Smith brings ‘healthcare perspective’ to Crane board
As a charge nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Yuma Regional Medical Center, Carol Smith advocates for Yuma County’s smallest residents in some of their earliest and most vulnerable days. As one of Crane School District’s newest governing board members, she’ll carry that torch for primary and intermediate school-age children as well.
A Yuma native and product of Crane schools, Smith was formally sworn into her first governing board position during the board’s Jan. 12 meeting. While she feels she has much to learn, she said she’s excited to loan a “healthcare perspective” to a district that’s “always on the forefront of change.”
“Especially right now, with us being in virtual school and trying to get back (to in-person learning) in a safe and healthy manner, I feel like I can give some reflection from the healthcare side,” said Smith. “I don’t have any sort of platform or agenda aside from continuing to advocate for our kids to make sure they’re on par with the rest of the state, keeping my eyes open, being involved and making sure that we’re always moving forward and offering our kids everything they deserve.”
By being on the inside of the local hospital amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Smith said she hopes to provide district stakeholders with a clear picture of the local public health landscape.
“I think it’s a good perspective right now with COVID just knowing what’s actually going on in the hospital versus hearsay,” she said. “It’s nice to know where we actually are and what really feels safe – it’s not necessarily what my opinion is, but generally overall what’s safest for the kids. And not just with COVID; I have a real passion for the health and wellness of children and hope that, in some aspect, I can contribute to that a little bit when we get past the coronavirus.”
Coming from a family of educators, Smith was also inspired to vie for a seat on the governing board by her mother Karen Johnson, who also served four years on the same board in addition to the nearly 40 years she served as child nutrition director for Yuma School District One.
“My mom was the child nutrition director for District One for my entire life and served on the Crane board, my dad was a teacher for 43 years at Gila Vista, I have a couple of siblings that are teachers and it just felt natural,” Smith said. “My parents have always served in the education arena and they were always really involved in our education, present and aware; that was a driving force, too. I like to know what’s going on around the kids in our community – my kids, other kids – seeing what they’re up to, what they’re doing great, what they could do better.”
Smith has two children – a first-grader and a second-grader – at Crane’s Gowan Science Academy. They also inspired her to become more involved with the district, she said.
“My experience is just Gowan Science Academy, but when I started going to the board meetings last year and listening to how the board members got to visit the different schools and see what they’re up to, that just got me so excited,” she said. “Because I know my bubble – I know what my kids have, what they are capable of or what their life experience is – but there are a lot of kids that I, as a Yuma community member, feel responsible to make sure they’re doing OK, too. Not just live inside my little circle, but experience serving the community as a whole.”
And that, according to Smith, is her primary objective as she settles into the start of her four-year term.
“A lot of people around me said, ‘Are you sure you want to join a school board now?’,” she said. “Yes. In my profession, you have to be incredibly flexible; I’m built to adapt, I’m built to be flexible and see things from a lot of different perspectives, and people trust that about me. What
a year it’s been, and hopefully it’s all downhill from here – meaning, hopefully we’ve already seen the hardest part and can get back to enjoying being on campus.”
Smith knows better than anyone that safety is essential in returning to campus, and she’s eager to have a role in ensuring the metrics are where they need to be in order to welcome students back to their schools for in-person learning.
“We’re not anywhere unless we’re safe,” she said. “And that’s not just our kids, but all the people that serve them in different roles. We want every person on those campuses to be safe. The best learning environment is on campus, we just have to find a way to get there safely.”
Whatever happens in the next four years, Smith said she’s “all in” and open to learning from the experiences of her fellow board members.
“What a year to have your name on the ballot – a monstrous, historical year,” she said. “I’m joining a group of such dedicated people from all different walks. We all have different backgrounds and I like that, because we can figure out the best way to do things with a lot of different mindsets. It just gets me excited about where Crane is and where Crane is going.”