Danielle Deinert

As a classroom teacher, each year I did a lesson with my students where I “pretended” they were all injured at recess with a variety of ailments: bee sting, broken leg, skinned knee, etc. I would then place a bandaid on each child’s forehead. This lesson always resulted in many laughs, but it led to an in depth conversation about equity and doing what is fair vs. what is equal. We would discuss that as patients we would be appalled if our doctors all treated us the exact same despite having many different ailments and symptoms. Education is very similar. We serve students that come in with many different needs and ability levels. We have to treat them as our “patients” and provide them with the instruction and tools they need for their areas of strength and weakness. I would define equity as the individual tools needed to grant equal access to education for all students.

As I shared above, equity in education means looking at the diverse learners in your district, schools, and classrooms to determine what their needs are, and then meeting those needs on an individual basis. I am a supporter of ensuring that district funding is equitable and we are looking at the specific student needs when we are allocating resources and funds. Funding should not be a one size fits all model. We have to use our tools and assessments to fund additional support including teachers, programming, and mental health services to our schools that are specifically servicing higher rates of special education students, multi-language learners, and students living in poverty.

In order for children to learn and succeed they have to know how much you care. We have to create inclusive schools where all students and staff feel safe, connected, and supported. As school board members we need to ensure that resources and supports are allocated specifically to support the mental health needs, counseling needs, and behavior intervention needs to connect and support our students. I would support policies that focus on equity in education for all students.

Many parents’, teachers’, and community members’ biggest concern is discipline and bullying. Inappropriate student behavior leads to adverse effects on student learning, staff morale, and school culture. As a school board member, my role will be to review the district's discipline and bullying policies to determine what is, and is not working, and why. We have to be willing to talk and listen to what is occurring in our buildings. I will advocate for equipping our students with the tools to become more successful citizens by teaching them to leverage mental health services, counseling, and coping strategies. I will advocate for equipping our staff with best practices in restorative discipline so that they can support their students. I believe we need to be in the business of teaching, which includes teaching appropriate behavioral expectations in school.

I believe that students need access to a historically accurate education. My goal is that we are producing students that are able to adapt to our ever evolving world, use critical thinking and problem solving skills, and collaborate with others. This can only be accomplished through providing our students access to high quality literature and reading materials that challenge them to think critically. I believe all students need access to educational materials free from censorship and that leads to open dialogue about our history. I welcome training and support for our staff in order to help them feel supported and comfortable having tough conversations with students.

Yes, when a student comes to school they should feel safe and supported in their environment to be themselves. Schools must be accepting and inclusive to all students. I truly believe we have to show up for all students and show them how much we care, because students' academic, behavioral, and social emotional success in education is dependent upon it.

I would support a policy that ensured all students feel safe and supported including but not limited to the rights of LGBTQ+ children and staff. In my district I think this policy must also include educational resources available for staff and families about what LGBTQ+ rights and inclusion means.

Bullying and discrimination need to be addressed in both how we support the student that is being bullied as well as the student doing the bullying. When a child is repeatedly bullied it can lead to many adverse effects and we have to be able to address these needs. We have to ensure we are providing support for that student, including: counseling and resources for families when a child is bullied.

For the child that is the bully, we also have to approach the situation from multiple lenses. First, what skills, deficits, or teaching does this child need that we have to address. Does this child need mental health support, behavior intervention, or counseling? We also need to determine consequences that are appropriate and make sense. Using logical consequences is imperative. Our ultimate goal is to provide the student with a tool kit of resources to prevent them from bullying again. In order for true change in behavior to occur we have to teach the appropriate strategies, and teach the student so that they do not continue these actions again.

In Milford School District, 20% of the students we serve are multi-language learners. It is imperative that we have access to translators and materials in multiple languages for our students and families. I agree with the statement that language should not be a barrier to education access. I am an advocate for family engagement, which includes all of our families. I think we have to be willing to work to provide translation at all meetings and events to create an inclusive school culture and district.

I believe that as a school district we have to work to hire the best professionals for all of our positions. I think that children thrive when they make connections or see themselves in the professionals they work with on a daily basis. I support doing everything we can to hire diverse candidates that represent the student population that we serve.

Access to safe drinking water in our schools for our staff and students is critical. I am for ensuring that we are regularly testing water, and that we are also working to communicate the results with our families. I think that we have to strive to be transparent with our community and share this information as well as resources about the water testing process. All of this information needs to be shared in multiple languages so that all families can understand the information.