MEET 2 CANDIDATES FOR DAYTON SCHOOL BOARD
Series looks at 8 vying for 4 seats on Dayton Public School Board.
The race to lead Dayton Public Schools is one of the most competitive local races on the November ballot this year.
Each day this week we are taking a more in-depth look at the eight people running to fill four seats on the board.
Today we talked with Jocelyn Rhynard and Karen Wick-Gagnet about their priorities if elected.
Jocelyn Rhynard
Experience: I have been an active volunteer in my children’s school for the past seven years, and have served as the co-chair of the parent organization for the past two years.
I organized the DPS Concerned Parents group last fall and have rallied parents in support of the children several times in the last year. I regularly attend school board meetings and hope to bring the perspective of an involved parent to school board meetings.
Education: I am a product of Minnesota public schools and I earned a B.A. in American Studies from Brigham Young University.
Karen Wick-Gagnet
Experience: PTA President (Horace Mann six-plus years); trustee and president, The Seedling Foundation (eight years). Community business owner, parent of two DPS graduates and Dayton resident (35 years).
Education: Versailles High School, various business-related course study, Restaurant Certification (ServeSafe). Q: What is the biggest obstacle standing in the way of DPS educating students better and graduating more students? How should DPS overcome that obstacle?
Jocelyn Rhynard: I believe the biggest obstacle is that Dayton Public Schools has lost
the trust of the people of Dayton. Our schools have been struggling to meet the specific needs of an urban school district, and while the city of Dayton has been rebounding in recent years, our schools have yet to match the growth of the city.
I believe Dayton Public Schools can provide the tools necessary for helping students gain the best education possible through qualified teachers, innovative curriculum, and specialized support and school counselors that will meet the basic needs and educational demands of our children.
Karen Wick-Gagnet: The biggest obstacles are the same ones facing most urban struggling school systems ... family life, inadequate resources to support our teachers and children, attendance. While there is no magic wand to create an immediate fix to all of these issues, we must do a better job of assuring we have processes, people and procedure in place to address these challenges.
We must do the work to earn back the trust of our teachers, our parents, our community and our children. We must work on our truancy and restorative justice practices. Many of our children in the Dayton community face extreme challenge to just get to school. Some of this challenge is exposed by behavior that is not “standard” ... rather than punishing this behavior we must as a Board and community work to bridge the gaps these children are struggling with by providing counselors and depending on our community partners to help create change.
Q: What did you think of the district’s negotiations with its teachers union and the resulting contract terms? Would you have pushed for any different provisions?
Jocelyn Rhynard: Asa parent of children in the district, I was supportive of the demands of the teachers as well as the request for more school counselors, staffed media centers, and increased ESL resources. The DEA was satisfied enough with the resulting contract to settle, and I am hopeful that we can address the needs of school counselors, media center staff, and ESL resources.
Karen Wick-Gagnet: DPS Board and Administration did not handle these negotiations well. These contract negotiations should have been addressed immediately and been of top priority. We have continually lost great teachers to districts that paid more. While I am viewing this from the outside and am not privy to details of any negotiations, I firmly believe that had this issue been a top priority, things would have progressed at a better rate.
While I am not aware of the details of provisions, I do know the the current contract is only in place for two years and that work must begin immediately to address ongoing issues to move forward.
Q: What can DPS do to attract and retain more high-quality teachers, administrators and other school staff ?
Jocelyn Rhynard: In addition to paying competitive wages to our teachers, we need to shed our negative image, starting with regaining the trust of our parents and community members. The board needs to foster a regular, open dialogue beyond board meetings where parents can see that their concerns are being heard and addressed, and those dialogues need to be held in all quadrants of the city. The board and superintendent need to work as a functional whole to address the needs of the community so as to avoid further erosion of trust.
Karen Wick-Gagnet: We need to assure competitive pay for all staff. By providing a solid foundation of