Contributed by Lori Berrigan
I’m Lori Berrigan, and I am running for the Mat-Su Borough School Board, District 1. This includes many communities in the eastern Mat-Su, from Knik River north and east to Sheep Mountain. I have been involved in education in the Mat-Su Valley for 18 years and I would like to put that experience to work for your children and you.
My journey in education started as a parent, but over the last 18 years it has shifted from being an involved parent to an advocate for all children in the Mat-Su.
I moved to the Valley in 2004 when my oldest started Kindergarten. I soon realized my choices in education were limited. I am an Alaskan who benefited from choice in education. I started first grade at Oceanview Elementary in Anchorage and graduated from Steller Secondary in 1987. Steller was the first optional program in Alaska. While at Steller, I took classes at West High and Anchorage Community College. This allowed me to graduate a year early and spend a year as an exchange student before starting college.
I graduated from Colorado College in 1992 with a degree in chemistry and worked as a field chemist on the pipeline. Working in a lab was not my dream job. I went back to school and became a sports massage therapist, a field I worked in for 20 years. During this time, my husband and I started our family. After moving to the Valley, I again went back to school where I received a Certificate in Waldorf Early Childhood Education.
I have three children who have attended school in the Mat-Su Valley. My two oldest are current students at UAF, both UA scholars. They graduated from Palmer High. My youngest is a freshman at Palmer High.
Luckily, the State of Alaska allows for all of us to have choices in education. In 2006, I worked hard to bring choices to other parents and students by leading the effort to start Birchtree Charter School (BTC), a public charter school. After Birchtree was approved in 2010, I turned my attention to starting my own business by opening a Waldorf-inspired childcare and preschool, while remaining on the BTC Academic Policy Board for many years.
BTC and my business, Palmer LifeWays, are now entering their eleventh year.
In addition to my work with BTC, I have been a member of the Mat-Su Ski Club Board and the Palmer Moose Nordic Ski Team Booster club. I have served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for the State of Alaska for the past five years. CASA volunteers work with the Guardian Ad Litem advocating for children in foster care.
So, why should you vote for me? What can I do for parents and community members with children and grandchildren in a traditional school? What do I offer for those homeschooling?
What I have learned over the last 18 years as a parent who started a charter school, an educator running my own business, and as a CASA volunteer, is it is not always about the curriculum being taught, but the connections a teacher, principal and staff make with a child.
To make connections, staff need time and resources. Children are not just a number, or a check list. They are fully formed human beings that are where they are on a developmental path regardless of age. Every child that I meet and work with, I work to make connection. I want them to know that I see the best in them every day.
Teachers need time to make these connections. This is time to look through student portfolios, send emails to parents, work with a student one-on-one as necessary.
My goals on the School Board are:
· To serve all children in the Mat-Su. No one child is more important than another.
· Foster partnerships and relationships between schools and parents.
· To be fiscally responsible and provide transparency of public funds.
· Improve proficiency in students that are below proficiency levels.
· Maintain, create, and promote programs that give students choice, including college prep and vocational education tracks, and make public schools available to home schoolers.
· To keep schools open and buses running.
Right now, the school board is lurching from crisis to crisis. It is difficult to provide leadership when you are always reactive versus proactive. Day-to-day operations of the district should be left to the Superintendent. The work of the board is to create a long-term vision and work with the administration to find solutions and resources to support that vision.
With my background and knowledge of our School District and School Board policy, I can help provide the necessary leadership to serve the interests of District 1 and keep the School District moving forward. I strongly believe that we have tremendous teachers and staff working with our children. We need to return harmony throughout our School District and re-establish morale amongst all district employees. Education takes place in the classroom and the Board's efforts must focus on enhancing and enriching what goes on in each classroom in the district.
I would appreciate your vote on November 2nd.