I can work for my
own kids so and my own community.
I mean, I've been giving andgiving to people for a very long
(13:08):
time, you know, kind of outsideand in my professional life,
and I thought, well, this is away I can give back to people
directly in my care.
So I was like it's time to dosomething.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
So, looking at the issues that you know put you,
you know put you forward or madeyou decide you want to run,
what do you think you bring tothe board that would help
resolve those?
Speaker 2 (13:31):
issues.
My background in the master'sprogram that I took
organizational leadership Ithink has would really put me
above a lot of candidates.
(13:52):
Because of that experience thatI have with bringing people
together, I think there's somedisconnect going on.
I think there's areas that canalways be improved.
Like I'm just a big proponentof like continuous improvement.
Like we are great but we couldalways be better, so what could
we be doing to be better?
(14:13):
And improving communication?
So like one of the things Ifound out, like when you talk to
people right, like everybody'sgot their side of the story
Right and it's interesting tohear everybody's perspective,
but then really bringing peopletogether and working to solve
problems together, it's not thatit's actually pretty difficult
(14:36):
to get everybody on the same busand following suit and working
together collaboratively, and Ithink that that's needed.
I think our board needs that.
I think that there also I thinkthere's just time for change.
(14:57):
Sometimes, you know, you knowwe reelect a president every
four years, you know, becausesometimes change is good and I
think just a fresh set of eyescoming in and looking at things
is a good thing.
A lot of times people areafraid of change, but I like it
and I know, I think that itbrings forth growth and so, yeah
(15:18):
, I think that I would bringthat.
I think I'm really good atcommunicating with people.
I'm really good at conflictmanagement, like critically
thinking, seeing things fromeverybody's angle.
All perspectives, I think issomething that I'm really good
(15:41):
at.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Perspectives, I think is something that I'm really
good at as far as communicationgoes, how do you looking at what
we, as parents, receive fromthe school?
What do you think could bechanged or improved as far as
communication goes.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
So I think that it would be great if we, if all
three schools, could get onboard with the same type of
communication.
So I don't know how yourexperience has been, but I'll
get emails, I'll get textmessages, I'll get phone
messages.
There's a lot of communicationcoming in.
(16:17):
I can't complain.
I don't feel like people aren'tcommunicating.
Sometimes it's like well, didthat really need to be
communicated 40 times, asopposed to this when I only got
maybe one and I missed it.
So I do think that we haveimproved in communication.
I think it would be great if,across the board, like there was
a method or an app per se thateverybody's using.
(16:42):
That, you know, is just likethis is how I know I'm going to
get communication.
So I'm like I'm not waiting fora text, or I'm not waiting for
an email, or you know the other.
I don't think we're using a lotmany apps or at least I'm not
anymore, but before it was likedownload this app for your
classroom and like my kids wouldhave different apps, and so
it's just like a lot ofdifferent things.
(17:02):
If we could streamline it andlike come up with you know a way
that we're going to communicateone, one way.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
I think that would be an improvement okay, so what do
you see as some of the biggestchallenges ahead for the school
district?
Speaker 2 (17:20):
um, in my opinion, the biggest challenge is that we
don't have a superintendent.
So I see that as a bigchallenge.
We need leadership and I thinkthat, again, that's something
that I really would want to be apart of.
I would want to be a part ofhelping a new leader come in,
helping that person to formrelationships with people on the
(17:43):
board, with, you know,administrators, with anybody.
I would like to kind of be bethere to help in that situation,
because it really starts, youknow, with the person at the top
, which would be, you know, thesuperintendent.
That's the person leading theschool, and so right now, we
don't you, you know, we havesomebody in the interim, but we
(18:03):
don't have that leader who youknow, we know is staying.
So I think that that wouldreally probably be one of the
things that I think we need tofocus on.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
So, as far as the superintendent goes, that is a
process that you know they'vegone through to start finding a
new superintendent, and what isit that you, as both a parent as
well as you know a potentialboard member, is something that
you would look for or think isimportant to see in a potential
superintendent.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
So I think that definitely some of the
leadership qualities that Iwould want would be someone who
is a good communicator, um,someone who is not afraid of
(19:01):
conflict and who willcommunicate with parents and not
so happy parents and schoolboard members and they'll kind
of be the face getting out intothe community.
So somebody who's going to bepresent, you know, and like
(19:23):
known, I think somebody who iswell, I guess I would say like
gritty or thick skinned, because, being in that position,
there's a lot that you have todeal with and I could imagine it
could be tough at times.
(19:43):
But I'd be looking for somebodywho you know is loyal and you
know at the first time of anyissues or rumblings or conflicts
, like somebody who's going tostick with us, you know, because
this is a position that I feellike you know needs longevity.
Somebody's got to stay here forthe long haul know, needs
longevity, somebody's got tostay here for the long haul.
(20:04):
We can't keep going throughevery two years, every three
years, you know, having somebodycome in because that disrupts,
you know, everything that'sgoing on in the district.
So I think somebody who's, youknow, going to be loyal and you
know really dedicate themselvesto the position.
So those are the things thatkind of first come to mind.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
As far as longevity in a candidate, that's something
that has been an issue.
Don White was here, I think twoyears, and then Dr Cohen was
just four years.
Looking at that scenario, whatdo you think where is?
Do you have anything you couldpinpoint as what you think the
(20:47):
issues are?
I guess we touched on it alittle bit, but I think it's
important to figure out what theproblem is if you're going to
figure out how to avoid it inthe future.
Is that anything you'd commentabout?
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Yeah, I mean, a lot of times in leadership you have
to do inventories.
You got to find out, you know,why are people staying.
You got to find out why peopleare leaving.
So I mean, I would think itwould be important to do those
inventories, you know, check inwith the staff and the
administration and find out.
You know what's going on, whatare we doing good, what are
people happy about why?
(21:33):
What are we doing good, whatare people happy about?
Why are people saying and whyare they leaving?
And kind of going back to whatI said, people leave.
People, you know, in the schooldistrict and they feel like the
teachers feel like they trustthe administration and the
administration trusts the boardand you know all the way down.
So I just think I think a lotof it has to do with
(21:54):
relationships, you know, andjust people liking each other,
liking working together, feelingrespected, feeling heard.
I think that's what it comesdown to a lot of times.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
Talk a little bit about how you see the role of a
school board member, as well askind of what you expect the time
commitment to be as a schoolboard member.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
So I see the role of the school board member being
part of, you know, a team thatkind of governs, um, the
administration.
We would work, obviouslycollaboratively, you know, with
the administration.
But you know, I kind of see itas like, you know, overseeing,
(22:52):
you know, and I think that theboard is also there.
Obviously it's an electedposition, so you have to is also
there.
Obviously it's an electedposition, so you have to keep in
mind all of the stakeholdersand all the people you're there
to represent.
I think, as a board member, Ineed to listen to everybody, I
(23:13):
need to listen to theadministration, I need to listen
and kind of have a pulse on howteachers feel about things.
You know how are?
You know, how are parentsfeeling?
You know, how are kids feeling,you know.
So I think, overall, like it'sour job to have a pulse on
what's going on in the districtas a whole.
(23:34):
But you know we're there tohelp and to collaborate with,
you know, the administration andkind of help them with what
they might need too.
But it's just kind ofoverarching, overseeing those
things.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
How much do you direct involvement?
Or maybe where do you thinkthere are points where you as a
board member would you know,interject or have more?
You know think about areas likecurriculum or you know a dress
code, all these different areasthat school boards deal with.
You know, as a school boardmember, you know where do you
(24:18):
think the roles kind of separateor you know where do you feel
like it's appropriate to getinvolved.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
Well, I mean, I think that there's, you know there's
policies and procedures foreverything, and so I think it's
our job to you know make surethat we're aware of what the
policies and procedures are.
I personally don't feel likeyou know there's staff there to
address those issues within theschool.
(24:49):
So I don't think that it's youknow the board's job to be in
the schools dealing with youknow, issues on a daily basis.
But I do think it's the board'sjob as a whole to listen to
people and concerns and thentalk about those things and find
ways, you know, to findsolutions if there's a major
(25:13):
issue of something going on orif a policy needs to be changed
or something needs to be lookedat.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
School board members have to make a lot of really
important decisions.
Talk a little bit about makingdecisions and the process that
you would go through in makingan important decision.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
Well, I would probably do a lot of critical
thinking, depending on whateverthe topic is.
I do a lot of informationgathering, I like to talk to
everybody.
Topic is I do a lot ofinformation gathering, I like to
talk to everybody.
So, as much as I can getinformation from the people that
I can get it from, I would youknow, I would go to the experts
(25:52):
for their advice.
You know, if it is aboutcurriculum, well, who's in
charge of our curriculum?
Well, I would be talking tothat person and getting their
input, or, you know, whateverthe subject might be, you know,
I think extracting informationfrom people is number one.
Once you have the information, Ithink then you start weighing
pros and cons.
You start, you know, takinginto consideration different
details, but really, again, likeI like to approach, you know
(26:16):
situations by all angles andthen really just weighing out
you know, strengths,opportunities, weaknesses.
There's a SWOT analysis.
There's different things thatyou can do to make big decisions
, which I've obviously done atwork numerous times in many
different situations.
So I feel like I would dosimilar things in this situation
(26:38):
as well.
It's just you have to sit backand also, I think, take time
when you need to take time tomake a big decision.
And then there's sometimes, youknow decisions need to be made
quicker, and so you just have tofigure out you know which ones,
that is, you know what needs totake more time and what needs
(26:59):
to be decided on know at afaster pace, but again, I think,
working, you know, if you have,you know, seven, six, seven,
eight, other brains, you know Ifeel like that's a great way to
be able to do those things withother people's input, and so,
yeah, it would do that for me,my tax about 35% of it goes to
(27:22):
the 159 school district.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
So talk about how will you assure people, or how
can the board and the districtbetter assure people, that their
tax dollars are being wiselyspent.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
Yeah, that's a good question.
I know that there is astrategic plan.
You know most agencies havestrategic plans.
So I know that there are thingsthat you know the district
carves out, you know forpotential things that could
happen, and so obviously youknow always keeping an eye on
(27:59):
those things.
And then you know, when thingscome forward that you know come
up that we need money fordifferent resources, I think we
need to, you know, do our duediligence to investigate.
You know what it is that we needmoney for and you know follow
our policies and procedures onhow we go about doing that.
And so, again, it's just kind ofalso making sure when we are
(28:25):
going, maybe doing majorprojects, you know that we're
getting the right um people forthe job.
You know we're um.
You know doing certain bids,we're doing research, you know,
gathering all the informationthat we can to make sure that we
are making the best possibledecision that's fiscally
responsible for our budget, youknow, and for the taxpayers, you
(28:47):
know, because I know thatthat's a concern for a lot of
people is, you know, a lot ofour money goes into the schools,
which is one of the reasons why, you know, I think our schools
are doing.
Well, we have, you know, a lotof money going into the school
district and so I just thinkthat you know carefully going
through working with the peoplethat are in charge of our budget
, you know, and going throughthose plans, you know on a
(29:12):
continual basis, and evaluatingyou know what's the first
priority and going through youknow that that's pretty much
what I would say we need to do.
Speaker 1 (29:23):
Something that every parent and teacher and everybody
that works in a school I'm surethinks about is security.
What can we do, what can theboard or the school do to ensure
parents and and all of us, thatour kids and teachers are safe
at our schools?
Speaker 2 (29:42):
so I think it starts with communication.
I know that we are doingdifferent drills and our kids
are involved in safety drillsfor those reasons, which I do
(30:04):
allow my kids to be ready andfeel safe for anything that
could come up.
But I think if there aresituations that occur at the
school, it kind of goes back tolike how we get communication
out to parents, like if it'sstreamlined and there's, you
know, one direct way, then Ithink I would feel better about
(30:26):
knowing you know that my kidsare safe at any given time,
about knowing you know that mykids are safe at any given time.
And then if there's differentthings that you know the
community and teachers or peoplein the building feel like need
to be looked at to make peoplefeel safer, I think we need to
listen to the teachers andlisten to the people that are
working in the buildings, listento the kids, again just keeping
(30:48):
a pulse on do people feel safewith what's already in place or
do we need to make adjustments?
And, you know, just go fromthere.
But I so far I've been with thecommunication I've gotten.
I've been pretty pleased withhow our school has handled
(31:09):
certain situations.
So, yeah, I think it's justlistening to people and their
concerns and then trying toproblem solve around those.
Speaker 1 (31:20):
What do you think is the best way to address
differences of opinion or ideasbetween both between board
members and between a boardmember and say administration
Say you had a difference ofopinion with a superintendent or
in that what do you think isthe best way to address those
differences?
Speaker 2 (31:41):
Go to the person directly, clear, crystal clear
communication talking to thatperson.
I mean, we're all adults, we'veall had conflicts with each
other.
If we have a conflict and it'ssomething that we don't think we
can resolve in that moment,then you take some time and you
(32:02):
regroup and you come back andyou revisit it again.
I think that, again, I thinkthat's something that we we as a
human race I think just needsto get better at.
I mean, you know, I am notafraid to kind of, you know,
(32:24):
confront issues head on.
You know, like I'm the type ofperson who if, if, if there's an
issue, then I'm going to cometo you and I'm going to come to
you and we're going to talkabout it.
I mean, I've just I'm a socialworker by trade but, like, I've
been in numerous therapytrainings, so I feel like I'm
really good at communicatingwith people and so I would just
go to the person and I would gettheir perspective and, you know
(32:48):
, I would let them hear mine outand, you know, I would hope
that we could come to anagreement.
I'm also not living in analternate reality.
I know that.
You know you can't makeeverybody happy at all times,
but you know, as a board memberI have to make decisions, you
know, that are going to be bestfor everyone.
And so you can have a conflictwith somebody and walk away and
(33:12):
maybe not agree a hundredpercent, but everybody could
still walk away feelingrespected and heard.
And sometimes you know that'swhat we have to do as adults we
have to hear each other out andagree to disagree, but at the
end of the day, you know, if wehave to make decisions about
things, you know one way oranother we have to sit in a room
(33:32):
until it's worked out.
You know so.
Speaker 1 (33:36):
So there are seven candidates running for the
Mokina 159 school district.
So just take a second and tellus why you are the best
candidate or why people shouldvote for you on April 1st
candidate or why people shouldvote for you on April 1st.
Speaker 2 (34:02):
So I think you should vote for me, because I am
really focused on helping thedistrict grow as far as
leadership.
So that is the one I'd say.
That is my strength again, kindof bringing it back to just
being able to help the culture.
I think I would bring that tothe board, I think I would bring
that to the district, just likeI had previously said, like my
(34:23):
past experience in working withpeople of various you know,
different backgrounds, I thinkI'm really good at that, and so
I definitely think that'm reallygood at that, and so I
definitely think that we needthat right now because of that
leadership that we're lacking.
I also think something that Ido that a lot of people don't do
(34:44):
, unfortunately, is just workingin the mental health field.
I take care of myself, I do alot of self-care, and so to me,
that's another thing.
If you're in a position whereyou're making tough decisions,
you have to be well-rested, youhave to be in a good state of
mind, and so I have no issueswith taking care of myself.
(35:07):
I go to a great gym calledSpanga, which helps me clear my
mind every day, you know I alsothink that I would bring.
I think I would bring, I wouldhelp bring a voice to the
teachers.
I really think that we need tolisten to our teachers and
(35:36):
figure out what they need.
I started off my career as whatwas called a direct support
worker.
Through my career I worked allthe way up to the administration
, and so I really know what it'slike to be doing the work from
the ground up, and I alwayswanted when you're the one doing
(36:00):
the job, you know the frontlinestaff, and then you have
administration and people makingwhat you think are like
decisions for you.
You know that can befrustrating, and so I can recall
being that direct serviceworker and that is what made me
want to continue to move up theladder to be an administrator,
because I wanted to be able to,you know, make decisions and
(36:23):
advocate for the people that areworking on the front lines, and
so I would really be anadvocate for the people that are
in the school working.
You know I would really want toget people more involved.
I'd want to get the communitymore involved.
You know there's not a giantattendance at board meetings.
There's not a ton of people whoare, you know partaking in
(36:48):
school activities, and you knowI would do the minimal things
too.
You know I'll go to the schoolfundraiser and I'll go to
certain things.
So I myself, you know, wasguilty of not being involved.
But I feel like you know, nowthat I've taken this interest,
(37:11):
that I would love to get morecommunity involvement.
It's it's an important thing,um and and so I think I would be
a big advocate for, you know,get just getting more people
involved in things.
You know, I went to a fundraiserfor the school and there was
four people there.
I mean that kind of broke myheart.
There was no.
No board members were there.
Um, you know, there weren't anyteachers there.
(37:34):
I would really like to be in aplace.
If we're having a fundraiserfor the school, I would really
like for there to be parents,teachers, board members,
administrators.
I would like for all of us tobe there together.
Yeah, you know it was reallysad, you, it was really sad.
Speaker 1 (37:50):
So you know, and it's interesting you say that
because we just did a episodeall about the wooden playscape
that came down and that was afully PTA driven project that
raised a hundred thousanddollars and gathered thousands
of hours of communityvolunteerism.
And you know, we obviouslydon't have that now and it's
(38:14):
highlighted, you know by thingslike that and every organization
goes through different times.
But you know, as a parent youknow, and a community member,
those PTA organizations areextremely important, Just my two
cents.
But it goes to show that youknow to have an active community
(38:35):
involved you can really dogreat things right, but without
it it is difficult anything done, for sure, for sure.
Speaker 2 (38:42):
and you know, like I was, I was guilty of it myself,
of not being involved, gettingcaught up and every day, like
said, I was focused on career,home.
You know, everybody's okay andI just think, honestly, it's
just.
I think wisdom comes with age,right, I've learned, you know,
should I have done things sooner?
(39:02):
Could I have gotten moreinvolved?
Absolutely, but I know that nowand I can try to help other
people see that, I try to helpother people see other things
they should do for themselves.
So I just I would really wantto get people more involved.
Speaker 1 (39:20):
Talk a little bit.
I'm sorry, but talk a littlebit about kind of what you've
learned in the process since youdecided to run.
Learned in the process sinceyou decided to run what that's
been like having not run before,everything from you know
petitions to community feedback,like that.
Speaker 2 (39:37):
Yeah, well, honestly, a lot of people have.
I've kind of learned that thisisn't that difficult, it's not
that intimidating, that thepeople that are on the board are
people like me.
They're people like you.
I think a lot of times, youknow, I don't know, maybe people
(40:01):
underestimate, you know.
Or, like you said, like what'sthe time commitment?
You know, like, am I going tohave time for this?
I believe that I do have thetime now because I, you know,
like, am I going to have timefor this?
I believe that I do have thetime now because I, you know, I
have some flexibility built intomy life and so that has been a
factor in that.
So you know, I get that peopleare busy and they have, you know
, work and family and, like youknow, do I have time to go do
(40:24):
this for the school?
Do I have time to go do that?
So I definitely understand that.
You know that's a big part ofhow people get involved, and so
I've learned that I do have timeand that it's not that hard and
that going out and getting somesignatures wasn't that
difficult.
Filing, doing the petitionthing was very easy.
(40:47):
So sitting down and talkingwith you, it's not, you know,
it's mostly painless.
Right.
I mean, there's not.
It's not rocket science, youknow, this isn't anything that
is.
You know something that I thinkthe average person couldn't do.
It's just I just and the typeof person who will do it.
(41:08):
You know, like the people, why,what are you running for?
Why are you doing that?
You know, and I'm likesomebody's got to do it,
somebody has to do it, you know,and so I'm the type of person
who will step up when somebody'sgot to do it.
And it's been fun and it'sgotten me out there.
(41:30):
I've definitely gotten to meetnew people.
There's a whole group ofparents who I've met who want to
be heard.
There's just a lot of peoplewho, I think, want to be heard
and they need somebody to helpthem with that, and so I'm your
(41:50):
girl for that.
I mean, I have been advocatingfor people with special needs,
disabilities, mental illness.
I've been stepping up for themfor years and years because they
don't have a voice andunfortunately, it's like that in
our community right now.
There's a lot of people whofeel like they're not being
heard, and so I want to helpwith that.
Speaker 1 (42:09):
Talk a little bit about your understanding of that
.
The you know the SPED programwithin 159.
Do you feel it's sufficient?
You think there's room forimprovements?
I I don't say I know a wholelot about it, so maybe you can
let us know what you know sure.
Speaker 2 (42:26):
So I don't know a whole lot either, to tell you
you the truth.
What I do know, though, is,working in the disability field
for as long as I have, I couldtell you right now that I'm sure
it could be better.
People with disabilities arealways, unfortunately, the last
to be thought about.
(42:47):
A lot of their programs aren'tthe greatest.
There's not a lot of funding,and money for that there's
always.
They always need more support,and so I'm sure that if I went
into the school and talked toteachers and paraprofessionals,
they would have some feedbackfor us.
I'm sure that they, you knowthere's probably improvements.
I know, talking to parents,they've had concerns over IEPs
(43:08):
and different things you knowthat they have in place for
their kids, and so my stance isI'm sure that we can be doing
better.
I don't know enough about it toknow what exactly that is, but I
think one of the things that Iwould want to do is investigate
more in that area, the specialneeds as well as advanced
(43:31):
learning, because those are twohot topics that I've.
You know, in talking withpeople, those are the two main
topics that have come up right,because you know the kids that
are kind of just sitting prettyaverage.
You know, those are the folksthat you don't really hear about
, but the kids that need to bechallenged more, they need some
programming.
And then the kids that needmore support.
You know, those are the folksthat you don't really hear about
, but the kids that need to bechallenged more, they need some
programming.
And then the kids that needmore support you know how much
(43:54):
more support do they need?
So those are things that Ithink once, if I were elected
and, you know, got into thenitty gritty and learned more, I
think I would be happy toinvestigate.
Speaker 1 (44:10):
So, before we wrap up and just give you a minute, if
there's anything else you wantto share, you want to talk about
.
I don't know if you have socialmedia or anything where you're
sharing information, but justtake a minute and you can talk.
Speaker 2 (44:23):
I do not have any social media right now.
I know, as we move alongfurther and I start to kind of
beef up my campaign, thereprobably will be a page
dedicated, so I will definitelytry to get the word out about
that.
But for right now I mean it'sjust basically word of mouth and
(44:46):
then, doing this interview withyou, I hope it gets the word
out.
Going to different functions, Ihope we'll get the word out,
but you know I'll have to figureout.
You know this is the challenge,right?
It's like how do we get theword out so people hear about me
and about what's going on atthe school?
(45:07):
It's definitely a challenge,but it's not impossible.
There's so many differentthings now to be able to
communicate with people.
It's just getting it together.
So, to come, to be continued,there will be social media to
come.
For right now I mean those ofyou that do know I mean I am on
social media.
So if anybody has questions forme, I'm more than happy.
(45:28):
You can definitely DM me onFacebook or Instagram.
And then I have set up a coupleof times through different
groups, the Mokina Moms page orthe parent page.
Sometimes I'll put postingswhen I'm going to, you know, go
have coffee if people want tocome talk to me.
You know I'm more than happy totalk to anybody.
Please, I would.
(45:49):
If there's something that youguys want to talk about that's
related to this law, I'd behappy to sit down and talk about
it.
Speaker 1 (45:56):
Well, this is great and this is.
You know, what I hope theseconversations would be is
getting to know you know who youare as a candidate and what you
offer to the community shouldyou be elected, and not because
you're a.
You know a member of thecommunity as well and I think
you made a good point of youknow the people that are running
are all.
(46:16):
We're all just communitymembers, we're neighbors, we're,
you know, on the sidelines orwhatever it is, and with each
other.
So we appreciate you.
You know stepping up to runpeople.
You know it's.
It's not oh it something, asyou said, can be kind of a
challenge to take that firststep, but it is can be a very
rewarding thing.
So when we have it, I'll shareyour social media or whatever
(46:41):
you have.
I'll put that on our websitewith the candidate information
and be sure to check out all ofour candidate interviews on our
YouTube channel and everything'son our website as well.
Katie, thank you very much formeeting with me.
I appreciate it.
Yeah, thank you.
All right, katie, thank you for joining me and
sitting down to talk with metonight.
You decided to be a candidatefor school board for 159, so I
appreciate you taking the timeto talk with me and kind of
share with the community who youare and what's important to you
and why you're running.
So, just to get started, youwant to tell us a little bit
(00:31):
about you and your family, sure?
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Well, how far do you want me to go back?
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Whatever, Maybe you can tell us you're married, kids
I am I am.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
So I've been married.
I got married in 2010.
I have two kids, kaylin andJace.
Kaylin is in seventh grade andJace is in fifth grade.
I've lived in Mokena since 2010.
Prior to that, I grew up in ina northwest suburb, roselle Sure
(01:08):
, and I lived there with my momand my dad.
They were happily married.
My dad passed away in 2008.
I've got two siblings.
I'm the baby, so if that tellsyou anything about this, I've
got two siblings I'm the baby,so if that tells you anything.
So I have an older brother andan older sister Went to public
(01:35):
school my whole life.
I ended up going to EasternIllinois University and there I
got my undergraduate inrecreation administration and I
got a concentration intherapeutic recreation.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
What was your thought when you got your degree?
Like what?
I don't know if that's what youwent into or not, but what made
you want to do that?
Speaker 2 (01:55):
So we could be here forever as many college students
go through.
You know what to do.
It took a while for me to kindof figure out what I was going
to do, but eventually whathappened was I had I went there
for teaching.
You know, I was going to besome type of teacher probably
something to do with athletics,maybe gym, maybe be like a
(02:17):
trainer and then I had a classwhere I had to teach kids that
were young, and I had a classthen where we had to teach kids
that had disabilities, and Iloved the class with the kids
with the disabilities.
They were very appreciative ofmy time, and so from there I
(02:40):
looked into what I could do withpeople with disabilities, and
that kind of led me torecreation and that
concentration in therapeuticrecreation, because that's
really working with people withdisabilities.
It was kind of thinking I woulddo like OT, pt type stuff with
people with disabilities.
But I got a job in college thatwas working with people with
(03:02):
disabilities and from there Inever left and I stayed in that
field up until 2019.
And then I kind of took a breakbecause my kids were in school
and they needed some attentionfrom me.
So I decided to kind ofreevaluate what I was doing,
(03:23):
because at the time I wasputting in a lot of work, a lot
of hours at my current job, andso I decided to kind of take a
step back and ended up getting ajob in foster care.
Like a year later A friend ofmine from the past kind of
reemerged and asked if I wantedto take a look at where she was
working.
And I've been in that for aboutfour years and it's been.
(03:47):
It's been great, it's veryrewarding so maybe it can't just
talk a little bit I'm sure youcan't go too deep, but what that
involves and what you're doingwith that yeah, so I work for a
foster care and adoption agencyand so we contract with DCFS so
(04:10):
I get to experience working withthat agency and a lot of what I
do specifically is intake andso a lot of what I have to do is
read backgrounds on familiesand kids and kind of their
stories and their trauma andthen I work with our foster
families.
So we have, you know, over ahundred foster families that we
(04:33):
have and I work with matchingthe kids to families that could
meet their needs.
So I do a lot of assessments onkids that have gone through a
lot of trauma.
They have a lot of mentalhealth needs and I just
interview them and then work,you know, with the families to
try to match them to a home.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Wow that you must see quite a range of experiences.
I do.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Lots of stories.
I could tell Lots of stories.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Talk a little bit about how you ended up in Mokena
.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
So it's a funny question.
I was living in Midlothian soafter I graduated from college,
where I was working at the timewas out like like Joliet, and so
I had to move.
I grew up in Roselle, so I hadto move a little bit closer to
Joliet, so somehow I ended up inMidlothian um, I think it was
(05:31):
just probably closer to Jolietand that's what I could afford
at the time, and I stayed therefor a handful of years and then
my husband and I were livingthere and we, um, unfortunately,
uh, his mom passed away, andbefore she passed away she had
(05:52):
actually bought a piece of landin Mokina and she was going to
build there, and so a coupleyears after she had passed away,
we got the land.
Um, his dad decided he wasn'tgoing to live there anymore, you
know, and he was going to go ina different direction, and so
we took the opportunity to take,you know, to get the land from
(06:14):
him and we built the house there.
And I mean, I remember growingup, one of the things when I
lived in Roselle like we justplaying high school sports and
things like that, like it wasalways like Lincoln Way, like we
got to beat lincoln way theywere always.
There was always thisreputation, um, that they were
so great and um.
So when we, you know, heard, uh, or decided that you know we
(06:35):
were going to move here, I waslike the first thing I thought
it was like great schools, likegreat schools, the great area
couldn't couldn be happier.
So that's kind of how how wecame here.
It was not really planned, butit ended up working out.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
That's great.
What do you do for fun?
Talk about recreationactivities or.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Yeah, oh, let's see God, old people and fun.
I don't, you know I'm going toit's.
It's not the popular thing todo, but I love to watch, stay
home and binge watch shows onNetflix.
Of course, I do a lot of murdershows.
You know a lot of 2020 Dateline.
I'm into the crime shows.
I also, of course, love, youknow, doing things with my kids.
(07:15):
We do a lot of activities,whether it's their, you know,
sports, playing with them.
We just got a puppy, likeplaying with their dog, got a
cat.
And then you, we just got apuppy, so like playing with
their dog, got a cat.
And then, you know, I do whatmost people do to unwind hang
out with friends, go out dinner.
We're, we're, I would say.
Me and my husband are bigfoodies.
We like to go around, trydifferent restaurants, eat at
(07:36):
different places, but I mean,that's kind of what you do when
you get older, right, you justfind places to eat and drink,
yeah we're gonna eat and drinktonight, um yeah and your kids
are very involved in sports,right?
Speaker 1 (07:48):
I know that we've met uh through that with would be
football and or baseball.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Yeah, well, pretty much, my son plays baseball okay
, he's big baseball guy.
And then, um, my daughter ismore of a theater, um and dance,
so which kind of segues intohow this whole board thing came
to be.
She was going to, she goes to,street of Dreams, so she's done
(08:14):
their theater program and she'sdone their dance program.
And when she was going intomiddle school she got super
excited because the school had atheater program.
So she's like, oh, I canfinally do a play, you know,
with the school and my friends.
You know not that she doesn'thave friends at street of dreams
, but you know, this is theschool, you know friends, so a
lot of people at street ofdreams are from different
schools and things like that.
(08:35):
So so she was excited that shewas going to finally get to do
that.
And then, um, and then thebusine thing, and it got put on
hold, or there wasn't a directorfor the theater program there.
And my first involvement withthe school board was after I
(08:58):
found out there was no theaterprogram, or I don't even know if
that's the right way to say it,but after pretty much.
You know, that was put on holdbecause they didn't have a
director.
So prior to that I was, youknow, not involved, you know,
with going to school boardmeetings, or you know I kind of
consider myself to be what mostpeople probably do is just kind
(09:20):
of hang in the background, likeif there's not a problem.
You know, I didn't need to goto the school for anything.
You know, to my knowledge, myexperience with the school has
been great.
My kids have had awesometeachers.
I have never had any complaints.
My kids do pretty well inschool, so I'm fortunate.
I feel like they're learning.
You know there's no issuesthere.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
And when is the time frame you're talking about?
Speaker 2 (09:50):
When did this happen?
So this theater program, oh god, she's in seventh grade, so
it's sixth grade.
Okay, I think it was sixthgrade.
Um, right, so last year, so notthat long ago, um, and then so
so the the theater thinghappened and we were
disappointed because she wasreally excited about that and
that's what kind of got metalking to other people about,
you know, just the school ingeneral and and things going on
in the school, school boardteachers, and so I started kind
(10:13):
of going or watching somemeetings and then towards, well,
it was probably the end of theyear.
Then we got the email about thesuperintendent leaving.
Well, it was probably the endof the year.
Then we got the email about thesuperintendent leaving.
(10:40):
So after I had gone to Eastern acouple years later, like in my,
after I had worked where I wasat after I graduated college, I
ended up getting my master's atLewis in leadership,
organizational leadership.
So a big part of what I do inmy professional life is work on
like organizational culture,working with teams, working with
conflict management andcommunication.
(11:01):
So a big part of my master'sprogram was teaching me how to
basically, you know, helpbusinesses have a healthy
workplace culture.
And so when I saw the emailabout the superintendent leaving
, you know my leadership braingoes to well, most of the time
people leave people.
(11:22):
So we had this thing happenwith the theater thing.
This great woman teacher left,you know, and then we have a
superintendent who leaves.
So my brain is going well,people leave people.
So there's got to be somepeople issues which I am very
well versed in because I'm a bigpeople person.
(11:42):
All of my jobs have been withpeople.
I mean, I've worked.
You know, the job that I workedwith before foster care for a
very long time was with peoplewith disabilities and mental
illness, and so I mean, like Isaid earlier, the stories of
just the people I've met, thekinds of people I've worked with
, the staff that I've, you know,led and supervised, is it all
(12:05):
kind of came up in my brain whenI was like why are people
leaving?
Like something's going on.
So the type of person I am, Ijust was talking to people and
investigating and what's goingon and are there's issues and
things like that, and so that'skind of how I started getting
involved.
Was the theater thing, then thesuperintendent thing, and then
just gathering information,talking to people and hearing
(12:27):
that you know there would beseats available on the school
board.
And so I was like, well, thisseems kind of right up my alley
for what I do in my professionallife and I have time.
Now my kids are older, theydon't need me as much.
(12:47):
As much as that, you know,tears me to pieces.
I have time for myself now.
So, and I've always like,advocated and worked for other
people and I thought this isreally a way I can work for my
own kids so and my own community.
I mean, I've been giving andgiving to people for a very long
(13:08):
time, you know, kind of outsideand in my professional life,
and I thought, well, this is away I can give back to people
directly in my care.
So I was like it's time to dosomething.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
So, looking at the issues that you know put you,
you know put you forward or madeyou decide you want to run,
what do you think you bring tothe board that would help
resolve those?
Speaker 2 (13:31):
issues.
My background in the master'sprogram that I took
organizational leadership Ithink has would really put me
above a lot of candidates.
(13:52):
Because of that experience thatI have with bringing people
together, I think there's somedisconnect going on.
I think there's areas that canalways be improved.
Like I'm just a big proponentof like continuous improvement.
Like we are great but we couldalways be better, so what could
we be doing to be better?
(14:13):
And improving communication?
So like one of the things Ifound out, like when you talk to
people right, like everybody'sgot their side of the story
Right and it's interesting tohear everybody's perspective,
but then really bringing peopletogether and working to solve
problems together, it's not thatit's actually pretty difficult
(14:36):
to get everybody on the same busand following suit and working
together collaboratively, and Ithink that that's needed.
I think our board needs that.
I think that there also I thinkthere's just time for change.
(14:57):
Sometimes, you know, you knowwe reelect a president every
four years, you know, becausesometimes change is good and I
think just a fresh set of eyescoming in and looking at things
is a good thing.
A lot of times people areafraid of change, but I like it
and I know, I think that itbrings forth growth and so, yeah
(15:18):
, I think that I would bringthat.
I think I'm really good atcommunicating with people.
I'm really good at conflictmanagement, like critically
thinking, seeing things fromeverybody's angle.
All perspectives, I think issomething that I'm really good
(15:41):
at.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Perspectives, I think is something that I'm really
good at as far as communicationgoes, how do you looking at what
we, as parents, receive fromthe school?
What do you think could bechanged or improved as far as
communication goes.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
So I think that it would be great if we, if all
three schools, could get onboard with the same type of
communication.
So I don't know how yourexperience has been, but I'll
get emails, I'll get textmessages, I'll get phone
messages.
There's a lot of communicationcoming in.
(16:17):
I can't complain.
I don't feel like people aren'tcommunicating.
Sometimes it's like well, didthat really need to be
communicated 40 times, asopposed to this when I only got
maybe one and I missed it.
So I do think that we haveimproved in communication.
I think it would be great if,across the board, like there was
a method or an app per se thateverybody's using.
(16:42):
That, you know, is just likethis is how I know I'm going to
get communication.
So I'm like I'm not waiting fora text, or I'm not waiting for
an email, or you know the other.
I don't think we're using a lotmany apps or at least I'm not
anymore, but before it was likedownload this app for your
classroom and like my kids wouldhave different apps, and so
it's just like a lot ofdifferent things.
(17:02):
If we could streamline it andlike come up with you know a way
that we're going to communicateone, one way.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
I think that would be an improvement okay, so what do
you see as some of the biggestchallenges ahead for the school
district?
Speaker 2 (17:20):
um, in my opinion, the biggest challenge is that we
don't have a superintendent.
So I see that as a bigchallenge.
We need leadership and I thinkthat, again, that's something
that I really would want to be apart of.
I would want to be a part ofhelping a new leader come in,
helping that person to formrelationships with people on the
(17:43):
board, with, you know,administrators, with anybody.
I would like to kind of be bethere to help in that situation,
because it really starts, youknow, with the person at the top
, which would be, you know, thesuperintendent.
That's the person leading theschool, and so right now, we
don't you, you know, we havesomebody in the interim, but we
(18:03):
don't have that leader who youknow, we know is staying.
So I think that that wouldreally probably be one of the
things that I think we need tofocus on.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
So, as far as the superintendent goes, that is a
process that you know they'vegone through to start finding a
new superintendent, and what isit that you, as both a parent as
well as you know a potentialboard member, is something that
you would look for or think isimportant to see in a potential
superintendent.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
So I think that definitely some of the
leadership qualities that Iwould want would be someone who
is a good communicator, um,someone who is not afraid of
(19:01):
conflict and who willcommunicate with parents and not
so happy parents and schoolboard members and they'll kind
of be the face getting out intothe community.
So somebody who's going to bepresent, you know, and like
(19:23):
known, I think somebody who iswell, I guess I would say like
gritty or thick skinned, because, being in that position,
there's a lot that you have todeal with and I could imagine it
could be tough at times.
(19:43):
But I'd be looking for somebodywho you know is loyal and you
know at the first time of anyissues or rumblings or conflicts
, like somebody who's going tostick with us, you know, because
this is a position that I feellike you know needs longevity.
Somebody's got to stay here forthe long haul know, needs
longevity, somebody's got tostay here for the long haul.
(20:04):
We can't keep going throughevery two years, every three
years, you know, having somebodycome in because that disrupts,
you know, everything that'sgoing on in the district.
So I think somebody who's, youknow, going to be loyal and you
know really dedicate themselvesto the position.
So those are the things thatkind of first come to mind.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
As far as longevity in a candidate, that's something
that has been an issue.
Don White was here, I think twoyears, and then Dr Cohen was
just four years.
Looking at that scenario, whatdo you think where is?
Do you have anything you couldpinpoint as what you think the
(20:47):
issues are?
I guess we touched on it alittle bit, but I think it's
important to figure out what theproblem is if you're going to
figure out how to avoid it inthe future.
Is that anything you'd commentabout?
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Yeah, I mean, a lot of times in leadership you have
to do inventories.
You got to find out, you know,why are people staying.
You got to find out why peopleare leaving.
So I mean, I would think itwould be important to do those
inventories, you know, check inwith the staff and the
administration and find out.
You know what's going on, whatare we doing good, what are
people happy about why?
(21:33):
What are we doing good, whatare people happy about?
Why are people saying and whyare they leaving?
And kind of going back to whatI said, people leave.
People, you know, in the schooldistrict and they feel like the
teachers feel like they trustthe administration and the
administration trusts the boardand you know all the way down.
So I just think I think a lotof it has to do with
(21:54):
relationships, you know, andjust people liking each other,
liking working together, feelingrespected, feeling heard.
I think that's what it comesdown to a lot of times.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
Talk a little bit about how you see the role of a
school board member, as well askind of what you expect the time
commitment to be as a schoolboard member.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
So I see the role of the school board member being
part of, you know, a team thatkind of governs, um, the
administration.
We would work, obviouslycollaboratively, you know, with
the administration.
But you know, I kind of see itas like, you know, overseeing,
(22:52):
you know, and I think that theboard is also there.
Obviously it's an electedposition, so you have to is also
there.
Obviously it's an electedposition, so you have to keep in
mind all of the stakeholdersand all the people you're there
to represent.
I think, as a board member, Ineed to listen to everybody, I
(23:13):
need to listen to theadministration, I need to listen
and kind of have a pulse on howteachers feel about things.
You know how are?
You know, how are parentsfeeling?
You know, how are kids feeling,you know.
So I think, overall, like it'sour job to have a pulse on
what's going on in the districtas a whole.
(23:34):
But you know we're there tohelp and to collaborate with,
you know, the administration andkind of help them with what
they might need too.
But it's just kind ofoverarching, overseeing those
things.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
How much do you direct involvement?
Or maybe where do you thinkthere are points where you as a
board member would you know,interject or have more?
You know think about areas likecurriculum or you know a dress
code, all these different areasthat school boards deal with.
You know, as a school boardmember, you know where do you
(24:18):
think the roles kind of separateor you know where do you feel
like it's appropriate to getinvolved.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
Well, I mean, I think that there's, you know there's
policies and procedures foreverything, and so I think it's
our job to you know make surethat we're aware of what the
policies and procedures are.
I personally don't feel likeyou know there's staff there to
address those issues within theschool.
(24:49):
So I don't think that it's youknow the board's job to be in
the schools dealing with youknow, issues on a daily basis.
But I do think it's the board'sjob as a whole to listen to
people and concerns and thentalk about those things and find
ways, you know, to findsolutions if there's a major
(25:13):
issue of something going on orif a policy needs to be changed
or something needs to be lookedat.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
School board members have to make a lot of really
important decisions.
Talk a little bit about makingdecisions and the process that
you would go through in makingan important decision.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
Well, I would probably do a lot of critical
thinking, depending on whateverthe topic is.
I do a lot of informationgathering, I like to talk to
everybody.
Topic is I do a lot ofinformation gathering, I like to
talk to everybody.
So, as much as I can getinformation from the people that
I can get it from, I would youknow, I would go to the experts
(25:52):
for their advice.
You know, if it is aboutcurriculum, well, who's in
charge of our curriculum?
Well, I would be talking tothat person and getting their
input, or, you know, whateverthe subject might be, you know,
I think extracting informationfrom people is number one.
Once you have the information, Ithink then you start weighing
pros and cons.
You start, you know, takinginto consideration different
details, but really, again, likeI like to approach, you know
(26:16):
situations by all angles andthen really just weighing out
you know, strengths,opportunities, weaknesses.
There's a SWOT analysis.
There's different things thatyou can do to make big decisions
, which I've obviously done atwork numerous times in many
different situations.
So I feel like I would dosimilar things in this situation
(26:38):
as well.
It's just you have to sit backand also, I think, take time
when you need to take time tomake a big decision.
And then there's sometimes, youknow decisions need to be made
quicker, and so you just have tofigure out you know which ones,
that is, you know what needs totake more time and what needs
(26:59):
to be decided on know at afaster pace, but again, I think,
working, you know, if you have,you know, seven, six, seven,
eight, other brains, you know Ifeel like that's a great way to
be able to do those things withother people's input, and so,
yeah, it would do that for me,my tax about 35% of it goes to
(27:22):
the 159 school district.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
So talk about how will you assure people, or how
can the board and the districtbetter assure people, that their
tax dollars are being wiselyspent.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
Yeah, that's a good question.
I know that there is astrategic plan.
You know most agencies havestrategic plans.
So I know that there are thingsthat you know the district
carves out, you know forpotential things that could
happen, and so obviously youknow always keeping an eye on
(27:59):
those things.
And then you know, when thingscome forward that you know come
up that we need money fordifferent resources, I think we
need to, you know, do our duediligence to investigate.
You know what it is that we needmoney for and you know follow
our policies and procedures onhow we go about doing that.
And so, again, it's just kind ofalso making sure when we are
(28:25):
going, maybe doing majorprojects, you know that we're
getting the right um people forthe job.
You know we're um.
You know doing certain bids,we're doing research, you know,
gathering all the informationthat we can to make sure that we
are making the best possibledecision that's fiscally
responsible for our budget, youknow, and for the taxpayers, you
(28:47):
know, because I know thatthat's a concern for a lot of
people is, you know, a lot ofour money goes into the schools,
which is one of the reasons why, you know, I think our schools
are doing.
Well, we have, you know, a lotof money going into the school
district and so I just thinkthat you know carefully going
through working with the peoplethat are in charge of our budget
, you know, and going throughthose plans, you know on a
(29:12):
continual basis, and evaluatingyou know what's the first
priority and going through youknow that that's pretty much
what I would say we need to do.
Speaker 1 (29:23):
Something that every parent and teacher and everybody
that works in a school I'm surethinks about is security.
What can we do, what can theboard or the school do to ensure
parents and and all of us, thatour kids and teachers are safe
at our schools?
Speaker 2 (29:42):
so I think it starts with communication.
I know that we are doingdifferent drills and our kids
are involved in safety drillsfor those reasons, which I do
(30:04):
allow my kids to be ready andfeel safe for anything that
could come up.
But I think if there aresituations that occur at the
school, it kind of goes back tolike how we get communication
out to parents, like if it'sstreamlined and there's, you
know, one direct way, then Ithink I would feel better about
(30:26):
knowing you know that my kidsare safe at any given time,
about knowing you know that mykids are safe at any given time.
And then if there's differentthings that you know the
community and teachers or peoplein the building feel like need
to be looked at to make peoplefeel safer, I think we need to
listen to the teachers andlisten to the people that are
working in the buildings, listento the kids, again just keeping
(30:48):
a pulse on do people feel safewith what's already in place or
do we need to make adjustments?
And, you know, just go fromthere.
But I so far I've been with thecommunication I've gotten.
I've been pretty pleased withhow our school has handled
(31:09):
certain situations.
So, yeah, I think it's justlistening to people and their
concerns and then trying toproblem solve around those.
Speaker 1 (31:20):
What do you think is the best way to address
differences of opinion or ideasbetween both between board
members and between a boardmember and say administration
Say you had a difference ofopinion with a superintendent or
in that what do you think isthe best way to address those
differences?
Speaker 2 (31:41):
Go to the person directly, clear, crystal clear
communication talking to thatperson.
I mean, we're all adults, we'veall had conflicts with each
other.
If we have a conflict and it'ssomething that we don't think we
can resolve in that moment,then you take some time and you
(32:02):
regroup and you come back andyou revisit it again.
I think that, again, I thinkthat's something that we we as a
human race I think just needsto get better at.
I mean, you know, I am notafraid to kind of, you know,
(32:24):
confront issues head on.
You know, like I'm the type ofperson who if, if, if there's an
issue, then I'm going to cometo you and I'm going to come to
you and we're going to talkabout it.
I mean, I've just I'm a socialworker by trade but, like, I've
been in numerous therapytrainings, so I feel like I'm
really good at communicatingwith people and so I would just
go to the person and I would gettheir perspective and, you know
(32:48):
, I would let them hear mine outand, you know, I would hope
that we could come to anagreement.
I'm also not living in analternate reality.
I know that.
You know you can't makeeverybody happy at all times,
but you know, as a board memberI have to make decisions, you
know, that are going to be bestfor everyone.
And so you can have a conflictwith somebody and walk away and
(33:12):
maybe not agree a hundredpercent, but everybody could
still walk away feelingrespected and heard.
And sometimes you know that'swhat we have to do as adults we
have to hear each other out andagree to disagree, but at the
end of the day, you know, if wehave to make decisions about
things, you know one way oranother we have to sit in a room
(33:32):
until it's worked out.
You know so.
Speaker 1 (33:36):
So there are seven candidates running for the
Mokina 159 school district.
So just take a second and tellus why you are the best
candidate or why people shouldvote for you on April 1st
candidate or why people shouldvote for you on April 1st.
Speaker 2 (34:02):
So I think you should vote for me, because I am
really focused on helping thedistrict grow as far as
leadership.
So that is the one I'd say.
That is my strength again, kindof bringing it back to just
being able to help the culture.
I think I would bring that tothe board, I think I would bring
that to the district, just likeI had previously said, like my
(34:23):
past experience in working withpeople of various you know,
different backgrounds, I thinkI'm really good at that, and so
I definitely think that'm reallygood at that, and so I
definitely think that we needthat right now because of that
leadership that we're lacking.
I also think something that Ido that a lot of people don't do
(34:44):
, unfortunately, is just workingin the mental health field.
I take care of myself, I do alot of self-care, and so to me,
that's another thing.
If you're in a position whereyou're making tough decisions,
you have to be well-rested, youhave to be in a good state of
mind, and so I have no issueswith taking care of myself.
(35:07):
I go to a great gym calledSpanga, which helps me clear my
mind every day, you know I alsothink that I would bring.
I think I would bring, I wouldhelp bring a voice to the
teachers.
I really think that we need tolisten to our teachers and
(35:36):
figure out what they need.
I started off my career as whatwas called a direct support
worker.
Through my career I worked allthe way up to the administration
, and so I really know what it'slike to be doing the work from
the ground up, and I alwayswanted when you're the one doing
(36:00):
the job, you know the frontlinestaff, and then you have
administration and people makingwhat you think are like
decisions for you.
You know that can befrustrating, and so I can recall
being that direct serviceworker and that is what made me
want to continue to move up theladder to be an administrator,
because I wanted to be able to,you know, make decisions and
(36:23):
advocate for the people that areworking on the front lines, and
so I would really be anadvocate for the people that are
in the school working.
You know I would really want toget people more involved.
I'd want to get the communitymore involved.
You know there's not a giantattendance at board meetings.
There's not a ton of people whoare, you know partaking in
(36:48):
school activities, and you knowI would do the minimal things
too.
You know I'll go to the schoolfundraiser and I'll go to
certain things.
So I myself, you know, wasguilty of not being involved.
But I feel like you know, nowthat I've taken this interest,
(37:11):
that I would love to get morecommunity involvement.
It's it's an important thing,um and and so I think I would be
a big advocate for, you know,get just getting more people
involved in things.
You know, I went to a fundraiserfor the school and there was
four people there.
I mean that kind of broke myheart.
There was no.
No board members were there.
Um, you know, there weren't anyteachers there.
(37:34):
I would really like to be in aplace.
If we're having a fundraiserfor the school, I would really
like for there to be parents,teachers, board members,
administrators.
I would like for all of us tobe there together.
Yeah, you know it was reallysad, you, it was really sad.
Speaker 1 (37:50):
So you know, and it's interesting you say that
because we just did a episodeall about the wooden playscape
that came down and that was afully PTA driven project that
raised a hundred thousanddollars and gathered thousands
of hours of communityvolunteerism.
And you know, we obviouslydon't have that now and it's
(38:14):
highlighted, you know by thingslike that and every organization
goes through different times.
But you know, as a parent youknow, and a community member,
those PTA organizations areextremely important, Just my two
cents.
But it goes to show that youknow to have an active community
(38:35):
involved you can really dogreat things right, but without
it it is difficult anything done, for sure, for sure.
Speaker 2 (38:42):
and you know, like I was, I was guilty of it myself,
of not being involved, gettingcaught up and every day, like
said, I was focused on career,home.
You know, everybody's okay andI just think, honestly, it's
just.
I think wisdom comes with age,right, I've learned, you know,
should I have done things sooner?
(39:02):
Could I have gotten moreinvolved?
Absolutely, but I know that nowand I can try to help other
people see that, I try to helpother people see other things
they should do for themselves.
So I just I would really wantto get people more involved.
Speaker 1 (39:20):
Talk a little bit.
I'm sorry, but talk a littlebit about kind of what you've
learned in the process since youdecided to run.
Learned in the process sinceyou decided to run what that's
been like having not run before,everything from you know
petitions to community feedback,like that.
Speaker 2 (39:37):
Yeah, well, honestly, a lot of people have.
I've kind of learned that thisisn't that difficult, it's not
that intimidating, that thepeople that are on the board are
people like me.
They're people like you.
I think a lot of times, youknow, I don't know, maybe people
(40:01):
underestimate, you know.
Or, like you said, like what'sthe time commitment?
You know, like, am I going tohave time for this?
I believe that I do have thetime now because I, you know,
like, am I going to have timefor this?
I believe that I do have thetime now because I, you know, I
have some flexibility built intomy life and so that has been a
factor in that.
So you know, I get that peopleare busy and they have, you know
, work and family and, like youknow, do I have time to go do
(40:24):
this for the school?
Do I have time to go do that?
So I definitely understand that.
You know that's a big part ofhow people get involved, and so
I've learned that I do have timeand that it's not that hard and
that going out and getting somesignatures wasn't that
difficult.
Filing, doing the petitionthing was very easy.
(40:47):
So sitting down and talkingwith you, it's not, you know,
it's mostly painless.
Right.
I mean, there's not.
It's not rocket science, youknow, this isn't anything that
is.
You know something that I thinkthe average person couldn't do.
It's just I just and the typeof person who will do it.
(41:08):
You know, like the people, why,what are you running for?
Why are you doing that?
You know, and I'm likesomebody's got to do it,
somebody has to do it, you know,and so I'm the type of person
who will step up when somebody'sgot to do it.
And it's been fun and it'sgotten me out there.
(41:30):
I've definitely gotten to meetnew people.
There's a whole group ofparents who I've met who want to
be heard.
There's just a lot of peoplewho, I think, want to be heard
and they need somebody to helpthem with that, and so I'm your
(41:50):
girl for that.
I mean, I have been advocatingfor people with special needs,
disabilities, mental illness.
I've been stepping up for themfor years and years because they
don't have a voice andunfortunately, it's like that in
our community right now.
There's a lot of people whofeel like they're not being
heard, and so I want to helpwith that.
Speaker 1 (42:09):
Talk a little bit about your understanding of that
.
The you know the SPED programwithin 159.
Do you feel it's sufficient?
You think there's room forimprovements?
I I don't say I know a wholelot about it, so maybe you can
let us know what you know sure.
Speaker 2 (42:26):
So I don't know a whole lot either, to tell you
you the truth.
What I do know, though, is,working in the disability field
for as long as I have, I couldtell you right now that I'm sure
it could be better.
People with disabilities arealways, unfortunately, the last
to be thought about.
(42:47):
A lot of their programs aren'tthe greatest.
There's not a lot of funding,and money for that there's
always.
They always need more support,and so I'm sure that if I went
into the school and talked toteachers and paraprofessionals,
they would have some feedbackfor us.
I'm sure that they, you knowthere's probably improvements.
I know, talking to parents,they've had concerns over IEPs
(43:08):
and different things you knowthat they have in place for
their kids, and so my stance isI'm sure that we can be doing
better.
I don't know enough about it toknow what exactly that is, but I
think one of the things that Iwould want to do is investigate
more in that area, the specialneeds as well as advanced
(43:31):
learning, because those are twohot topics that I've.
You know, in talking withpeople, those are the two main
topics that have come up right,because you know the kids that
are kind of just sitting prettyaverage.
You know, those are the folksthat you don't really hear about
, but the kids that need to bechallenged more, they need some
programming.
And then the kids that needmore support.
You know, those are the folksthat you don't really hear about
, but the kids that need to bechallenged more, they need some
programming.
And then the kids that needmore support you know how much
(43:54):
more support do they need?
So those are things that Ithink once, if I were elected
and, you know, got into thenitty gritty and learned more, I
think I would be happy toinvestigate.
Speaker 1 (44:10):
So, before we wrap up and just give you a minute, if
there's anything else you wantto share, you want to talk about
.
I don't know if you have socialmedia or anything where you're
sharing information, but justtake a minute and you can talk.
Speaker 2 (44:23):
I do not have any social media right now.
I know, as we move alongfurther and I start to kind of
beef up my campaign, thereprobably will be a page
dedicated, so I will definitelytry to get the word out about
that.
But for right now I mean it'sjust basically word of mouth and
(44:46):
then, doing this interview withyou, I hope it gets the word
out.
Going to different functions, Ihope we'll get the word out,
but you know I'll have to figureout.
You know this is the challenge,right?
It's like how do we get theword out so people hear about me
and about what's going on atthe school?
(45:07):
It's definitely a challenge,but it's not impossible.
There's so many differentthings now to be able to
communicate with people.
It's just getting it together.
So, to come, to be continued,there will be social media to
come.
For right now I mean those ofyou that do know I mean I am on
social media.
So if anybody has questions forme, I'm more than happy.
(45:28):
You can definitely DM me onFacebook or Instagram.
And then I have set up a coupleof times through different
groups, the Mokina Moms page orthe parent page.
Sometimes I'll put postingswhen I'm going to, you know, go
have coffee if people want tocome talk to me.
You know I'm more than happy totalk to anybody.
Please, I would.
(45:49):
If there's something that youguys want to talk about that's
related to this law, I'd behappy to sit down and talk about
it.
Speaker 1 (45:56):
Well, this is great and this is.
You know, what I hope theseconversations would be is
getting to know you know who youare as a candidate and what you
offer to the community shouldyou be elected, and not because
you're a.
You know a member of thecommunity as well and I think
you made a good point of youknow the people that are running
are all.
(46:16):
We're all just communitymembers, we're neighbors, we're,
you know, on the sidelines orwhatever it is, and with each
other.
So we appreciate you.
You know stepping up to runpeople.
You know it's.
It's not oh it something, asyou said, can be kind of a
challenge to take that firststep, but it is can be a very
rewarding thing.
So when we have it, I'll shareyour social media or whatever
(46:41):
you have.
I'll put that on our websitewith the candidate information
and be sure to check out all ofour candidate interviews on our
YouTube channel and everything'son our website as well.
Katie, thank you very much formeeting with me.
I appreciate it.
Yeah, thank you.
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