Our schools and students cannot thrive withour real investment in our schools' resources. I am committed to partnering with other public agencies—such as the County, the City, the Park Board and the Hennepin County Library system— to make more resources available to our students, their families and their communities. By sharing resources effectively among our schools and other public institutions, we can focus financial attention on helping our teachers and staff do better.

And more successful teachers means more successful students and schools.

We have to listen to the grassroots. Each school should have the ability to work with its students, parents and community to make decisions about what they can do locally, and what services are best provided by the District. Principals need to be accountable to the community for the school's success, before they answer to the District leadership. I will work to localize leadership, initiative and financial control. It's how we'll make schools work.

School readiness is vital to academic success later in life. I have long advocated for increased state and federal funding to support quality, year round pre-school opportunities for all children. I will continue to do this on the School Board.

Additionally, by building partnerships with other organizations and co-locating pre-K programs in our existing K-12 facilities, we can bring a level of comfort, familiarity and trust into our school system. Greater trust and familiarity with our schools, particularly in our most at-risk communities, can go a long way improving enrollment.

I will work to expand the arts, science and technology offerings within all of our schools. I will also reduce the financial needs of administration within our district so we can devote more of our budget to teachers and the actual education of our children.

Without transparency and accountability in decision-making we cannot hope to improve commitment to community involvement and leadership. I have devoted my whole adult life to building a sense of community commitment among MInneapolis's young people.