- Areawide Assembly
- Jeff Jones
- Nano Brooks
- Ella Adkison
- JoAnn Wallace
- Paul Kelly
- Emily Mesch
- Laura Martinson McDonnell
- Ivan Nance
- Michele Stuart-Morgan
- Dorene Lorenz
- District 2 Assembly
- David Morris
- Christine Woll
- School Board
- David Noon
- Britteny Cioni-Haywood
- Paige Sipniewski
- District 1 Assembly
- Alicia Hughes-Skandijs
- Joe Geldhof
Age as of Oct. 3, 2023
53
Family (immediate/those you live with)
Scott Haywood – spouse; Clayton Haywood – child
Occupation
Administrative Operations Manager
Previous relevant experience or community involvement
I have held various positions within the State of Alaska, including Director of Economic Development and Administrative Operations Manager. Both positions required high level budgeting, communication skills, and the ability to work with a variety of stakeholders. I am also an adjunct professor of economics with the University of Alaska Southeast – Ketchikan. I have served on the Gold Creek Child Development Center board. I am currently the board chair for the Juneau Community Charter School Academic Policy Committee (APC). I am a life long learner myself and recently earned certification in design thinking through IDEO U.
Highest level of education
Master of Science – Economics
Did you attend public school?
Yes
Briefly, what do you think is the most important part of K-12 education?
Picking just one thing is difficult. K-12 education is multifaceted and important to all of society. One of the foundations for economic development is a skilled workforce. I think the overarching goal is to develop productive, engaged citizens. We must provide this current generation of students with 21st Century skills in addition to core knowledge in standard subjects. Disruptive technology is changing many facets of our lives, including the workplace. To do that, we must instill a love of learning, critical thinking skills, creativity, the ability to collaborate and to be adaptable. K-12 education in Alaska is facing several critical issues. First and foremost, is the level of funding not keeping up with inflation. There are no easy choices left for districts. Teacher and staff recruitment and retention that is impacted by many economic factors including salary and wages, retirement options, and affordable housing. Without adequate funding and the ability to recruit and retain quality educators and staff, the students will not receive the quality education they deserve and that the state has a constitutional requirement to provide.
What makes you a good candidate for the Juneau school board?
I have a lot of experience, both with the state in budgeting and fiscal, and as well as facilities management, which are all important to the school district. I’ve also served on the Juneau Community Charter School board, so I already have board experience that I think will be important in understanding the roles. And then a diverse, kind of eclectic career path, really, of other experience, including being the director of economic development and understanding some of those post secondary education and trade needs. Education is really dear to my heart. I adjunct for the University of Alaska Southeast. So a different format, but an educator at heart.
What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the Juneau School District right now?
Without a doubt, budget and the lack of funding from the state, which is becoming a critical mass issue. I don’t think there are any easy answers left at this point, and it’s unfortunate that we’re even in this situation. It is also somewhat outside of the school board’s power, per se, but given our proximity to the state capitol, I think it will be important for us to advocate and encourage all of our friends and family to advocate as well for that funding. But it’s without a doubt that funding issue. If I had to do a second, it would be teacher recruitment and retention, but that gets tied back to the funding issue.
If the school district were to consolidate schools and close certain campuses, what factors do you think district leaders should consider?
I think consolidation and closing of schools seems very straightforward, but when you really dig into the math, it becomes much less so. It becomes complex pretty quickly. In looking at closing a school, you then have to figure out where those students are going to go. Is that going to increase class size? What are you going to do with that facility? There are still fixed costs that have to be maintained until you can dispose of that asset. There’s other complications – do you have enough room to have enough classes in another school? I’m sure there are a hundred other things that I haven’t even thought about in that question, but looking at that math, when you really start digging in, I think, gets really complex really fast.
How do you think the district should handle communicating with parents during emergencies?
I guess all routes possible, as quickly as possible. We’re human and constrained in that I think the district staff is fairly slim at this point. Text messaging, email. I know that when things typically happen, I get both. Also, I think if there are ways to put it out on other channels, not everyone gets to have their phone with them or is on a personal email when most parents are working parents. But as quickly as possible in whatever format is available at the time.
Do you think transgender students should be allowed to use bathrooms and play on sports teams that match their gender identity rather than their sex assigned at birth?
Yes, I do. I know this is kind of a contentious issue right now, but I am one that will be inclusive for everyone. I think inclusivity is important. I think they can be a marginalized group that is targeted. We already know there are a lot of health issues, mental health issues that can surround that. There’s the assigning of sex at birth and then there’s gender, which is a social construct that is very fluid. I present as female, but I’m also kind of a tomboy at heart, so where I would fall on that scale – I’m fairly old, so there wasn’t all the terminology when I was growing up, but I wonder where I would have fallen when I was younger in that. So I do support that, and having everyone feel included is important.