The candidates running for Springfield Public Schools Board of Education are Danielle Kincaid, Landon McCarter, Susan Provance, Scott Crise, Dr. Kyler Sherman-Wilkins, Dr. Chad Rollins and Dr. Maryam Mohammadkhani.
You can hear the interview recorded at KSMU by clicking on the "listen" button above. You can also watch the video recorded by Nathan Papes at the Springfield News-Leader.
Dr. Kyler Sherman-Wilkins
Tell us why you've decided to run for this office.
"All right. Well, thanks for having me. This is a great opportunity to share my perspectives and introduce myself to the voters, so I appreciate it. My name is Dr. Kyler Sherman-Wilkins, and I'm an associate professor of sociology at Missouri State University. And I'm running for school board because I, frankly, am a champion for public schools. I believe that our public schools have the remarkable ability to transform lives. That was my experience. I grew up as a child of a single mom who lived paycheck to paycheck, and through her coaching me and instilling in me the value of education, I became a professor where I helped work and prepare individuals for lifelong success. I do think our public schools are at a crossroads. This election determines whether or not we have individuals who believe in strong, robust public schools versus those who entertain thoughts of corporal punishment or book banning. I also believe that we need educators, more educators, and more researchers who are driven by data-driven solutions to problems as opposed to inserting ideology in terms of shaping our public school systems. I believe that I'm best qualified as an educator, as a professor, as a researcher, and I look forward to talking more about my positions."
What is the role of public schools to shape our future citizens and prepare graduating students for work or continued education?
"This is an excellent question, and I believe that our public schools really are the bedrock of a strong, robust society. When we think about public schools in their space in our society, I think the first place, first role is that they prepare our young people not just to read and write, but also how do they become engaged, civically-minded citizens in an increasingly diverse society? I think it's also important to note that there is a clear, strong relationship between education and career readiness, and we need to ensure that our public school systems are strong to prepare our young people for the jobs of the future. That means incorporating technology in a balanced way. That means ensuring that our young people are able to critically think about the world, and when they're presented with novel information, which, let's face it, we're always inundated with a lot of information every single day, that they can critically think through those processes and not just, you know, follow whatever's being told to them. I think it's also important to understand that there needs to be a strong relationship between our public schools and our community stakeholders. I think some of the things the district has done well, including choice programs like Fly SPS and the Health Care Alliance, is taking these needed gaps, particularly in health care and preparing our young people for careers that will fill those essential gaps. As a professor, I care a lot about our students being prepared and college-ready if they choose to go that route. But I also believe that it's important to understand that college is not the route for every single person. And I think that there's a real solid place for vocational prep, trade prep to ensure that regardless of where what their intentions are, what their — what their passions are, that they feel supported in our school system."
What do you feel is the best approach to addressing student discipline issues?
"Student discipline issues are a top priority for the district to to tackle, and I had the privilege of serving on the discipline review team for the district in 2022 where we reviewed data and reviewed the handbook to see if there were any recommended changes. And this is an important first step, and it allowed me to do a deep dive as a researcher into the data to see what would be some of the best solutions to addressing this problem. The first thing I think is to acknowledge that we do have a problem. I think that if you do not understand that we have discipline issues, that you're living under a rock, frankly. Any solution to the student discipline issue has to be data driven. It has to be research informed, and it has to center the well-being of the child first and foremost. We cannot let our desperation to fix a problem lead us to, in my view, barbaric and counterproductive and morally repugnant practices such as corporal punishment. Instead, we need to follow the research. What do the researchers say about what is the most effective way to to address student discipline? We also have to understand that there cannot be a cookie cutter approach. So a one size fits all solution to discipline will just not work in our the largest district, the most — one of the most diverse districts in the state. So to be very sure that we have several options, several ways to address the problem depending on the unique situation and unique circumstances surrounding each student. But I will say this is where I think my expertise as a researcher will come into play. I always approach situations with an open mind and my first question show me the data, what does it say? And again, anything that we do has to be data-driven and ensure that we're having an approach that doesn't push students out of school and contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline."
What do you view as the greatest challenges facing Springfield School District? Which of these would be your priority objective and how would you meet that challenge?
"Yeah, so I think there are there are four particular issues. One that I think — to answer your question, what I would prioritize first and foremost — we need to uplift and support our teachers. We need to address the student discipline issue. We need to ensure that all of our classrooms are safe and inclusive, and we also need to make sure that we strengthen and not weaken collaborations between the district and the broader Springfield community. And that includes businesses, nonprofits, our parents, etc. I think first, what I would like to focus on in terms of the biggest issue for me as an educator is how do we recruit and retain qualified teachers? Teacher burnout is real. There are a lot of concerns about having to do more with less. There are a lot of concerns about whether they're being listened and heard by the SPS administration. I was really proud to receive the endorsement not only of the SNEA, but also the Missouri State Teachers Association, and I got those endorsements because I can empathize with educators, and I have a record of being a staunch advocate for teachers' rights and labor rights more broadly. I think recruiting and retaining teachers includes increasing pay and advocating for ways from which we can increase their pay. It means increasing professional development opportunities. It means increasing the number of of affiliated staff — our educators broadly defined, our nurses, our paraprofessionals, our secretaries, because I think that teachers oftentimes are asked to be the teacher, the police officer, the nurse, the counselor in the classroom. We need to provide them with those supports that allow them to focus on their job, which is to to teach, and provide supports so that they can more effectively do what their their primary job is. I do think it's really important that when we think about budget priorities that we look at and counter administrative bloat, it happens all the time in big organizations and concentrate that money instead on how do we support the people on the front lines, that being our teachers and educators, broadly defined."
Nonpartisan elections have become increasingly partisan. If elected, how will your approach to school board decisions through a nonpartisan lens?
"I think that for me, one of the appeals of serving on the school board is that it is nonpartisan and that people who serve on the school board, their primary goal should be because they want to support and strengthen our public schools. I have experience serving on nonpartisan boards. I'm also a member of the board for the Missouri Foundation for Health, $1 billion philanthropic organization that is committed to health equity in the state of Missouri. And it's nonpartisan. There are people from all political stripes on the board who, again, are committed to one thing, which is health equity. So I have experience first and foremost, I think is the important thing to note. I think the other thing that I think it's important to note is everyone has their biases. But for me, as a researcher and someone who really very much believes in data-driven approaches, I have to check those biases at the door. When I'm making a decision, I will ask a question does this promote or strengthen our public schools, and does it allow us to more effectively prepare our young people for lifelong success? Those are the only two questions that I'll ask. And when it comes to what is the best approach, it will always be data-driven. I will hear people where they are, from where they're where they're coming from. I will ask questions when I'm trying to persuade individuals, well, what do you need to see to make you see my side of my point of view? I will tell them what I need to see, to see their point of view, because I don't think there's a monopoly of good ideas. I think there are people from a variety of different political ideologies who support our public schools, and the job of a board for public education is to bring those people together to see how we can most effectively serve that job. So I reject any attempts to make school boards partisan. I do think that there are forces that are trying to do just that. But I take my role as a nonpartisan member of a, you know, diverse board that's committed to public education very seriously."
As a board member. What policies and programs will you support to help teachers?
"I already alluded to this a bit in terms of, you know, because the number one issue for me was how do we recruit and retain teachers. So first and foremost, I think it comes down to pay. You know, when we — teachers don't do it for the money, you know. And I don't do things for the money either. When it comes to being an educator, you do it because you really deeply believe it's a calling and that it's your job to help prepare young people — to educate and prepare them for a challenging future, a challenging and bright future. At the same time, you have to pay your bills. And I think it's really important, especially when you're looking at increased, you know, pay of administrators, the creation of all these administrative positions, there's a bit of frustration when teachers feel they're not getting enough that they need, you know, their piece of the pie, if you will. And so that's part — that's point one. How do we increase salary for our teachers? As I mentioned before, professional development opportunities, Education is changing. The world is changing. You know, how do we effectively use technology? I mean, just throwing a bunch of technology into a classroom and saying, 'here you go,' is ineffective. We have to prepare teachers and train them, keep them abreast of the best practices on using these new technological innovations or educational innovations to ensure that they have the resources and the support to to teach effectively. And I think the other piece, again, is going back to how do we support our teachers in the classroom in terms of giving them paraprofessional aid, kind of easing their burden of having them serve, as, you know, both the police officer and the teacher and the nurse in the classroom. So I think those are all the things that I would support. The other things, I think, I do think we need to strengthen and provide more open communication between SPS administration and our teachers, the representation of our teachers unions. I think that I've heard a lot from our teachers that they feel unheard and unappreciated, and I think that there have been avenues to try to get them to the table, and I think that those need to be strengthened and made more readily available so that they that way they do feel heard."
Dr. Chad Rollins
Would you please introduce yourself and tell us why you decided to run for this position?
"Yeah. Appreciate you having me on. My name's Dr. Chad Rollins, and I've lived here for over 40 years, and I have seven children. I think that's one thing that really sets me apart. All of them have gone to SPS. I've got three in college, four currently in the system, and I work at Health Direct in Ozark, Missouri. I've also graduated from MSU right here on campus and went to UMKC to get my doctorate in pharmacy. So the reason I'm running for school board is I have a — I have a need to give back to the community and help others. And over the last five or six years I've been doing that through health and fitness, helping people take back their lives. And I wanted to get involved right here in Springfield, Missouri, and really help the the community move forward, help the children, help the students and help the teachers and move the strategic plan forward."
What is the role of public schools to shape our future citizens and prepare graduating students for work or continued education?
"Right. So the role for public — for public schools here in SPS and really anywhere we, you know, they put into — they put together the strategic plan last year and one of those things, and I think it's probably the most important part, is making success-ready students. So our role through SPS is to make sure students, when they graduate and leave the system, that they're ready to go work in the workforce and give back to the community, or ready to go back to or to go to college and are prepared to do so."
What do you feel is the best approach to addressing student discipline issues?
"Right. So this is a big topic this year in general. But you know, it's kind of always been around, but it seems like it's coming to the forefront, you know, with the teachers union coming out talking about discipline, what we see in the media and different things like that. And I think the best — this is a big, this is going to take a lot of a lot of things because there's a lot of moving parts when it comes to discipline. I think it starts with having expectations for our students and them knowing what the expectations are. I think there's a disconnect with what is considered a minor infraction, what might be considered, you know, more of a severe infraction and making sure that we're paying attention to all these signs that are coming up when it comes to discipline, because it seems like the teachers are asking for our support, and that's what they need. That's what I plan on pushing for because we do need to listen to what they're saying. They're the ones that are out there in the in the classroom trying to teach, but also trying to take care of all the, you know, some of these issues that have come up. And what we really want to look forward to here is safety in our schools. And we want to look for quality learning environments. And without discipline in place and and being effective, we can't have those things, and we can't educate our students."
What do you view as the greatest challenges facing Springfield School District? Which of these would be your priority objective, and how would you meet that challenge?
"Right. So some of the biggest challenges right now, we just talked about one of them, which is discipline. And I would say that's probably pretty high up there. So I won't cover that again. But that's that's one that we need to focus on within the strategic plan. I've talked about the quality learning environments, and that's we really need to make the environment in the classroom, one, free of distractions, a place where kids can learn and teachers can teach. So that's the number one thing that I think we need to be looking at. I think we really need to support these teachers. We are going to be facing a lot of support staff, you know, a decreased amount. And that's something we need to focus on and turn that back around, in my opinion. These teachers are asking for that. They're asking for different things that can help them teach. I think they're — we need to look at different ways to increase contract hours for the teachers, maybe with early, more early start or, I mean, late start, early release to give them some more hours or creative ways to make it to where they can prepare their lessons and get ready for their — to be prepared to teach in the classrooms, because I think we can all see that we've had a decline in our test scores. And, you know, when we're not proficient in math, science and, you know, different things like that, then we're not doing our job. So we need to get that turned around, and that's a big topic this year."
Nonpartisan elections have become increasingly partisan. If elected, how will you approach school board decisions through a nonpartisan lens?
"Right. So I can kind of speak to this with some of the experience I have right here at Missouri State. I came back once I was graduated, and I was asked to come back and bring a fraternity back on campus as the chapter director. And so I took that on, and it was almost a two-year process. And I had, you know, young men that were between 18 to 20 years old, and they had a lot of different opinions on what we were going to do and how they could come together for one, you know, one common goal, and that was to get that fraternity re-chartered here at MSU. And so I had to work with them, and we had to work through those differences of opinions. And we came together and we got it done. It took a while, and it was it's a hard thing to do. I taught them how to run board meetings. I taught them how to respect different opinions. And so I think when we do that, we need to make sure that we are respecting each other, but also that we all, all are, you know, in one unison and that's to promote the strategic plan and go forward and see some positive results. And for me, when I'm on the board, I'm going to look to be a leader and I'm going to expect standards to be high. And I want a positive outcome for all of us."
As a board member, what policies and programs will you support to help teachers?
"Right. So, as far as helping teachers, I mean, anything that can — that we can help them with as far as coming in for training, you know, things that — there's all kinds of different things we can look at with this. It could be, you know, curriculum training. It could be how to engage students in the classroom, how to de-escalate situations or recognize things that are going on in the classroom and just to give them anything they need to help them be effective in their teaching environment."
Scott Crise
Would you please introduce yourself and tell us why you decided to run for this position?
Thank you for having me here. I'm Scott Crise. I'm running for re-election for the Springfield Public School board. I love Springfield, and I'm so proud to raise my daughters in this community. I was always involved in their education with my wife. And I have a passion for public education. You know, since my daughters graduated from Springfield Public Schools, my job recently changed, which required much less travel, which is nice. I ran for the school board in '21 and was elected. Now I want to see that job through. If re-elected, I'll continue to listen to teachers and parents and advocate for both and encourage open communication. I believe my experience in operations management and construction management, as well as budgeting, allows me to continue the support of the missions visions in the strategic plan of the district, which I helped develop."
What is the role of public schools to shape our future citizens and preparing graduating students for work or continued education?
"Well, one of our top priorities in Springfield Public Schools is to ensure the students are academically successful and come out of high school college or career-ready. I believe the success of the community depends on the success of the public education system. If you want to continue growing Springfield and want strong economic development, you need a strong public education system that collaborates with the businesses to know their needs. You know, for example, the Alliance for Healthcare Education, a great example of that. There's a great health care need in this community and nationwide. It's incredible to think that students from SPS can graduate with an AA degree, a high school diploma and have a job waiting for them after graduation."
What do you feel is the best approach to addressing student discipline issues?
"Well, that's a great question. It's a hot topic right now. You know, I think the best approach to to addressing student discipline issues is to create a positive and supportive school culture that promotes effective communication and provides — we have to have fair and consistent discipline disciplinary measures. You know, a positive and supportive culture promotes respect and understanding by communicating clear and consistent behavioral expectations to the students and the parents. You know, students and parents must first understand the consequences of their poor choices. A good first step occurred at the beginning of fall 2023, when each student was provided a student handbook and a code of conduct, and parents and students were asked to sign a document stating they both — that they've read it, reviewed it and understand it. Additionally, staff and teachers must be properly trained to provide effective classroom management strategies, including de-escalation techniques and effective communication strategies that can prevent or manage disruptive behavior in the classroom. Staff should collect and analyze the data on discipline incidents to identify any patterns that are developing and continuously assess and improve discipline strategies over time, and that data will also provide information (for) evaluators whether student discipline is consistent between sites, as it should be."
What do you view as the greatest challenges facing Springfield School District? Which of these would be your priority objective, and how would you meet that challenge?
"One of the challenges facing — there's many challenges facing Springfield Public Schools — but one of them is retaining high quality teachers. There are many factors that contribute to attracting and maintaining quality teachers and teaching staff at SPS. First, the district needs to continue to increase benefits and salaries. SPS's incentive for early notification of resignation or retirement is so beneficial because it allows SPS to get to the market earlier than other districts to recruit the best talent in the area. You know, new teachers must have great support throughout the district, including comprehensive ongoing training as well as mentors to support and nurture them, you know. Also, the district must provide a robust assortment of leadership or professional professional development opportunities. In the short term though, SPS must also improve addressing student discipline issues, which we just talked, about in a consistent manner so teachers feel they will be working in a safe environment when they are hired."
Nonpartisan elections have become increasingly partisan. If elected, how will you approach school board decisions through a nonpartisan lens?
"Yeah, that's a great question. I tell you, I have great rapport with everybody on the board, and I agree that it shouldn't be partisan politics. And I will continue that — working with everybody on the board. You know, I have, I take the initiative and I have no issue reaching out, making a phone call to talk to other board members, you know, to get their thoughts on issues that may be coming up at the next meeting. So I will continue to collaborate with the board and make it more nonpartisan."
As a board member, what policies and programs will you support to help teachers?
"Teachers are our greatest asset, and I will, you know, continue to support increasing, you know, salaries and benefits of the teachers, like I talked about before, and making sure you know that we have programs, processes in place to make sure that they're receiving leadership and professional development opportunities, and also work on discipline, like I talked about before, to make sure any issues are handled in a consistent manner because we need to make sure our teachers feel they are working in a safe environment after they are hired."
Dr. Maryam Mohammadkhani
Would you please introduce yourself and tell us why you decided to run for this position?
"Well, thank you for having me. Giving the listenership, the voters, the chance to hear directly from the candidates is invaluable, and I appreciate it very much. I am Maryam Mohammadkhani. I am a mother, and I'm a physician by training. I'm also a community volunteer. I decided to run for the school board three years ago because I'm extremely passionate about education. And it goes beyond the individual child who then graduates because I care so deeply about their opportunity to thrive and for their well-being. And I think that is directly connected with education. But also from a policy perspective, they will be part of a community that they contribute to. And so for the livelihood of the community, it is vital I, I believe three years ago, as I do today, that we are at a critical juncture and that public education and quality education for the students is of prime importance and is urgent — in urgent need of attention."
What is the role of public schools to shape our future citizens and prepare graduating students for work or continued education?
"Public schools are where the majority of students receive a quality education. The role of public schools is to ensure, to provide, and I think this is entirely possible, they can and they should for the students to achieve academically and socially. It's for their education so that they develop as individuals who have integrity, who then become engaged citizens so that they can fulfill their ideas, their dreams and what they want to do with their lives. And also that they can be a successful member of the community that they belong to. And providing a basic core education is vital. At Springfield Public Schools, we go a step beyond that. We are actively engaged in a variety of programs to give students an opportunity to catapult ahead. Some students have the ability to decide what they want to do, and we're there to be able to allow them to experience those careers. And some students don't, and we're there to give them the opportunity to experience a variety of different career pathways, be it in vo-tech or additional secondary education or the military. But we are there to give them the skills from an academic standpoint and the skills from a social standpoint, so that they can move forward and be the masters of their own destiny."
What do you feel is the best approach to addressing student discipline issues?
"Student discipline is an issue not just in Springfield Public Schools but throughout the country currently. And it is not simple because there are multiple factors that feed into it. And I think it's important to recognize those so that we can address them. And those factors include poor academic achievement, poor role models and, not just in the home, but outside of the school, within the community, and also a palpable lack of connection between students, right, with their peers and with their learning environment. And that has resulted from the overuse of technology. And we see that around us all the time. And there are distractions, certainly, within the classroom that didn't exist, let's say, a decade or two decades ago. And so we have to address all of those components. So the solution is going to be multi-pronged. We're going to have to come in with proactive as well as reactive. Proactively, we're going to hit all those things that I just talked about, which is improving the quality — improving the academic achievements of our students, but really coming in with giving them the tools so that they can develop better social skills. We call those soft skills, correct? And in order to do that, we have to also ensure that they have a nurturing and the environment. And that environment means that the teacher is the authority figure who has the undivided attention of the students. And we do that by removing distractions from the classroom. And, for example, that could be cell phones and things as such, and giving the teachers the resources to maintain that disciplined learning environment, which also includes positive behavioral reinforcement. And then on top of all these proactive measures, we have to come in with reactive measures that are sometimes necessary, and that would be in the form of consequences that are consistent and that are progressive. And I think that every parent recognizes that, in order to have those disciplined environments, because structure and organization are vital to thriving and learning."
What do you view as the greatest challenges facing Springfield School District? Which of these would be your priority objective, and how do you meet that challenge?
"I will give you three challenges, and they are all my priorities. The first challenge that I don't think we can get away from, so we have to address it, is that there has been a shift from a cultural and socioeconomic standpoint. So today's classrooms and today's environment is very different. And that is something that is challenging us, and it is unlikely to abate. The second challenge is a competition for enrollment, and it affects the culture in our schools. There was a time when there were a couple options and home schooling was for, you know, a minority of students, and now it's becoming more and more mainstream. And this does affect us, not just from a funding perspective, but from the diverse mixture of students we have in our classrooms. And that allows us to thrive. And that is of concern for me, and I think to effectively be able to counter that is to look at those reasons, those measurable reasons, which are academic achievement and discipline. And I'm glad that you asked me about discipline. So these are priorities for me. Of course, academic achievement is always a priority. It's my guiding light. It is the mission, the vision. We are all on top of that, and we have been very purposeful with respect to that. But third, and these are all intertwined as I speak about them, is the ability to attract and retain the best, most qualified, most dedicated, most energized, happiest staff and especially teachers. And we do that — my plan to do that is to develop staff, to support staff and to empower staff. And that is — all of these are intertwined, and they must be done at the same time."
Nonpartisan elections have become increasingly partisan. If elected, how will you approach school board decisions through a nonpartisan lens?
"I approach every decision I make with one and only one thing in mind, and that is the students. And I think a distinction that must be made is that we are the adults in the room. And as, and I put my physician hat on, right. I'm putting my medical doctor hat on when I say that it is vital that we consider what students need to thrive and what they need for their well-being and what they need to learn. It's not about what the students want or what the adults want. It's about what they need. And we determine what they need by developing relationships with those that have, are closest to the student. Those are the parents and the teachers. So that is a vital piece of engagement and of course, committed and interested in what the public at large believes. But it always centers back to what is in the best interest of the students. And when I say the students, I'm very purposeful in using that term. It implies that it is all students. It is every student. So it's not necessary to say those words, the students. The students of Springfield Public Schools are in some ways my children, and I think it is important. And children need discipline. They need nurturing environments. They need nutritious food. They need to be welcomed. They need to have a place. They need to have power. Power comes through self-regulation and self-determination, and they need a purpose. This is what I do in my home, and this is what I want for all 25,000 students."
As a board member, what policies and programs will you support to help teachers?
"I'm really glad that you asked that question. Our teachers are the number one capital, our number one human capital. Schools wouldn't be schools without teachers. I've been very intentional in addressing this and in talking with as many teachers as I can. All the policies and programs have to have three things in mind. The proper development of teachers, that is, the professional development that is necessary for each teacher to be the best they can be. And so that needs to be differentiated. Two is supporting the teachers, and we support teachers by ensuring and giving them the supports necessary to have a disciplined learning environment so that they are the authority figure in the room and that they have the students' undivided attention. That is the environment where teachers can teach, and they love to teach. And giving them the resources that they need in their classroom to be successful. And then the third component, which is vital, is empowering them. And we empower teachers by listening to their feedback and valuing their feedback and always being in a position to be able to adjust said programs and said policies because it changes through the years. Correct? We are in a different place than we were, like I said, a decade or two decades ago. This is a priority. It is a must. We have a million fewer teachers than we did, nationwide. Again, this is not a challenge that will abate. I think that the success of our students depends on the happiness and what I mean by happiness of our teachers. They come to our classrooms, to our buildings wanting to teach, and that makes them happy. Of course, we'd like to compensate them, and that is something that we continue to strive — to reach. However, that is just a minor component. Thank you for asking that question."
Landon McCarter
Let's begin by having you introduce yourself and tell us why you've decided to run for this office.
"Yeah, well, thanks for having me. My name is Landon McCarter. This is the second time I'm running. Actually, last year I ran. I lost by one half of 1%. I'm running again. Just a quick reason why — my dad was a teacher for 30 years. My mom was a teacher for 14 years. I graduated from Kickapoo High School, as did my brother and sister. And next year I will have one high schooler, one middle schooler and one elementary child in the district. So I deeply care about, you know, Springfield Public Schools. Obviously, I'm personally invested, but I also just love Springfield. And as a business leader in Springfield — I've been building and selling companies in Springfield for 15 years — I've employed hundreds of people, and I really just love Springfield. And so I want to give back civically because of my deep roots and connection to Springfield Public Schools and because of my business leadership and acumen I feel like I can add a lot of value to the Springfield Public School Board, and so I'm excited to get a seat on the board."
What is the role of public schools to shape our future citizens and prepare graduating students for work or continued education?
"Yeah. So the main thing that we've got to focus on is creating success-ready students. But primarily we've got to focus on academics, specifically. You know, one of the things that I really appreciated out of my high school, middle school and elementary career at SPS is I felt ready for the next step. My choice was to go to, actually, Missouri State and get my degree in marketing. And then that then stepping stone turned into sort of the next sort of move. So I think the Springfield Public Schools has a deep responsibility to teach these kids the academics, the ABCs, the 1,2,3s, the reading, the writing, the arithmetic. I feel like we have, as a district sometimes kind of swayed a little bit away from the academics and got into a little bit too much of the social and political issues, in my opinion. And so I really just want to bring back just the basics. I mean, if you look at our actual scores — of reading scores — I think we're at like 44% are reading at grade level, 36% are reading at math level. And so in order for us to have a successful community, we have to have, we have to be graduating success-ready individuals. Now success-ready for me happened to mean, you know, college and continued education. But success-ready for a lot of individuals is, you know, trades or whatever their next, sort of, endeavor is after school. And so, you know, what is very, very important once you understand that the core of what SPS is, is, is trying to do is create, you know, academic excellence and success-ready students, we also have to focus on really, the behavior and the way that these individuals are able to act amongst peers. You know, we've got to create a level of excellence in our district that allow individuals to work as a team to have some humility, to listen, to be empathetic, to listen to all voices. And so I do think that as you know, as we're focusing on the academics, we must also pay attention to, you know, the emotional intelligence and behavior and have a standard of excellence for that as well."
What do you feel is the best approach to addressing student discipline issues?
"Yeah. So luckily — I have been lucky enough to go speak to hundreds and hundreds of people. When I say people I mean, when you — to get on the ballot, you have to get 500 signatures just to get on the ballot. I ended up with like 950 signatures. And so I've talked to current teachers, I've talked to past teachers, I've talked to current parents that are have kids in the district, and also parents that have pulled their kids from the district and by far and away, when you ask teachers that have left our district or parents that have pulled their kids from our district, they will tell you there really isn't even a second place. The reason is, is because of behavior and lack of consequences in the classroom. So the question that you've asked really nails the head, nails on the head of exactly what the community cares about. In terms of sort of how to address this, we need to make sure that the teachers' hands are not tied at all. And to address these behavior concerns, we need to have very strict — the term is like progressive consequences that are consistent, meaning your first infraction is this is the consequence. Your second infraction is this in the consequence. Your third infraction is this as a consequence. And just have consistent behavior standards that, if violated, are dealt with swiftly because what we cannot do is allow behavior issues to go unchecked in the classroom, specifically. That causes two major problems. One is the teacher is almost pulling their hair out at this point because they're managing the behavior of several at the expense of many. So I want to be clear. We care deeply about this child that is exhibiting some concerns. They're obviously not getting the attention that they need. We care about them. We must come around them and give them the attention they deserve. We owe them an education as the Springfield Public Schools, but we cannot, and we will not owe them an education at the expense of the other 22 kids in the classroom and at the expense of the other teachers' sanity. So we must remove those behavior issues from the classroom to allow the teacher to be able to teach the curriculum."
What do you view as the greatest challenges facing Springfield School District? Which of these would be your priority objective and how would you meet that challenge?
"Well, this is going to be a good segway from the last question. I believe that the largest challenge that the district has is the behavior and the, we'll say, lack of consequences for that behavior. You know, there is, you know, public schools, nd also I'll extend that out to our public bus system as well, because that's, you know, basically, you know, a microcosm of Springfield. Right? So the problems that we have at large in our city are going to meet in the classroom and on the buses. And so that is the biggest challenge that we have, because it's not like we can just snap our fingers and all of a sudden all the kids decide to act accordingly. And we also can't act like private schools where we can just kick kids out of the school if they're not, uh, you know, giving us the behavior that we need to do because these kids are owed an education. This is the public school, right? So they deserve an education, and we care about them deeply, and they're not getting what they need at home. So therefore they're acting out. The thing that in terms of how to address this solution, I have a couple ideas. The first is kind of tactical. Right now, the progressive discipline matrix is what it's kind of called. So infraction one has a certain consequence and leads up to the next several infractions. Right now, those sort of progressive consequences reset every school year. So I believe that we should have those consequences carry on with the student throughout their actual tenure of an actual building to allow a teacher, you know, for that kid not to just sort of walk the line as careful as they can. And then next year it just resets. I also believe in alternative educational sites. Right now we have Study high school. I do believe we should expand alternative learning into middle school and elementary as much as possible. This is not to say that this is like the little, you know, SPS's version of juvie. I'm saying this is a smaller classroom with probably more compensated teachers to give these kids the attention that they need, but we've got to make sure that they are separated, if they're going to continue to act out, from the other students to keep from their education."
Nonpartisan elections have become increasingly partisan. If elected, how will you approach school board decisions through a nonpartisan lens?
"Yeah. So partisanship is really just division at the end of the day. Whenever you look at, I'm sorry, whenever you look at the actual board, if you have like, let's just say two factions that are arguing, you're really not being very productive in that particular moment. You're also not keeping the main thing, which is the main thing, which is the kids and the teachers and the education. And so partisan politics has no place on a school board. It should not be evident. We should not necessarily like know, you know, what the political leanings is of a school or candidate. These are community, nonpartisan, unpaid, I might add, you know, positions. So as a candidate, I've actually been the most successful of the seven in exhibiting this. I've been endorsed by what you may consider, you know, liberal PACs. I've been endorsed by conservative PACs. I've been endorsed by middle of the road PACs. So the Central Labor Council has endorsed me, the largest teachers organization in Springfield, the Springfield NEA, has endorsed me. I've also gotten endorsed by, I don't know if I said the Central Labor Council or not, but that's one of them. And then Teamsters has endorsed me. But also, you know, several other organizations. So, you know, I've exhibited the fact that I can take traditionally separate, you could say leanings, for the goal of, of one thing, which is academics for these kids. And also, unfortunately, we've brought this up three times now, and you're going to continue to hear this from me, the behavioral expectations of the classroom, because at the end of the day, the teachers right now are demanding for safer work environments, for less kicking and biting and spitting and more academics. And that's not a left or right issue. That's a challenge that we have as a city, that we must come together and find solutions and be united so that we can get results for these kids and these teachers that they need."
As a board member, what policies and programs will you support to help teachers?
"Yeah. So, there is a crying out right now from teachers. And as I've — You know, first off, I was endorsed by the the largest teachers organization in Springfield, which is 87% of not just the teachers at SPS, but the staff of SPS. And they will tell you that they are just completely overwhelmed. There's several things that overwhelm them, specifically, as I've been listening. I'm going to not start with the biggest one, which is behavior, because I've been talking about that so much. I'm going to start with something else. So one of the things that is really troubling and challenging for teachers right now is balancing the ongoing curriculum of the actual quarter, semester or year with standardized testing. So like for instance, actually this week my child is in third grade. They're stopping all curriculum right now to get into Galileo testing, which is standardized testing that's done by the state. You know, you got to understand, as a teacher's perspective, we understand the importance of standardized tests, and I understand why we need to do that so we can measure our progress and make sure that we have sort of some standardized way to compare results and progress. But I'm not sure how much standardized tests really tell you about a lot of kids. I think some kids can't really take standardized tests very well, but more importantly, every time we stop our normal curriculum, and this is the stuff that is the real learning that goes on in the classroom, in order to stop all that, to then focus on the standardized testing, you're just switching gears. It's very difficult for teachers to do that. So I would like to try to uncuff that a little bit as much as we possibly can. But also I just do want to continue to hit on the primary objective of mine, if I do get on the board, is to address the behavior concerns in Springfield Public Schools. I mean, even in the last three weeks, we've had a young girl leave Hickory Hills with a facial reconstructive surgery from getting beat. And we also had a riot in Parkview, practically, that if you would have thought you'd seen that, that you'd think that was inner city Baltimore. But no, it was Parkview High School. So we've got to raise that standard of excellence.
Danielle Kincaid
Let's begin by having you introduce yourself and tell us why you've decided to run for this office.
"Thank you, Cara, for for having me in today. My name is Danielle Kincaid, and I am running for re-election for Springfield School Board of Education. I have served the last time on the Board of Education, and our board is very young. We have one board member who has served more than one term. The remaining six of us are still in our first terms. I know that I can make a bigger impact with a second term, and I do believe that we need some consistency on the board to see that impact being made. I initially ran for the Board of Education — I was serving on the Foundation for Springfield Public School Board, and the Board of Education seemed like a natural next step for me. I have loved my time and my service on the board, and I look forward to making a greater impact in a second term."
What is the role of public schools to shape our future citizens and prepare graduating students for work or continued education?
"Our public school system as a nation is the foundation of every single community. Our neighborhood schools that we have here in Springfield are really the glue that hold each of those neighborhoods together. When you look at our future workforce, our future neighbors, our future coworkers, those are the students who are in our schools right now. So I've been known to say the wonderful thing about public school is that we invite every single child from our community into our buildings. The challenging thing about public school is that we invite every single child into our school buildings, so we don't get to pick and choose the students who who sit in our classroom. But we are tasked with ensuring that when they graduate Springfield Public Schools, they're set up for success. That may mean a four-year college degree. That may mean entering our military. That may mean going to OTC. Every child has a different skill set, and we really want to to dive in and culture that skill set so that when they leave Springfield Public Schools, they're set up for success. I love Springfield Public Schools. We're the largest school district in the state of Missouri. That also allows us to work with many community partners and have many choice programs so that if a child doesn't excel in a traditional classroom setting, there are other options for them so that they're not falling behind and we can set them up for success. Ultimately, it does take a village to raise a child, so we're always welcoming individuals from our community into our schools because it's not just the job of the teachers, although they have a very difficult job and they do it great every single day, but it's not the just their job, it's also the job of our community members, our teachers, our parents and guardians, everybody in the community to ensure that our students are set up for success."
What do you feel is the best approach to addressing student discipline issues?
"There is the hot topic of student discipline. It is not unique to Springfield Public Schools. We are still seeing the impact of students who remained at home and didn't get socialization during COVID. It's no surprise. And it's no, we're not hiding it. There is an issue with student behavior within our classrooms. Moving our needle as a district, again, being the largest district in the state of Missouri, it is like moving a cruise ship, not moving a kayak. And it is going to take time to move that needle. We've seen with our students and with our teachers, they need additional support within the classroom so that a student who is struggling individually doesn't affect the class as a whole. I believe in asking the difficult questions. We do have an increase in referrals for behavior this year, because we're not hiding the fact that we have an issue within our school, a challenge within our school. I also believe, though, that there are protections put into place because our students excel more when they are remaining in our schools than when we're sending them home. Now, obviously, there are going to be exceptions to the rule, right? If there is a safety, a serious safety concern, that child does need to be removed from the school. But overall, listening to our educators, listening to the individuals who have dedicated their life to seeing 'how can we correct student behavior in a positive way?' is something that that I believe as a school board member, we need to look at and lean into those individuals who have the education, the expertise to educate and to provide solutions for student discipline."
What do you view as the greatest challenge facing Springfield School District? And which of these challenges would be your priority objective, and how would you meet that challenge?
"Yeah, we have a lot of challenges and we have a lot of successes. With 24,500 students, we've got, again, challenges and successes. The idea of student behavior being a challenge is one that we are constantly hearing at the board table and in our community. But as I stated with the last question, it's going to take time to move that needle. I think that we are moving in the right direction, although it will take some time. Another challenge that we have is looking at increased academic achievement. Ultimately, the reason the school is here is for academic achievement, and we have instituted a new testing system this year so that we can track students individually and see 'where did you come in when you started the school year? Where are you at in the middle of the school year, and where are you at at the end of the school year?' And if a student comes in at advanced and remains at advanced, that's fantastic. But another success story would be a student coming in under grade level, moving into proficient and then moving into advanced. And we need to dig in and see what services and what education tools are we providing to those teachers and those students who we see making those big gains throughout the school year? When you set students up for success and you move that needle throughout the grade, let's say second grade, now they've moved up into advanced or proficient for third grade, and they can continue that academic achievement. Our testing system now allows us to dig in and look at that actual student and how they're making a progress throughout the school year. So certainly academic achievement and student discipline and then also supporting our teachers. And I think that that comes from the community as a whole, in addition to within the district, making sure that they have the tools and resources they need."
Nonpartisan elections have become increasingly partisan. If elected, how will you approach school board decisions through a nonpartisan lens?
"I will always advocate for school board positions to be nonpartisan. Our job as a school board member is to set our students up for success, and that doesn't matter which side of the aisle a person sits on. So I will ensure that politics are not being brought to the board table. As your current school board president, I have instituted Robert's Rules of Order at the request of the board so that things have calmed down a little bit at the board table and that we can have productive disagreement discussions without it devolving into yelling matches or name calling. Ultimately, those of us who are sitting at the board are setting an example for the students who are in our classroom. And it used to be that you could have disagreements with somebody and it was okay. You could still be friendly with them or at least respect that they had a different opinion other than your own. I think that's vitally important for any public education system. I think it's vitally important for the future of our country to get back to those productive disagreements but also respecting that somebody may have a different opinion as your own. And, like I stated, ultimately, the Board of Education is is the one directing that from the top down. Also, we need people from the bottom up and individuals within our community to set an example and say, 'hey, it's not okay to to yell at individuals or call them names. We need to be respectful towards one another.' "
As a board member, what policies and programs will you support to help teachers?
"Our teachers are incredible. Our educators, anybody who enters our school building each and every day are incredible. I have often heard people, parents, teachers say, 'I work or my child goes to the best school in the district,' and I have no doubt that they're all correct. We do need to support our teachers, though, and our educators. We need to listen to them. I will always, always, always vote for an increase in pay for anybody who is working at at Springfield Public Schools because those taxpayer dollars being used for our children now so that they can graduate high school, are a better use of our taxpayer dollars than funneling it into prisons or jails. And I have had a number of judges come up to me and say, 'the number one indicator for individual who I see in my courtroom that I'm sentencing because they have committed a criminal act, is whether or not that individual graduated high school. And those individuals who have a high school diploma and are set up for success are less likely to be in that courtroom.' So I will always advocate for higher pay for our teachers and educators. I think that there needs to be a more open line of communication between the board, the educators, our administrative, individuals who are at the district to say, what do you need? And I'm hearing from them that they need more, more paraprofessionals, they need more support in the classroom. They also need more support from our community and from parents and guardians as well. But it's going to take a collective community effort to do that."
Susan Provance
Would you please introduce yourself and tell us why you decided to run for this position?
"Thank you. Thank you for having me today. I have been long time Springfield educator — 30 years. I've coached quite a few different sports, taught a lot of different classes. I retired my first time, and I went to the Springfield-Greene County Park Board, where I worked as athletics administrator with kids again. And then I'm back with the schools and have been involved in the archery program for about 12 years, so I don't really think I've left the schools. They've always been a a big part of my life. My family, extended family, have all been involved in the schools. And so I honestly thought this was just a way to continue my commitment to the Springfield School Board. And I'm very excited about the election. I understand how important it is, and I'm looking forward to another strong month of campaigning."
What is the role of public schools to shape our future citizens and prepare graduating students for work or continued education?
"Our schools have a great responsibility. You know, a parent's child is their most valued possession. They send him to school for us to help shape their future. And in return, we need to make this strong commitment that that diploma means they're academically ready, they're career ready or they're ready to enter the workforce. And I'm a strong believer in the the word public, the Springfield Public Schools. We open our doors to anyone, everyone. We get a list of names on the roster. We're excited to take those kids. I'm a strong advocate for teachers. I believe that teachers are the meaningful adult in a lot of kids. I was greatly influenced by great teachers I had. And I believe that teachers can change lives. And when you change lives, you change destiny — fifth generation from Springfield, and I want my kids, I want my grandkids, to grow up here. I want them to be the next leaders of Springfield. I want them to feel that the answer is the schools. It's the Springfield Schools. I want them to find the the jobs and take over the leadership role. So I'm a strong advocate that that diploma means a lot. And I know that it involves providing extra activities, programs that keep the kids wanting to go to school. That's important when the public realizes that the schools are the answer."
What do you feel is the best approach to addressing student discipline issues?
"It is very important to address student discipline issues. I want to talk about the discipline issues that first occur in the classroom. It takes away the teachers time, and we all realize that the more time the teacher spends engaging kids in instruction, it enhances learning. So we can't have that misbehavior. Now, every teacher is going to use her own creativity, positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement. But she's the classroom control. When she/he finds that they can't control the the misbehavior in the classroom, the student needs to be removed. And there are so many things that can really be — I want people to focus on, discipline is a teachable moment, not for just the student that is misbehaving at that time. The rest of the class needs to realize inappropriate behavior - consequence. And, you know, that consequence doesn't need to be something severe. I mean, it can be, 'you misbehaved, pick up trash on the playground. You misbehaved. I need for you to do, you know, worksheets. I need for you to go to talk to the counselor, talk to the school nurse. The principal is also a teacher there. But I do want to make sure that the distinction is made between violence, threats of violence, harassment, hazing, any physical, anything that is going to be underneath the Safe Schools Act, I have zero tolerance for. I feel that students that are involved in situations like that, they might be getting their diploma from somewhere else."
What do you view as the greatest challenge facing Springfield School District? Which of these would be your priority objective, and how would you meet that challenge?
"I think the greatest challenge that the Springfield School District faces today is getting quality teachers and maintaining quality teachers, and I know that it involves salary. But I think the other thing that it involves is the work environment. I don't know how to change — it seems like sometime after COVID when they said, 'this is a critical job, this is an essential job.' And then 'now we don't think it's essential.' We have lost a lot of respect. There are jobs that they don't, they don't have the respect that they used to, I mean. I'm old enough to realize that back in the old days, you used to go to the grocery store and the kids would go, 'oh my gosh, mom, that's Coach Provence,' and I think that we can do a lot to improve the work environment because we need to maintain teachers. We need to make sure that the benefit package enables us to hire those great teachers. I would like to see the teachers not have their teaching time bureaucratically tied up. You know, part of respect is trust. And when the curriculum coordinator says, 'you're teaching a first aid unit, you're teaching a cancer unit, you're teaching a drug and alcohol unit,' and then they trust you to use the things in the classroom that you can use, but they trust you to use it in the best way possible, so I hope that that will significantly help."
Non-partisan elections have become increasingly partisan. If elected, how will you approach school board decisions through a nonpartisan lens?
"When I made my decision to run for the school board, I went to my family and I said, 'I do not want to be a burden to my brothers and sisters and and my daughter, her husband, my son, his wife,' because I did not want to have as a really negative outcome. I was — I felt very strongly about United Springfield raising some funds and only emphasizing civil discussions and nonpartisan. I believe that students are the top priority — students, teachers, families. That's not political. All decisions based on what is best for the student is the student. I believe that educators and teachers, excuse me, educators and students working together. I believe that if you step across the line for discipline, the family should always be involved. The family needs to work with the schools to make sure that they know what's happening to their child, they know what friends they're running with, they know the activities they're involved with, and they know how they're moving toward graduation. Politics doesn't play a part in that. I, I know it's going to be difficult, but I can, I want to stand on policies that I have promised and that my word is golden and I will, I will not be bought."
As a board member. What policies and programs will you support to help teachers?
"Well, I like your positivity there because as a board member, that sounds good. I do understand how hard I need to work to earn the trust of the voters. And we're down to a month. We're down to just less than a month. I believe that past performances is a great indicator of future performance. And I have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to be involved in the Springfield Public Schools Archery program. I want to use it as an example of a student activity that is open to all students. It is inclusive. It does not — you don't have to be the tallest, the strongest or the fastest, but you do need to maintain your attendance the way that other sports do. According to MSHSAA, you have to maintain your grade point average, and you have to maintain your citizenship. The schools put on these wonderful archery tournaments. Nine hundred kids signing up for five tournaments, and they're so excited. I see the parents come wearing their son or daughter's school shirt. It builds self-esteem. It enhances discipline. It spends time with a great coach and teacher that helps them develop the social skills and the self-confidence that they're going to need when they graduate. So I don't want people to look at, 'oh, so you teach a kid how to shoot an arrow and hit the center of a bullseye?' Yes, we do, but look how these kids feel and look at their confidence."