Agency or agencies for which nominator feels nominee is best suited:
Department of Education
Organization name(s) and position(s) for which nominator feels nominee is best suited:
Policies which the nominator knows the nominee supports or in which they have expertise:
My undergraduate studies were in Biocultural Anthropology and I did a lot of work researching the history of medicine, medical paradigms, and comparing health outcomes of various countries based on their medical models. While I was in school for my undergraduate, I volunteered and was elected to my local county Republican party as a precinct committee officer and was subsequently elected by that body to the State Committee as State Committee woman. I was a Democrat until 2009, when I saw the implementation of the PPACA as a means to create more medical mandates on children and families that were harmful to human health and were for corporate profit. I very firmly believe that my sons infant vaccines were a triggering factor in his subsequent Autism diagnosis as he was ill after each round, losing more and more skills. I also homeschooled my children through early elementary as I wanted to be more in control of the foods and chemicals they were exposed to, as my son with autism was on a special diet to reverse the inflammation in his body. It was homeschooling that led me to teaching when my first marriage failed. I received my Masters degree in Education and teaching certificate in secondary social studies education. My goal was to create critical thinkers who could think beyond solutions to ills in society and see possible unintended consequences of solutions, by both examining issues in society that were the unintended consequences of a government solution, and by extrapolating that to possible consequences to their own solutions for unsolved issues in modern society. As Covid hit, I was able to see, firsthand, the unintended consequences of a government solution when schools were closed for the remainder of the 19-20 school year. A year that would see my FTE go up in 20-21 for a hybrid learning model, but go down in 21-22 as enrollment number plummetted from parents opting their students out of a masking paradigm in school-- and for good reason. I applied for a full-time teaching position at an Environmental focused K-8 school, as though I switched from the Democrat Party to the Republican Party, I still have a love for a sustainable and clean environment for me and future generations to enjoy and believe we should teach good stewardship of the Earth. I received a call that not only did they want me at their school, but they wanted me to be the Director of Student Services, working as a Dean and coordinating Tier 2 levels of care for students with needs above and beyond the general education classroom. I found that I love the visionary administrative aspect of education, and want to be a leader that redesigns how learning happens in a school (and now all schools!). I enrolled in an Educational Leadership program which resulted in my receipt of an Educational Specialist degree and principal licensure, to continue my Educational Leadership career. I am ecstatic that the founder of Childrens Health Defense (who I have been following for years!) is in a position to effect change for the health and prosperity of our children and nation. I would absolutely love a position where I could put my expertise and passions together to see this visionary change come to fruition.
Nominator's thoughts on what would make this nominee a valuable member of a future Trump Unity Government
1) Is Competent as I understand the demands of education and the systems involved. 2) Is Honest because I will always tell the truth, even when it can jeopardize my career. 3) Is Respectful as I understand the blinders that people have because of our current journalistic and political environment and would use patience and kindness to guide my interactions with others. 4) Has Integrity because I believe in doing the right thing, even when no one is looking. 5) Has Courage because I will do the right thing even when I know I will be vilified for it by my peers and wider society 6) Has a Proven Record of excellence, as any task I undertake will be done fully, with forethought, preparation, and utilizing the strengths of the team around me.
Here is some more information about me and my stances:
Initiatives I align with:
Data review of Common Core Standards and performance within their use.
Decentralizing Educational standards to states.
Ensuring that while the D.o.Ed. is a federal agency, it disseminates best practices and emerging research to the states and reviews items such as PISA data from other countries as an educational touchstone, so states can have proper information (away from corporate interests) to implement curriculum and standards that show high academic outcomes and increased critical thinking/problem-solving skills.
In addition, play-based learning in elementary, experiential learning in secondary, and interdisciplinary learning over both domains demonstrably result in high achievement outcomes and require further investigation as a best practice.
Parental rights and school choice.
Revising school meal standards to ensure students are not being given historically G.R.A.S. ingredients that have properties indicated to cause learning impairments or adverse health outcomes by evidence-based scientific studies (interagency coordination–HHS).
Ensure parental rights and body autonomy in students by parents (Interagency coordination HHS/CDC).
Encourage outdoor education within the school curriculum, such as school gardens (pollinator/food) and outdoor classrooms to increase ecological literacy with experiential learning as a best practice. There are numerous positive academic and mental health effects associated with the incorporation of outdoor educational curricula.
While I was affiliated with the Island County Republican Party (as Internal Governance Subcommittee Chair, PCO and State Committeewoman), I was affiliated with Campaign 4 Liberty (C4L) and the Ron Paul Revolution(Lovelution). I consider myself a Classical Liberal, which means maximum freedom for all, but also maximum responsibility. I believe in the non-aggression principle, where no one should aggress upon another, but we are entitled to self-defense.
I believe that the food and pharmaceutical industry abandoned their imperative to enhance human health decades ago and that American citizens are now numbers reflecting “treatment years” and “fiscal return.” These are not the ideals America was founded upon. I believe that America should return to the “Harm Principle” – where John Stuart Mill argued that “The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.” In addition, medical ethics warrants that medical professionals “do no harm” –this principle has been forgotten in the quest for shareholder returns at the expense of our country’s future.
I believe that our country’s educational system is failing our nation’s youth. Our latest global competitiveness ranked #12, falling from #1 in 2018 according to The International Institute for Management Development’s World Competitiveness Center. We need a holistic look at why the achievement gap is continually widening with other countries, to include examining the food and medical systems that could contribute to learning impairments. This, above and beyond the curriculum and technology which are likely inadvertently contributing to the decline of American Innovation and Competitiveness. This is a national security issue.
There’s often a misunderstanding of what classical liberalism is, so here’s a great definition: classical liberalism , an early form of [liberalism]
the political-philosophical doctrine which holds that the central problem of politics is the protection of individual freedom or liberty.
Some notable classical liberals are: John Locke, Voltaire, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Adam Smith, Montesquieu, Thomas Paine, Hobbes, etc.
I advocate is learning the value of later reading strategies (teaching reading at 7/8 y/o v 4/5– there are numerous studies which advocate play/experience/phonics/spoken vocabulary over actual reading as necessary precursors) and outdoor education on positive educational outcomes, as well as how Singapore math uses the C-P-A (concrete-pictorial-abstract; manipulatives—actual things to math with, drawings —to enhance with larger amounts, and abstract—when our brain naturally goes from the visual to the thinkable) approach and creates better math understanding than common core math. This aligns with play-based and experiential learning as well. I don’t want to tell people/states how they need to educate, as I think that is the beauty of our diversity. However, I love giving people new or revolutionary/innovative (and good/integrity-filled) findings from other educators who are passionate about true education, that can help change their mind. This should be the job of the Department of Education as long as it exists— to disseminate innovation and best practices, and for a time, to offer grants to schools and districts willing to redesign their school to align with tried and true learning practices that have the best learning outcomes (and maybe, fail forward!)! A model country is Estonia- a country mired in poor education through the USSR, but who also has developed the best learning model in Europe in the last 30 years— the main features are decentralization and school focus for learning—- allowing students to find their passion and their “why.”
Thank you. It is a Herculean effort to revamp such an entrenched system, but I think most Americans see that the current system is unsustainable for our country’s principles and prosperity.
