Traci's Top Issues

Traci understands that to best serve students, we must provide them with the resources they need to be successful. She promises to be a strong advocate for fully funding our schools, paying teachers a competitive salary, and engaging parents in these critical funding decisions.

Traci believes that parents should feel good about sending their child to school each day. School leaders can make that happen by basing every decision they make on how it will impact our young learners.  When we put the academic, social and physical wellbeing of the children first, we’ll always be on the right track.

Traci believes students should have more time for class discussions and group activities, helping them hone their teamwork, collaboration and critical thinking skills. 

As a school board member, Traci will lead the way in examining the feasibility of a district wide free breakfast and lunch program, making it available to all students. Full stomachs make it easier for children to learn while reducing behavioral challenges.

Traci believes that school boards should empower our teachers to do what they do best: teach. We should be partnering with our educators, not attacking them as part of an extremist agenda. We should be seeking out even more input from parents and empowering them to partner with their child's teacher to address issues and solve problems as a team.

Every student deserves the opportunity and support they need to succeed, regardless of their background or circumstances.  We can accomplish this goal by bringing together school board leadership, parents, teachers, students and community members to solve problems and seek common-sense solutions.

Traci will work to invest in early childhood education. We know that ninety percent of a child’s brain is formed by age 6, so we must work together to expand access to early learning opportunities and provide our kids with a firm educational foundation. 

In a 21st century economy,  career training opportunities are essential. Traci will work with local apprenticeship programs and business leaders to expand offerings for students looking to explore high-demand careers.

We can no longer ignore the number of teachers leaving the profession, and our students cannot afford more vacancies. Traci will build upon the Mirror Me program to recruit and retain good teachers, and will advocate for higher pay for our educators. 

Traci will use her background as a logistics professional to address the transportation issues we're seeing in Chesterfield, and she will work to streamline student transportation, parent drop off and pick up.

Traci hears from parents across the district with many of the same concerns about violence and bullying. She shares these concerns, which is why she's committed to taking action and making progress.   She will also continue the expansion of the Communities in Schools initiatives which have a tremendous impact on student success by surrounding them with support.

Traci knows that another aspect of safety is the overcrowding of our schools, so she will continue to advocate for more investment at the local and state level in our school facilities to increase capacity sooner rather than later.   

Traci will keep data security and privacy top of mind with ever increasing technology in our schools.

Traci knows that as leaders, we must recognize and honor the dignity of every student, respect each person as individuals and protect their freedom to learn, grow and thrive. Celebrating the diversity of our schools prepares students to live in an ever-changing, complex world.  

Traci trusts that we can respect each other’s differences and empower parents to determine the best educational path for their own children, while protecting other students' freedom to access information. 

Traci also believes we should respect the staff of the schools enough to compensate them with a wage worthy of their talent, expertise, training and professionalism. A teacher’s working conditions are our students’ learning conditions, so it is vitally important that we give educators a say in their contracts.

Traci recognizes that our teachers are the cornerstone of student success, and they deserve our admiration, support and partnership. They are highly-trained, hardworking individuals who have dedicated their lives to ensuring our children are successful. Even as our teachers are asked to do more and more with less and less, they also have become the target of politically-motivated smear campaigns.

Traci envisions a Chesterfield School Board that fully supports our teachers, providing them with the resources they need to be successful, and pushing back against divisive rhetoric that seeks to pit communities and parents against its own educators.

Traci respects the professionalism of the librarians and principals and classroom teachers to select appropriate books for their collections.  Traci respects parents enough to trust that they will bring any concerns they have to their child's teacher or the school administration when they arise. She believes we need more parents involved, not less. Parental input is crucial to successful schools and good school board governance. Just as we celebrate our teachers, we must also celebrate our parents and encourage educators and school leadership to engage directly with them

Traci respects the environment and our finances and will ensure our facilities include energy efficiency initiatives.

Traci knows that we are all in this together.