Kim Moran for HSSD School Board
Hello! My name is Kim Moran and I’m excited to be running for the HSSD School Board. As a mom of two, educator, and PTO President at Suamico Elementary, I understand the challenges our students, teachers, and families face. I’m running to ensure every child’s success by bringing my classroom experience and collaboration with teachers, parents, and the community to the board. I’m committed to being a voice for our families and making sure our district continues to provide an excellent educational opportunity for every child..
My Top Issues
Student and Teacher Support
My top priority is student and teacher support. From when I started teaching until now, I’ve noticed that students are coming to school with more challenges and learning gaps. Teachers do not have enough time during the day to provide the additional support and our support staff are at capacity. The district can help students and families by further investing in these additional resources, look at the possibility of restructuring positions to better fit students’ needs, and continue to advocate at the state-level for more funding. Having these supports in place will help each child continue their education on a successful learning pathway.
4K Consistency
Another priority is 4K consistency. Given my background as a teacher, I know how important it is to offer developmentally appropriate education in the early years of learning. Over the last few years, I have seen a gap in kindergarteners’ abilities. We need to make sure that our 4K students are entering kindergarten having received a consistent education that is developmentally appropriate. Further, I believe that 4K teachers need to be competitively compensated to ensure our students are getting the best education and to reduce the high turnover rate. A high turn over rate is very disruptive to student learning. Finally, we need to make sure that our 4K sites have the appropriate resources, training, and tools so they can be successful.
Early Family Engagement
Early family engagement is a priority that will be the key to setting up our students for a successful learning pathway in our district. Too many students are entering our school system at a level that is below expectations. In my role on the PTO, I have talked to parents and many are unaware that kindergarten expectations have changed and require far more student engagement at a young age. As a district, we need to look at how we can engage our youngest learners and their families while providing developmentally appropriate resources and tools for them to get their child ready for learning.
Expanding High School Career Pathways
A priority at the high school level is making sure that we expand the opportunities we are providing to our students regardless of their career path. There are many career pathways that do not follow the traditional high school-college-job route. We need to be connecting with higher education, businesses, and community resources to make sure our programs are addressing our kids’ post high school needs. Whether our kids are going to a trade school, university, or straight into the work force, we want to make sure they are set up for success.