October 24, 2014
Dear SRI Community,
We called upon you to nominate candidates to the board to directors who you believe will help SRI live out our fierce commitment to educational equity and excellence and you clearly delivered on that request. It is an honor to present the slate of candidates for the 2014-2015 election to the SRI Board of Directors.
Since SRI’s formation in 2009, our founders knew it was important to have a board that was elected by members of our organizational community. We are committed to cultivating an organization that represents the diverse aspects of our communities and is reflective of the diversity of the children and adults we serve. Maintaining a board representative of our communities is critical to this goal. Thank you for nominating your colleagues, and special thanks to the fine candidates who have stepped up to serve in a leadership role in our organization.
Special thanks go to the Nominating Committee that coordinated the nomination process – Co-Chairs, Mark Otto (New York) and Ileana Liberatore (Texas) and members Jean-Jacques Credi (Georgia) and Lindsey Pollock (Texas). They worked thoughtfully under a tight timeline to develop and coordinate a nominating process including gathering the names of these qualified and motivated candidates, sharing information about the role and responsibilities of SRI board members, and gathering the background materials about each candidate that are now posted on the SRI web site.
Now it is up to you. Read about the passion each of the candidates holds for the work and mission of SRI. Consider the rich and varied experiences and expertise that each brings to SRI and vote for all the candidates you believe will best serve in the capacity of board member for SRI. Voting is open today through midnight on December 5, 2014.
This year, the SRI board is instituting a new way of voting for our board elections. We have adopted ‘approval voting’ as our process after researching different voting methodologies. With approval voting, each affiliate can endorse/approve as many candidates as they think are qualified for the role of board member. You are not limited in your selection, but instead should review each candidate’s materials and then if you believe they meet the criteria and would serve well as a board member, you can endorse them by voting for them. Approval voting is used by many organizations that are similar to SRI’s affiliate structure and we believe this will strengthen our electoral process.
The three candidates who receive the most votes will be named as members of the SRI board for a term of three years.
If you are already an SRI Affiliate, a ballot will be sent to the email address you used to register within the next hour. When you are ready, simply cast your votes for the candidates you approve. If you do not receive a ballot and you believe you are an affiliate, we updated our process to be an annual commitment last year, so please follow the link to the application below. If you have any problems, please contact Chris at chris@schoolreforminitiative.org.
If you are not yet an SRI Affiliate but would like to participate in this election, you may do so by completing the affiliate form found at schoolreforminitiative.org/sri-affiliate-application/. Once you’ve submitted an affiliation form, a ballot will be sent to you via email. It should arrive within 12 hours of your affiliation form submission. If you do not receive a ballot or have difficulty completing the form, please contact Chris at chris@schoolreforminitiative.org. Once you affiliate through the link above, you will recieve an annual reminder to renew your affiliation with SRI. Thank you for being a part of this election process.
Board Election Candidates
The following are excerpts taken from statements each of the candidates submitted with their nomination materials. I encourage you to click on the Read More links at the end of each segment to read all of the materials that each candidate submitted so you may gain an understanding of the array of experiences, skills, knowledge, and commitment each bring to the position as an SRI board member. Full candidate materials, including photos, can be found at https://www.schoolreforminitiative.org/governance/2014-2015-sri-board-election-candidates/
Jen Benkovitz (Washington)
It would be an honor to serve on the SRI board. Through my teaching, coursework and administrative experiences I have developed and refined my skills focusing primarily on facilitative leadership, professional learning communities, issues of equity, best practices/current trends in curriculum and instruction, differentiation in an inclusive setting, mission/vision development and implementation and the alignment of human and material needs and resources. My professional accomplishments were always made possible through my collaboration with others. Facilitating this type of school community relationship is rewarding; dreams become realized and tangible, and sustainable change becomes evident. It would be an honor to serve as a member of the SRI board to support SRI’s mission and vision and to serve as an extension of the organization to further promote and share collaborative practices that improve teaching and learning.
Patrice Dawkins-Jackson (Georgia)
I am interested in becoming a part of the SRI board because I feel teacher voice is necessary for any reform efforts concerning education. We are the reform for education. I feel that I have an interesting prospective to share because I am a teacher that utilizes several aspects of this work to impact our class culture and student achievement. I believe that I have several strengths that I could bring to the board including my network on teacher leaders and organizations. From my work as a Teacher Ambassador Fellow, I have conducted partner outreach and facilitated several roundtable discussions with successful outcomes.
Jeffrey Galaise (New York)
As far back as I can remember, before I even knew what SRI was, I knew I needed to be a part of a community that transforms education. My first experience with SRI was when I started teaching at The Facing History School. In fact, it was one of the reasons I fell in love with the school. There has always been a value placed on professional learning experiences that promoted facilitative leadership and teacher voice in administrative decisions. I am dedicated to spreading this mission to others, and serving on the board would provide me with a unique perspective to how the organization functions. I am extremely honored to have been nominated to lead in this capacity.
Sharon Jones (Florida)
I am interested in being on the SRI board because I am passionate about the work of Communities of Practice and Facilitative Leadership. I have seen first hand the power of this work in changing the face of learning for both teachers and students. That excites me and pushes me to do more for teaching and learning. Teachers use the protocols to effectively empower themselves for intellectual discourse around topics of interest. All students, especially those who disenfranchised, will benefit from the work by becoming confident in their ability to present their new learning and understanding. Administrators can use this way of work to build efficiency and equity during leadership meetings.
Patricia Norman (Texas)
I appreciate the Board’s commitment to organizational and fiscal transparency, a commitment that I share. I have followed the Board’s work with great interest through my Trinity colleagues’ Board service. Having benefited greatly from a decade of participation in and facilitation of coaches’ seminars and annual Winter Meetings, I want to support SRI as it continues to define and sustain itself. Mostly what I bring is a deep commitment to creating professional learning communities for educators where we promote an inquiry-oriented, practice-based, self-disclosing form of conversation that creates opportunities for us to raise questions about and carefully examine our practices and students’ learning. If elected to the Board of Directors, I will work tirelessly to enact SRI’s mission.
Casey Roberts (Virginia)
Equity, by far is the greatest challenge in public, private, and alternative (charter) education and the final goal of our American experiment. As such, premiere leadership is needed to usher and lead organizations that promote and maintain this American ideal. As an educational leader and professional development facilitator, I continue to champion this ideal in my practice and within the organizations that I am associated. I bring to the table a fresh and diverse perspective of linking praxis, stewardship, and sustainability that will strengthen the resolve, mission, and reach of School Reform Initiative (SRI).
Lorenzo Robinson (Georgia)
I am interested in becoming an SRI Board Member because I believe deeply in the work. I am prepared to help move the SRI mission forward. I would like to be one of those individuals who help to get the word out about the good work that this organization does. I am interested in helping SRI to go into places where it has not yet had influence.
Thanks to the Current Board
Outgoing Tributes Thank you for your service and contributions to the work of advancing the School Reform Initiative to the next level:
- Tarrey Banks, Indiana
- Mark Otto, New York
- Teri Schrader, New York, Past Board Chair
Ongoing Board Members Newly-elected board members will get to work closely with the following board members to further our mission:
- Pedro Bermudez, Florida
- Kevin Fahey, Massachusetts , Board Chair
- Beth Graham, Massachusetts
- Debra Laidley, California
- Heather Palin, California
- Donna Reid, Texas
- Gene Thompson-Grove, Massachusetts
- Thomas Van Soelen, Georgia
Sincerely,
Mark Otto on behalf of the board of the School Reform Initiative and Kari Thierer on behalf of the School Reform Initiative.
