Trisha Page for West Fargo School Board

My name is Trisha Page and I'm running for West Fargo school board 2020.  I greatly appreciate your support!l and donations!

About me:

I'm a happily married mama, my husband Gary and I have four boys spread across 12 years and three schools in the West Fargo school district.  Our children are involved in the arts, sports, special education, accelerated learning, and have found value in scouting, the outdoors, and many treasured friendships.

I, myself, have a background in psychology (MSUM) and autism (UND), and experience in a wide array of administrative positions and participation ranging from national to local levels, including my current position as the Executive Director and co-owner of Embrace Therapy Services.  I have worked closely with area schools in the capacities of a parent, advocate, consultant, and business administrator over the past 15 years.

My primary reasons to run for the West Fargo school board are as follows:

1.) Transparency

   - Currently, school board meetings are not live-streamed, nor do they offer open and clear opportunities for public comment.  In my time chairing the ND governor's taskforce on autism I learned how simple and critical it is to include stakeholders.

   - I have heard many reports and personal accounts of information not being shared with families, teachers, or students unless that information is forced to the surface.  I have experienced this first hand, I have dozens of parents, teachers and therapists that have opened up to me on this topic of struggle.

   - Some future planning has been completed behind the scenes, with stakeholders carefully selected for input to produce preferred results rather than open to all for participation and input.  Parents have shared with me how they were contacted and asked to be part of "focus groups" that were never open to interested stakeholders.

2.) Inclusion

   - Students, teachers, and parents need to all be allowed and welcome to be active players in the growth and development of our district.  Voices need to be heard and everyone needs to be able and welcome to speak up and know that they will be heard, not face punishment or repercussions for opening up about issues of concern.

   -Least restrictive environment (LRE) - we need to support our classrooms to incorporate models of learning where all children are included.  One in five children have a special healthcare need.  That means our teachers face overcoming teaching around everything from cancer and allergies to autism and PTSD in 20% of our students.  Our teachers need support.  We can't expect them to become doctors, nurses, therapists, and parents... and yet that is exactly what is expected of them with dramatically varied degrees of support.  I have been trained in the SEE-KS model for learning that meets the support needs listed above and I have seen the power of inclusive learning environments firsthand.

   - We need to look up and out for other inspiration on how to become better for all.  West Fargo has scored dazzling results on their accreditations.  But we all have at least one idea that could make things better for many.  There are other urban and rural districts that are blazing trails across this country with sound research that we can carefully evaluate, select, and use to support our teachers and students.

3.)  Innovation and Vision

   - Looking to the future requires more than preparing our students for the workforce, college, and/or the military.  It requires preparing our children to understand that they ARE the future.  They belong, they are needed, and they are directly woven into the tapestry of our global futures. My four boys hear regularly that I need to take care of them how I want them to take care of me one day.  Children deserve to speak and be heard.

   - The classrooms are a place to learn the foundational, to complete experiments and draw out their wonders... and then we need to empower our teachers and students to take this into the real world and see where calculus applies to pipefitting, where tiny houses solve winter housing crises for the homeless, and where philanthropy isn't about getting rich in order to help, but rather that helping others is a direct tie to overall sound mental health.

   -  We need to look down the road 20, 50, and 100 years; not just for an election cycle, but to our future generations.  We should look to answer the question, "what investments today will pay off for decades and serve my children, grandchildren, and yes, even great-grandchildren well?"  And then we should work to innovate that answer into reality.  

   - We need to step beyond the proverbial in-the-box thinking and be okay to occasionally throw out the box altogether to find solutions.  We are capable of being the most innovative and cutting edge school district in the nation.  We need to start acting like it on every front.

4.) Budget

   - We can leverage key partnerships with local businesses, colleges and universities, and public offices to support a collective impact model.  This model opportunity allows our communities to work together to address critical needs collaboratively.  Just a few examples would be:

        •cutting financial risk while incorporating young learners into our community to address present workforce shortages

        •measure future interests in current and developing fields of study 

        •mentorship from highly experienced professionals to our students

        •future stability for our community overall

   - We must continue to look to growth as an asset.  More residents in our community bring more diversity. More diversity opens the door to more opportunity. Opportunity is what our nation was founded on and ultimately powers our students to learn in ways that are beneficial to them across their lives.  Our growth is undeniably fast, and we need to look through every door it opens for our students to figure out hidden dangers and benefits alike.

These four areas are all areas of focus that I have actively considered in my run for school board.

As I dig further into WF school district history and current practices, I hope I will learn about stakeholder questions, concerns, and about why you love being a part of the West Fargo school district and our community in the coming weeks and earn your support.