 If you haven't had a chance yet to pick up a copy of the Oklahoma Gazette today, grab one soon. News reporter Laura Eastes previewed the District 3 race. Obviously, print is a limited commodity, so I thought I would post my full interview answers here, where space is unlimited. So here are the questions and answers for her preview story, including my typos. Laura said she will be doing a more in-depth look at the race when the election is closer. Props to her for her great coverage of education and local government.
Occupation and brief background on employment: I'm a content marketing specialist for BigWing Interactive, which is a digital marketing company. I worked as a journalism teacher at Putnam City North High School for two years. Before that, I worked as a columnist and reporter for The Oklahoman for nine years. The several years were as the education reporter. Why are you running for the school board? I first thought about running for school board when I left journalism. Phil Horning has done a great job for District 3, and whenever he retired, I would run. So this year is just the time. We have two girls - 6 and 1 - so my husband and I discussed the election and possible board term at length. Our 1-year-old will be in pre-k four years from now, and I decided that by the time she started school, I wanted to know I did everything I could for her and all the other students to have good schools to go to. What goals do you hope to achieve if you are elected? I'd like to boost support for schools. We have to identify what's preventing parents, businesses and the community from being involved at every school. I also want to be an advocate for Oklahoma City Public Schools in the community and with state leaders. Our kids need our support now more than ever. We all have to work with urgency. What special strengths do you believe you would bring to the board? There are a lot of stakeholders in education, and I've been in three of those roles - watchdog, teacher and parent. I think that experience has made me able to ask good questions, listen to all sides and always work with the success of students in mind. |
