DANIEL TURNER FOR SANB SCHOOL BOARD

A number of community members have asked for my opinion on the purpose of education.

In my view, a high-quality education has two parts. The first is straightforward: Students who graduate from our schools should be well-prepared for whatever comes after graduation, whether that is moving to a college or university education, community college or trade school, the military, or the workforce. We want our students to have developed the basic reading, writing, math, and cognitive skills to do the tasks. The second is more ephemeral, which is to understand the human condition. This is nuanced, but ultimately arises from engaging with friends, great literature and art and music to better understand the emotions and situations in which humans find themselves. Joy. Sorrow. Love. How can we understand and express these complex feelings? In other words, I want our students to be well-prepared to understand themselves.

An Objective, Data-Driven Approach

I am running for school board not only because of my commitment to our SANB students, teachers, and community, but also because I offer a fresh perspective, the perspective of a scientist. With a focus on strengthening academic excellence, ensuring transparency and fostering community engagement, my goal is to leverage data as a tool to inform key decisions for the future of our district.

As a scientist, I use data to test hypotheses. Many community members have mentioned they are worried that test scores have declined in recent years. Indeed, state data shows that the percentage of SANB students testing proficient on state MCA exams has decreased significantly since 2018. In examining this data, we have an opportunity to redefine our strategy to thoughtfully revisit recent narratives.

Science is a method by which humans generate new knowledge. Interestingly, “why” questions cannot be answered by science. This forces scientists to better define the questions we ask. Rather than ask “why”, we ask “what causes” or “what leads to”. Using such an approach to issues such as test-score changes will allow us to understand all the factors and variables, and, ultimately, generate a productive outcome so that every student can thrive.