Oak Harbor School Board

Oak Harbor School Board, Director, position 2

Jessica Aws, incumbent Jessica.erin.aws@gmail.com

1. Why are you running for this particular position?

In December of 2017, I was appointed to Oak Harbor School Board Director, Position 2. It has been a fantastic experience thus far, and I would like to continue to promote and support whole-student achievement through planning, policies, advocacy, and administrative accountability. I also believe that my experience as a young, educated, professional woman provides a much-need perspective at the leadership table. I work closely with the OHSD schools in my professional life as a youth librarian, and I am passionate about advocating not only for our students, but also for our teachers and support staff. We have an amazing district that is achieving great things, and it is because our teachers and staff are tirelessly encouraging, supporting, and advocating for our students. It is an honor to serve them and support their work and the work of our students in every way possible.  

2. What do you hope to accomplish in this position? If an incumbent, what have you accomplished?

I hope to continue to oversee our district on the path of success by being actively engaged in policy making, budget oversight and accountability, and representing community interests. I am thrilled to support the district’s efforts towards sustainability and career and technical education, in particular. I am also very interested in long range facility planning, ensuring that our students are able to thrive in safe, updated, efficient buildings and grounds. 

3. What problems do you see that you expect to correct or alleviate?

Our district is in an excellent place right now, with no glaring issues. I will continue to advocate for our teachers and students to legislators, especially on key issues such as delinking standardized tests and graduation. This would allow students whose grades, coursework, and credits show that they are succeeding, but who have test anxiety or other extenuating factors that cause them to fail the standardized exit exam to graduate on time. I will continue to work with the rest of the board to hold the administrative team accountable, and ensure that tax dollars are being used appropriately, with student-centered learning the priority in everything we do. 

4. What relevant experience do you have?

As the incumbent in this position, I’ve spent the last two years learning every aspect of this position. Under the guidance and leadership of veteran board members, I feel that I am now in an excellent place to continue this work for the next four years. Additionally, I am a youth librarian at the Oak Harbor Library and the chair of the Oak Harbor Youth Coalition. I am dedicated to our community’s youth in both my personal and professional life, and spend much of my time interacting with and supporting our students both in school and out of it. 

5. What will be your operating philosophy in office?

Ensuring that the work of the Board of Directors helps to create and maintain an environment of student success through respect, servant leadership, empathy, support, advocacy, and accountability. 

6. What message would you like to convey to voters?

I truly believe that this generation of students will change the world. It is an honor and privilege to help shape the environment that will inspire, support, and educate them from the time they first set foot in kindergarten until they cross the stage at graduation. I would love to continue this work for the next four years, and hope that I can earn your vote. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to reach out to me at jessica.erin.aws@gmail.com. 

Thank you so much! 

Jessica 

Frederick Wilmot frederickwilmot@comcast.net

1. 1. Why are you running for this particular position?

 I'm running for the school board because I have first hand experience in the classroom and on the ball fields in high schools in Las Vegas and overseas in the Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS) in Sicily and Spain.  While I realize that the Oak Harbor School District continues to earn great accolades for programs they are pursuing, I am concerned about several areas, which I will address below.  With no personal knowledge of the three individuals running for the school board, I just arbitrarily chose to run for position 2 (as opposed to position 1 or 3, which are now unopposed).

1. 2. What do you hope to accomplish in this position? 

I hope to encourage an increased emphasis on the basic 3 R's, upgrading reading comprehension, writing (restore cursive instruction) and basic math, without denigrating the current courses offered; eliminate "indoctrination" and restore "education"; increase the number of vocational programs offered and make business math a core course for all, college-bound or not; and return control of the educational curriculum from the federal level to our local level.

1. 3. What problems do you see that you expect to correct or alleviate?

Elementary Schools spending time teaching subjects rightfully addressed by their parents, to the minimization of time spent on the 3 R's; teaching Common Core (which was developed by non-educators, tied to extensive testing and restricts teachers' creativity in addressing subject matter); elimination of references to the Christian religion while encouraging the study of other religions; textbooks which have "agendas" in the manner they address subjects; as addressed in #2 above, the need for more vocational course being offered for those students who want to enter the workplace upon graduation.

4. What relevant experience do you have?

My relevant experience, as noted in #1, I devoted 18 years teaching/coaching.  I served for 12 years on the Navy's Curriculum Review Board which reviewed/modified the texts being used throughout the 650+ NJROTC programs in the U.S. and abroad and am currently a member of the Oak Harbor School District Curriculum Council.  My first career as a Naval Aviator required me to move my family several different times, and as a result, I am intimately familiar with the educational needs of military families transferring in and out of Whidbey.  

5. What will be your operating philosophy in office?

My operating philosophy will be to champion programs which are practical and which will best prepare students for life beyond high school, whether it be college or the work place.

6. What message would you like to convey to voters?

Message to parents:  Please be active in your children's education. I will be a conservative voice in advocating for best possible educational opportunities for your children, but please, you need to be active in their education. 

Mr Wilmot is in his mid-80s, military, focused on ‘fiscal responsibility’ and bringing education back to the good old 3 Rs, who donated $250.00 to the Trump campaign.

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This one is an easy choice. We have an obviously very knowledgeable, very dedicated incumbent whose focus is on the students themselves (I confess to a bias in favor of librarians) being challenged by an old white male Trump supporter with outdated, authoritarian ideas about education. If I voted in Oak Harbor I would most happily vote for Jessica Aws.