Dear Friends,
You supported me when I needed you, and as the school year draws to an end, I wanted to give you a brief update. I'm enjoying the job, learning a lot, and feel like I'm right where I'm supposed to be--making a difference for our kids, teachers, and public schools. Working collaboratively with Superintendent Hanna and my ‘sister’ school board members, we’ve gotten a lot done in six short months. 

Here are a few accomplishments I’m particularly proud of:

• Recess Every Day--Beginning next school year, recess will be required at every Leon County elementary school, every day, for every student - for at least 20 minutes per day!
• No D's and F's for our youngest students--Next year kindergartners and first graders won’t get Ds or Fs on their report cards, instead they'll get "N" for not yet. We’ll be working on an elementary report card do-over for 2018-19.
• Safe Schools for All-- We have officially designated our schools as “Safe Zones” for all students, regardless of immigration status. No student should fear being questioned by law enforcement without parent permission. Counselors have been trained to aid if needed.
• Less time wasted on testing-- We passed a resolution to eliminate using students to "load test" computers for testing, saving valuable instructional time. 

I’m also feeling empowered to speak out about issues that affect our public schools.

• I spoke out about Legislative issues in recently published Tallahassee Democrat: My  View– Make Public Schools and Children a Top Priority. "Public schools are the foundation of our democracy; they give all children a chance, no matter their background, no matter their zip code. Please, legislators, make our children your first priority in your grand budget bargain."
• I spoke out about against House Bill 989 that proposed to allow outside groups to be able to interfere with local textbook and curriculum decisions.
• I spoke at the Tallahassee March for Science rally, "If we are counting on the next generation to save our planet, we need to make sure they can solve complex problems, not just answer multiple choice questions. Science is the opposite of being rewarded for the right answers; science is about asking the right questions.”   

Looking forward to many great things ahead. I’ll keep you updated from time to time, but not too often.

Many thanks for your support,