We had a problem! The Republican candidates were running unopposed for the District 47 State Senate seat. In order to have a strong democracy, in order to keep people motivated to exercise their right to vote, we have to give voters choices.
I’ve never been one to point out a problem and not do my best to come up with a solution. After reflecting, I realized that I was in a place in my life where I could do it. The opportunity to work as a state senator to empower the hard working families of Southern Indiana with the tools needed to thrive just seemed like the right thing to do. I have been encouraged by so many people in my life. I won’t ever be able to repay them fully, but I can pay it FORWARD.
I am running so that all voters will have a choice in the fall.
I have had the opportunity to be able to work a lot of different jobs. I have listened and learned from the people I’ve met along the way. I worked and attended college at the same time, earning a BA from IUS in New Albany followed by a Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of Louisville.
Later, when I became a single parent, I was painfully aware that the only thing that separated my own situation from the situations of so many of my students’ families, was my support system. I can’t imagine what it must be like to be a single parent and not have the support I did. My support system empowered me with the tools to work and build a better life for my family.
When I first started teaching, teachers weren’t experiencing the RESPECT problem that they face today. Teachers were encouraged to “use professional judgment” on how best to teach the students in his or her own class. It was acknowledged that not all 5th graders are the same, not all schools are the same, not all children come from the same background… some kids come to school hungry and tired, and some kids come to school mad and sad, and it was my responsibility to care and nurture their minds and make sure they learned about the history of this great nation... both its wonders and its blemishes. As a union rep, I saw how union representation worked to make teachers better at their jobs and take more pride in their work and mission. I also witnessed firsthand how, as the extremist politicians got more involved in the business of educators, analyzing standardized test scores, even tracking a particular school or grade or even a specific teacher’s test scores; these politicians, rather than recognizing our responsibility to empower ALL children with an education that empowered them to work 21st century jobs, were making teachers out to be the enemy, scapegoating them. Educators (bus drivers, custodians, school food workers, assitants, teachers and administrators) are the foundations of our communities here in Southern Indiana. If we want our communities to thrive, we have to start treating all of educators with more RESPECT.
And, as a parent and a former teacher, I also understand how hard it is to get students with learning differences and disabilities the help they need at school. The supermajority in Indiana has tied the hands of educators and administrators with years of chronically underfunding the public school system. As a family, we got to the point that we decided homeschooling was our best option, given the particular needs of one of our children who is on the spectrum. The decision to homeschool reflects the self-reliance and pragmatism we were all taught growing up here in Southern Indiana. We made the choice to downsize our home and lifestyle and began a new phase.
In 2020, the pandemic began and shortly thereafter, my husband was laid off from his job as a programmer in Louisville, KY. Fortunately, because we had high speed fiber internet at our home in Depauw, he was able to piece together contract work to keep the bills paid and the fridge stocked, and I was able to complete an online course and become licensed as a real estate agent. Having access to high quality, high-speed internet in rural Harrison County made it possible for us to keep moving FORWARD during the pandemic.
The pandemic highlighted what is and what’s not working for the families in Southern Indiana. Through all my experiences, I have learned that what I used to tell my fifth graders is just as true today as it was then: “We live in the world with other people, and we have to figure out how to get along and work together.”
My life experiences have prepared me for service in the Indiana State Senate.
