School Board Elections Matter!—What We’ve Learned & How We Win in ‘24!
Last week we introduced one big priority for 2024 and beyond—The S.M.A.R.T. Schools Project”! (Schools Making Academics Return to Truth). We’re helping families get more engaged through our SMART Families Network (see last week’s blog)... This week we hear from our Director of SMART Schools, Adrienne Johnson. She’s working with other leaders in Arizona to find those dedicated parents, grandparents and citizens who know WHY it’s so critical to give students a strong education focused on truth and excellence—not activism or political agendas.
Could you be one of those people who should run for school board? Talk to Adrienne! ~ Kim
WHY School Boards Matter
By Adrienne Johnson
Director of SMART Schools
Senior Advisor of Arizona Women of Action
Did you know anything about school boards before 2020? If you were like most people, probably not. It took the shut-down, the masking of our children, and the school closures, which led to children doing their schoolwork at home, for us to become aware of the existence and importance of school boards.
School boards are made up of elected members who make weighty decisions including hiring the district superintendent, setting policy, and working on the budget. It is vital that knowledgeable, competent, dedicated individuals fill these seats which is why AZ Women of Action formed S.M.A.R.T. Schools, which stands for “Schools Making Academics Return to Truth”, with a division that focuses solely on school boards.
It is my pleasure to serve as the director of SMART Schools! I am excited to continue the work I did in 2022 as the AZWOA Director of Education. During that election season, AZWOA partnered with other grassroots entities to tackle the school board races which led to the successful seating of over 50 percent of the candidates we supported.
I was an RN turned stay at home mom for decades before I began paying attention to politics and volunteering my time to go door knocking and phone banking for the RNC, hang Golden Tickets for my LD (shout out to the Grassroots Grandmas!), ballot chase for Catholic Vote, and canvass for election integrity. It was in 2021 that I stumbled upon AZ Women of Action – a group in its infancy that drew me in with their sincere concern for our great state, their action focused approach, and their Christ centered mission. I enthusiastically joined their team in the education pillar as a volunteer after witnessing their energy at the AZWOA 2021 spring summit. (Come attend the Feb. 1st Summit!) Arizona Women of Action (azwomenofaction.com)
Although I homeschooled my children, Homeschool Changes Us — Arizona Women of Action (azwomenofaction.com) the need to address the issues in our public schools drew me into the education realm. Through research and connecting with groups like Protect AZ Children Coalition Protect Arizona Children Coalition - PACC | Facebook and Not in Our Schools Not in our Schools – Stop the Planned Parenthood Invasion, I began to see what the covid crisis exposed in our public schools – inappropriate reading material, curriculum that focuses on emotions rather than academics, and a push for ideology rather than truth. With math proficiency rates in AZ below the national average at an unacceptable 31% and dismal reading proficiency at just 38%, it is clear that improving our public schools is paramount. (Data is from Public School Review.) Since schools are locally run through their boards, they are our primary hope in making the critical changes necessary to give students a truthful, sound education.
SMART School Boards is recruiting, vetting, mentoring, and training school board candidates. We will be working and partnering with other organizations and individuals to support candidates who have conservative values and who put students, parental rights, transparency, and academics first. These candidates will have a working knowledge of the issues facing their district, the wherewithal to problem solve, and the courage to represent their stakeholders with moral clarity. Our children deserve a sound education.
During the 2022 election season, AZWOA supported two candidates in the Dysart Unified School District in hopes of helping DUSD maintain a conservative majority. Thankfully they won the seats through their hard work and are continuing to uplift that district. This large West Valley district serves as an excellent example of what a board can do when it focuses on quality, truthful curriculum, fiscal responsibility, and choosing a like-minded effective superintendent. Here are a few exciting DUSD accomplishments from the past year:
“Dysart School Board allocates an impressive 72% of their budget towards classroom spending making teacher's salaries and a quality education top priority for their students.
Dysart manages to keep class sizes small while paying their teachers approximately $7,000 above the state average all while maintaining a balanced budget. It's no surprise to see staff consistency with teachers averaging 11 years of experience.”- Fountain Hills school board member, Libby Settle
Dysart has the 6th highest rated school in AZ.
The board approved the highly valued Hillsdale Supplemental Materials List.
Dysart offered Arizona Christian University a contract for their education students when the Washington Elementary School Board abruptly ended their long-standing contract.
The DUSD board voted to smartly cut expenses when funding ran out for a program while still maintaining necessary help for students in need.
It is the goal of SMART Schools to turn each district into a thriving, excelling district like Dysart Unified. We are determined, hopeful, prayerful, and ready to seat great school board candidates!
If you are inspired to consider running for a school board seat in your district, please fill out this interest survey and we will be thrilled to connect with you. Together, let’s work to put forth exceptional young men and women that will help our great state thrive.
“All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of the youth.” - Aristotle