Lakers4Change and our amazing endorsed candidates Amy Bullyan, Geoff Zahn, Lisa Atkinson and Bill Markert were featured on a KARE11 segment, that aired Monday evening, and it can also be read about on KARE11’s website. After watching the segment and reading the article that followed, there are several details, or lack thereof, to note. Screenshots of KARE11 article added for context. Source: https://www.kare11.com/article/news/politics/political-ideology-school-board-contests/89-7dc46ddc-0d30-4e0c-9a05-6bc55b183a09 The first detail worth noting is that the UNION is not clearly identified in the article as the UNION, but instead simply as Prior Lake-Savage Education Association (PLSEA). This seemingly deceptive tactic was also used by the Prior Lake-Savage UNION itself, as their own expensive mailer omitted the word UNION, and also by candidate Jessica Olstad, when large yard signs with all four UNION endorsed candidates’ names began popping up around the district, bearing the phrase “endorsed by the teachers of the Prior Lake-Savage Education Association” and again, not clarifying that PLSEA is the teachers UNION. Next, notice how the author of the article states that there are “two distinct groups of candidates” and claims that the UNION endorsed four are “endorsed by teachers” and that the Lakers4Change endorsed four are endorsed by “a statewide “parental rights” group.” What the author fails to mention is that Bullyan, Zahn, Atkinson and Markert are also endorsed by teachers, just not by the teachers’ UNION. Additionally, a top priority of the Lakers4Change endorsed candidates, if elected, is supporting parental rights in the schools, particularly when it comes to medical and/or health decisions and parents’ rights to know what their children are being taught in school. This was also one of the reasons that Lakers4Change chose to endorse these four. One of the reasons the UNION likely looks to endorse candidates like Olstad and her running mates is because of statements like hers, “I also want to make sure we trust teachers to do their jobs and get out of their way.” Trust and get out of their way? How would this be a harmonious relationship, expecting parents to hand over their children and step aside to “let them teach the way they want”? This is why parents are now demanding curriculum transparency and parental rights to be protected in public schools, because districts were trusted to teach the way they want. Parents were just unaware of WHAT they wanted to teach our children and that is why parents are now speaking out. You’ll begin to notice a common trend among the UNION endorsed candidates as well. Take note of the common use of the words INCLUSION and LOVE. Making children feel included and a sense of Laker Pride is a no brainer. Who wouldn’t want that for every student? However, the use of the word LOVE doesn’t seem to quite fit in reference to relationships between educators, administration and the students they oversee. Parents and guardians do not need educators and staff to “LOVE” their children, they need them to protect, respect and teach. In fact, the responsibility of a school board director has very little to do with feelings. The responsibility of a school board director is about policy and governance, not loving anyone. It is a director’s job to create policies that PROTECT the rights of students, parents and staff, policies that RESPECT the individuality and boundaries of those same people and policies that ensure our educators TEACH the students according to state standards. It is also that director’s job to ensure that these policies are being enforced consistently and without bias. A school board director is an elected official hired to manage the operations of a multimillion dollar entity that is in the business of PROTECTING, RESPECTING and TEACHING the children of the district it serves not enforcing ideology. Leave the LOVE and identity decisions in the hands of the families. To quote Olstad, “This is about our kids’ lives.” And lastly, transparency. Perhaps Olstad speaks the truth about her experience thus far as a parent. After all, she has said that she wants to be an “elementary voice” on the school board. Many parents will say that elementary education is quite simple in that it’s main purpose is to teach the basic elements of academics to prepare students for more in-depth and complicated subjects in middle and high school. Middle and high school seems to be where the lack of transparency becomes more apparent. Once a student enters middle school, there are a multitude of teachers and classes that become part of that student’s daily life. This is also a common age for adolescents to become less open with parents, which could be a potential problem if a curriculum lacks transparency. The details of what is being taught to students, is not readily available to parents before a lesson takes place, it is “in the fine print.” These details may include a video or slide shown in class, like the ones shared in a previous post, which will only be known to the parent after the child has watched it in class and felt the need to share it with their parent afterward. Is this when we “reach out to teachers?” Or is this an example of lack of transparency in the curriculum? The only additional things to point out are that the incumbents are absent, again and that this story feels a little bias when they disclose, at the end of the video segment, that Olstad is married to a former reporter of KARE11. Actually, maybe KARE11 should check their implicit bias. MAKE SURE TO WATCH THE VIDEO SEGMENT! VOTE 4 CHANGE!
Author Archives: L4C
If you’re old enough to vote, you‘re old enough to make up your own mind.
Do your research! Vote for CHANGE!
Outrageous LOVE
While the Prior Lake-Savage School District has been focusing on Equity and Inclusion, our children’s proficiency has been suffering. We know that the current school board directors have invested a lot of time, money and resources into Equity and Inclusion and the PLSAS stakeholders want to know how progress is being measured. Is this program working and what is the impact it has had on the culture of our schools and more importantly, the lives of our students? Equity consultant, Dr. Sharroky Hollie of CCRTL, was hired by the district in 2016 to coach teachers and staff on how to integrate culturally responsive teaching into the classroom. Dr. Hollie has been providing services in PLSAS through May of 2022, according to the calendar found on CCRTL’s website. It appears that his work was even involved in the Student Voices assemblies held in our schools last spring. More of Dr. Hollies teachings can be found here and links to his materials here. Additionally, the district has adopted an Equity and Inclusion Resolution, has hired a Director of Equity and Inclusion and has partnered with the Prior Lake Rotary Club to host events that support the district’s equity work. Six years of Equity and Inclusion work and what is the progress? Increased racial incidents and tension? Falling proficiency? Decreased in-district student enrollment? What is the goal? Is this working? The Union Endorsed Candidates are dedicated to continuing equity work in our schools. They have stated this in forums, on their campaign websites and in school board meetings. The incumbents even attended a professional development meeting last night to reinforce their dedication to equity and inclusion. The slideshow presented in the professional development meeting (which was found on the district website under board packet link) may have given insight into one of the reasons that proficiency is falling with the rise in equity. According to the graphic seen on slide 8 below, to be truly equitable, a person must remove the systemic barrier. Could this be why our children are no longer academically excellent? If you remove a challenge, you remove the drive to achieve. What the presenter also appeared to remove from the slide (found with a simple google search), was the descriptor of each image. Equality…Equity…Justice… (Image 1) Maybe this is why the Prior Lake-Savage schools are littered with “ERASE HATE” posters, classrooms are being made to watch videos about racism (like this one) and students are being taught that “people of color can’t be racist because they don’t have the institutional power to oppress others.” (Image 2) Maybe this is what justice looks like. Maybe we should let children focus on ACADEMICS at school and the simple act of being a child. Vote for CHANGE.
Not responsible?
Only 16 days left until election day and Lakers4Change endorsed candidates and volunteers are out meeting voters every day. We want to know what the greatest concerns about our school district are. We are not at all surprised that our well-educated voters overwhelmingly agree that the number one issue driving them to vote for school board candidates this year is ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT. Sadly, our district is not the destination district we once were due to academic excellence and this does not make parents and tax payers happy. They want CHANGE. Also not surprising is the expensive mailer (Image 1) we had predicted would be sent out to households by the teachers UNION (a.k.a. Prior Lake Savage Education Association or PLSEA) was already being handed out by their endorsed candidates Jessica Olstad, Michael Nelson and Jonathan Drewes at the City of Savage Halloween Bash last weekend (note that the disclaimer states that it is “not approved by the candidates nor are the candidates responsible for it. Which appeared to be untrue since candidates were reportedly handing out these mailers with treat bags to children). What is shocking are the priorities listed on this mailer that appear completely out of touch with the community these UNION ENDORSED CANDIDATES represent. In fact, ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT is no where to be found on “These candidates” list of priorities and one may conclude that they “These candidates” do not support academics at all when reading that they “Believe there is more to student success than a test score and want to support the whole student in their learning.” While the UNION ENDORSED CANDIDATES, three of whom were given the opportunity to represent the people of Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools (PLSAS) for almost 4 years, have been busy not believing in the importance of test scores, our precious children’s ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT has been PLUMMETING. Well, we can guess what their answer will be for why PLSAS proficiency scores have been falling, the pandemic, of course. We do not deny that the pandemic has had a massive impact on ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT but what we do want to bring to light is that test scores were falling well before the pandemic (figure 1) and we expect leaders to take accountability for the impact that their failed policies have had on the wellbeing of our children. According to the most recent NAEP data, as reported by edweek.org, “Academic declines on NAEP were sweeping, spanning low-income and wealthier students, boys and girls, and most racial or ethnic groups in both subjects and grades.” Ironically, as our current school board also states that they are so focused on closing the achievement gap, it has effectively been widened which is also noted in the NAEP study. Don’t miss an opportunity to witness the current board’s priorities in action as they discuss the professional development workshop plans for our district teachers. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were paid to the previous consultant, Dr. Sharokky Hollie and CCRTL to coach our staff on Cultural Linguistics. Make sure to attend the open session tonight at 4:30pm at the District Services Center. So the question really is, how do we get our district back on track and help our students become academically excellent, which will ultimately “support the whole student in their learning”? Do not vote for the people who think public education is not about academics. IT IS! LAKERS4CHANGE ENDORSED CANDIDATES want to put ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT at the forefront and support the whole student feel successful and optimistic about their future. These four vow to support policies that will graduate students that are not only confident to go out into a highly competitive workforce but proud to say they grew up a PRIOR LAKE LAKER!
Vote for CHANGE before election day.
With hunting season and colder weather around the corner, many residents will not be home on election day. Lakers4Change wants to ensure that every eligible voter’s voice is is heard. If you did not know, early voting is an option and this is how it’s done. According to the MN Secretary of State website, “You can vote early with an absentee ballot at your local elections office. Some cities and towns also offer in-person absentee voting. If you are not registered, you can do so in person if you show proof of residence.” If you are a resident of Prior Lake, you can find detailed instructions on how and where to vote by following this link. If you are a resident of Savage, you can find detailed instructions on how and where to vote by following this link. If you have any questions about this process, don’t hesitate to reach out, we are happy to help. Don’t forget to check out our Lakers4Change endorsed candidates before heading to the polls and contact them with any questions!
Be on the lookout…
With the PLSEA teachers union endorsement at play, you will begin to see more of a presence of the union endorsed candidates in the district. There is a deep desire for the teachers union to maintain control of who occupies those precious seats elected to serve our children and our community. It is important to take note of how this process typically takes place. First, the union held a forum for all candidates to interview and allow all union teachers an opportunity to have a voice in the endorsement process. This Facebook live streamed interview process was almost immediately muddied by online comments from both candidates Michael Nelson and Jonathan Drewes, which means they were able to watch the other candidates interview and adjust their responses accordingly. This live streamed video was the only opportunity for all union teachers to watch candidates speak on important topics (other than the two Lakers4Change hosted forums that incumbents Nelson, Drewes and Enrique Velazquez declined to participate in) prior to submitting their candidates of choice by 9pm that same night, only 30 minutes following the last candidate interview. The video was promptly removed from the PLSEA Facebook page and has not been accessible to the public since (therefore, comments are also no longer visible). Numerous sources asked the union how many surveys were submitted as a representation of almost 500 district teachers and were all told a number less than 15 total surveys. Next, the union made the endorsement announcement of three incumbents and one new-comer, Jessica Olstad (leader of the TECH YES campaign in 2021 supporting a $35M technology levy on district tax payers). The endorsement announcement was made the day following the interviews with less than 5% of union teacher voices heard in this process. The also union left out the fact that these incumbents held up teachers’ contract negotiations for over 7 months (image 1) and that this same union asked for one of these incumbent’s resignation following racist remarks against a teacher. Next up… likely an expensive mailer that hits every household, paid for by none other than those same unionized teachers that were not allowed to voice their opinions during the endorsement process. $30 from each teacher’s annual dues is directed straight into the union PAC to be used for purposes of influencing elections. This mailer may even identify other state and/or local candidate names that the union supports in the upcoming election, like the one distributed in 2018. Image 2 Finally, phone calls will likely be made to reach voters in the district to make sure that voters are informed of “which candidates our district teachers support.” Tonight, Lakers4Change endorsed candidate Amy Bullyan, Bill Markert, Geoff Zahn and Lisa Atkinson will participate in another candidate forum at Savage City Hall, hosted by the League of Women Voters of Dakota County and will be live streamed on Savage TV. Be informed, inform others and remember… YOUR VOTE IS YOUR VOICE! If you would like to donate to Lakers4Change to help this important information reach more voters in our community, you can donate online here or by mail to PO Box 474, Prior Lake, MN 55372.
28 days to go!
Lakers! We need your help! The PLSAS school board election is only 28 days away! We have a lot of work to do in the next month to educate the community about the candidates whom we believe would be best for our schools and our district. In 2018, the PLSEA (teachers union) executive committee spent $4,368.70 on endorsing 3 of the incumbent candidates that are running again: Jonathan Drewes, Michael Nelson, and Enrique Velasquez. The funds were used to pay for Postcards & Mailing, Newspaper Insert, Boosted FB ads, and Phone bank room rental. We would like to provide some of the same financial support to the 4 Lakers4Change endorsed candidates: Lisa Atkinson, Amy Bullyan, Bill Markert, Geoff Zahn. Would you PLEASE consider making a financial donation at the link below to help us accomplish this huge goal? Every bit of support matters!
Candidate Town Hall Tonight
As you may already know, Lakers4Change invited all nine candidates to participate in two School Board Town Hall events in September. Lisa Atkinson, Bill Markert, Amy Bullyan, Geoff Zahn and Jessica Olstad chose to partake. (Those forums can be watched on the Lakers4Change Facebook Page.) Tonight, the City of Prior Lake, in partnership with the Prior Lake Chamber of Commerce and Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools, is hosting a candidate forum where 8 of the 9 candidates with be participating. Chip Sharratt of Savage is halting his campaign but will remain on the ballot. Michael Nelson, Enrique Velazquez, Jessica Olstad and Jonathan Drewes are the four candidates endorsed by the Teacher’s Union which spent $1.2M on political activity and lobbying across MN in 2020, according to OPTOUTTODAY.com. The incumbents, Nelson, Velazquez and Drewes, declined or chose not to respond to the invite for the Lakers4Change forums and the Union interviews were removed from the PLSEA Facebook page before most of the public, and many of the union teachers, had the opportunity to watch. We encourage you to attend tonight’s forum and reach out to individual candidates for answers to questions you may have. Remember to ask yourself if you are happy with how this district is being lead. If the answer is NO… VOTE MARKERT, ATKINSON, BULLYAN AND ZAHN! According to the Chamber of Commerce website: The PLSAS School Board forum will take place on Oct. 5 from 6-7 pm at Prior Lake City Hall. A moderator will ask the candidate questions during the forums and members of the public will have opportunities to submit questions of the candidates in advance. The Chamber is accepting questions which can be submitted to Sandi Fleck, President at the Prior Lake Chamber. (sandi@priorlakechamber.com) Questions need to be submitted by Monday, Oct. 3. Information about the candidates will be available at the forum. Campaign literature, buttons, signs, clothing or any other campaign-related items will not be allowed in the room where the forum is taking place. The candidate forums will be televised live on the City’s cable channel. They will also be recorded for playback on the City and School District’s television channels. Web streaming will be made available on the respective websites a couple days following the event, www.cityofpriorlake.com and www.priorlake-savage.k12.mn.us/election. This is an opportunity to hear candidates who want your vote for City Council and School Board elections Nov. 8. For more information, please contact the Prior Lake Chamber of Commerce at 952-440-1000.
Activism in the classroom.
At the 29th Annual University of Wisconsin-System, Women’s Studies Conference, former PLSAS Superintendent, Dr. Teri Staloch (8/2015-6/2022) lead a workshop session called “Constructing the Activist Classroom.” The description of this workshop states that it was “a panel focusing on feminist approaches to building classroom communities that offer students tools to connect academic theories and pedagogies to activist practices.” Activist practices… What does an activist classroom look like? Who becomes part of these classroom communities? What theories and pedagogies are being connected to activist practices? Are activist classrooms being constructed in Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools? Based on the number of walkouts and lockdown notices sent out to PLSAS parents last year, it is easy for a person to assume that there is indeed activism being encouraged in our schools. One walkout even drew outside agitators, one of whom was illegally carrying a firearm on school property. Is this what is best for our CHILDREN? In an article titled Help Your Child Avoid Negative Language, the author writes that “Using positive language is the master key to healthy human relationships.” If this is indeed true, wouldn’t the halls and classrooms of our schools be much better suited to encourage positivity and kindness rather than constantly presenting children with negative phrases that foster shame and division? A safe learning environment begins with a welcoming atmosphere that encourages growth and success. Imagine walking into your place on employment and starting everyday with negative words and phrases like THREAT, AGAINST, HATE and RACISM. Is this a welcoming environment for a child? We cannot expect our children to grow socially and academically if we do not refocus their attention on the future and the value and importance of being a good person. Teaching children that they must identify and separate themselves into groups based on their differences is not the way to build a solid community. Children should be encouraged to find ways to connect through shared interests and teach them to help each other succeed. Vote 4 POSITIVE CHANGE in November. “Change is painful, but nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong.” Mandy Hale
PLSAS, back in the news.
In a recent interview with Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools Superintendent, Dr. Michael Thomas, he states that “we’ve got to make sure that we’re in sync with our community and that our community is taking a stand for what is best for our students.” https://kstp.com/kstp-news/top-news/new-prior-lake-savage-district-superintendent-speaks-on-combating-racism-after-multiple-incidents/ This could not be more true. This district does need to get in sync with this community. The district could start by openly acknowledging that this community is not systemically racist. Prior Lake-Savage Area School children are not being raised by parents that teach their children to be racist. There is not a need for the schools in this community to teach our children about their “implicit bias.” This community is taking a stand for what is best for our students. This is done by demanding transparency from elected officials and district administration. Also, by holding those same people accountable for fiscal responsibility, especially when it comes to spending hundreds of thousands of tax payer dollars for culturally responsive training to “help” our children to identify those implicit biases. The real question is, how does revisiting this incident help the district achieve these goals? It doesn’t. Why bring further shame to innocent children that had no involvement in these incidents? Why continue to drive a wedge in this community while we are trying to heal and move forward? Why would a person that was not present for this “part of our story” be interested in drawing negative attention to our community again? But ultimately, the most important question is… How do you think Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools has been doing in the past 4 years? If you aren’t happy with how things are going, VOTE 4 CHANGE! All of this division and chaos has culminated under the current school board directors’ guidance. Is it really in the best interest of our community, and more importantly, our students, to re-elect those same leaders or is it time for change?