Pasadena ISD Board of Trustees Position 1:

 

Four years ago I embarked on a journey to be a voice for mental health on the Pasadena ISD School Board. As a mental health therapist specializing in work with children, it’s vital to voice the needs of the whole child and advocate for those needs. As a mother and a taxpayer, I wanted to make sure the children and faculty of PISD were receiving the best and most efficient allocation of our resources.  I was elected to the Pasadena ISD School Board in May 2021. It has been an honor to serve my community in this capacity. 

 

I am a proven, trusted leader in my community. Our board is cohesive, collaborative, and has actively moved the district forward over the last four years. I have earned the trust and respect of my fellow Trustees, and as a leader, I am willing to take on challenges that arise. 
Prior to being elected, I served many Pasadena ISD students and Pasadena residents through my work at The Bridge and my private practice, Pasadena Counseling Center. I have served my community through volunteer work at nonprofits, churches, and schools, often volunteering for career days and reading to children. I speak at conferences and train mental health professionals through teaching and mentoring interns going into the mental health field. 

 

Funding and safety have been consistent issues facing our school district and school districts across Texas. I was extremely active in the 88th Legislative Session, serving on the Texas Association of School Boards Legislative Advisory Committee, and spent countless hours in Austin advocating across the aisle for appropriate funding and strongly opposing a voucher system. Advocating is one effective way of ensuring that legislators are appropriating education funding fairly and passing additional unfunded public school mandates. As a school district, we have also had to be strategic in budgeting, staffing, and continuing to think of funding sources such as grant funding to most effectively continue the work in our district. Public education is the bedrock of a community; there is no substitute for a public school system available to all families, and our economic future depends on it.

We are proud of the number of students that are graduating from Pasadena ISD with Associates degrees and ensuring they are ready for the workforce and their career or that they are ahead of the game when they enter a four-year college.  We offer strong biliteracy programming through dual language, full-day PreK, art and music education, and engage parents on a daily basis to strengthen their families through education.

I envision growth in our school district. Pasadena ISD offers premier public education and children are being prepared for life on a daily basis. I envision people moving to the Pasadena area to have their children attend our schools and through the programing in early education, attracting young families to our district and establishing a student base that will stay PreK through 12. 

Our Board recently announced our lone finalist for the new Superintendent of Pasadena ISD. The first six months would be dedicated to finalizing the strategic plan which outlines our goals for the next five years, finalizing and approving the budget for our next school year, hearing from our community and staff about the biggest needs in the district, and ensuring continued collaboration with the new superintendent.

Graduating students that are prepared for the workforce is paramount. Whether they choose to go to college or enter the workforce immediately after graduation, my goal is to ensure that our graduates are prepared. Many of our students leave the Pasadena area for college or to find other opportunities. One of my goals is to educate our students about the numerous opportunities for working and living in the Pasadena area and giving back to their community. 

As a Board Trustee, I frequent local businesses and own a business in Pasadena. I would like to see more local small businesses doing business with PISD and support proactive outreach to local businesses. I support other local businesses and advocate for our students to enter the workforce in Pasadena post-graduation. I encourage our students to keep their talents close to home and build lives and businesses here in Pasadena.