Election 2024: Meet Saline Board of Education Candidate Kelly Van Singel

Voters in the Saline Area Schools district will elect four members to the Board of Education in the upcoming general election. The candidates are incumbents Jennifer Steben, Susan Estep and Brad Gerbe, and Darcy Berwick, Kelly Van Singel, Shari Barnett and Jason Tizedes.

We asked questions of all the candidates. Here are Kelly Van Singel's answers.

Bio
My name is Kelly Van Singel. I have lived in Washtenaw County my entire life. I was born and raised in Ann Arbor. I am a graduate of Huron High School, Bowling Green State University and Calvin University. My husband Steve, myself and our two daughters, Magdalyn, 22 and Gillian, 19 have lived in the district of Saline Area Schools since 2013. Both of our daughters are on the autism spectrum and are students in the Saline young adult program. My girls’ use of assistive technology, such as iPads and AAC devices led me to post bachelor studies to obtain my graduate certificate in Assistive Technology and an Med in Literacy. Most of my professional and board experience has been in the educational, therapeutic and non-profit sectors. I have served previously as co-chair of the Parent Advisory Committee in Ann Arbor Public Schools and as a representative on the WISD Parent Advisory Committee along with the Special Education Advisory Committee within Saline Area Schools. My graduate studies help to equip me in my professional and volunteer mentorship work for students and families living with disabilities and differences, especially for literacy and communication development.

Why are you running for the Board of Education?
As a parent of two young adult daughters ​living with autism, I would like to give a voice ​to those with differences and disabilities at ​the board table. I am passionate about ​literacy development for all students, ​especially those with learning challenges. ​By cultivating a sense of belonging for ​everyone in a learning community and ​making learning accessible, students and ​staff​ can thrive.

Why should voters choose you?
I can bring a collaborative voice with life and family experiences that are underrepresented on the current board of education. As 1 of 7 potential trustees, I can help bring a unique perspective that also contributes to consensus building among the whole elected collective of the board. I am committed to the non-partisan role and public service opportunity if elected board trustee in Saline Area Schools.

If elected, what are your top priorities?
If elected, my top priorities for serving as a non-partisan Board of Education trustee include:

• Bringing awareness to our state’s literacy development needs. In the 2023 State of Michigan Education Report we read that “In 2022, Michigan ranked a concerning 43rd for 4th grade reading overall, indicating that many of Michigan’s students are not building a strong foundation for learning that would support them in the upper grades.” Not only do we have residual learning challenges due to the pandemic for all students but as educators and learning communities we should continually work to examine and improve overall academic instructional strategies.
• Cultivating a learning community that emphasizes inclusion and belonging. By being self-reflective and collaborative in our instructional endeavors and with our building teams, we can work on creating an environment within our schools that helps to not only include students with disabilities and differences- but also make all staff and learners feel like they truly belong within the learning community.
• Creating multi-sensory accessible learning opportunities. With the utilization of accessible instructional design concepts like Universal Design for Learning or UDL and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) programming we can create learning opportunities that honor individual learning styles.

The board’s transgender policy states that school staff shall not reveal a student’s transgender status to the student’s parents. Do you agree with this policy? Why or why not?
The work done in 2021 to bring the transgender policy to the district is reflective of policy committee work based on community feedback and emergent safety practices within public education. While this policy can be representative of a divisive issue, one in which some voters may feel conflict with their parental rights, it is ultimately a policy for student safety. LGBTQ+ students may experience bullying and harassment leading to increased risk for mental health issues and even risk for suicide. Not revealing a student’s transgender status to even the student’s parents is only one aspect of the policy but yet candidate stance on this one policy aspect is a pivotal issue point for voters. I agree with the overall spirit of the policy, which ultimately is to protect the safety of students. If there are additional future policy work considerations that could be made that greatly respect the 14th
amendment right to privacy of both parents and students, I am open to that discussion and policy work as a future board trustee. I am a person that comes to issues of conflict with a spirit of empathy, mediation, collaboration and consensus building. It is important to protect the safety of students while it is also important to listen to the concerns of parents when it comes to their child’s education and overall well-being. When researching this important issue, I came across a legal brief which describes the conflict at play as well as a possible scenario to positively work through the issue for both parents and students called the “Parental Consultation/Student Control Process” to specifically address the concern of student safety along with parental choice. “This Process identifies and upholds the fundamental rights of students and parents and incorporates social science regarding gender identity to address the concerns of all parties (p.327, McGloughlin, 2023)”. Namely, policy work is an ongoing process based on collaborative work between the board and the voters. We should and can always be working together for the protections and safety of all involved on sensitive matters.

The board used to have a 10 percent cap on schools of choice students. What do you think of schools of choice and how should the district use it?
I was also asked a similar question by the Saline SEA and ESP in August. While I did not get endorsed by our teacher and support staff unions, I wholeheartedly support them always in their collective bargaining efforts and diligent work to support student and district success. I offered a viewpoint that schools of choice with Saline Area Schools is like two sides of a coin. On the one side of the coin, there is the per pupil accounting advantages to the overall district budget. With declining enrollment, keeping an eye on per pupil funding is an important consideration. On the other side of the coin, there is a perception that schools of choice brings in more referrals to special education, building MTSS teams, and social, emotional and behavioral support needs. Families that come to us through schools of choice and the lottery “seats” that are potentially opened each year are doing so because they want the quality, the experience, the expertise that our district has to offer.

What’s a strength of the district? Do you think there may be ways to leverage that strength to improve education in the schools?
Our district excels with our music programs, athletics, NextGen instructional technology, vocational training opportunities and peer to peer experiences. Educational experiences can always evolve to be even stronger and innovative. Imagine if we would expand our music curriculum by creating additional new inclusive and accessible artistic experiences for students of all abilities, expand our athletics offerings with unified sports or extending the reach of NextGen technology to more learners by involving our consortium students to come up with 3D printed and CAD-drawn assistive technology solutions for their peers in special education. There are so many things we are already doing well, but innovation can always be under consideration for continual improvement and making learning accessible for all learners.

What’s a weakness of the district and how should it be improved?
I feel building more diversity amongst our staff and support professionals is something that we could continue to work on and improve in the future. We have made some strides in this area, but ultimately to be a destination district to continually attract a diversity of staff and support personnel, we should cultivate a sense of belonging within our buildings and school community. To me, the concept of belonging is not just another buzz word initiative or aspect of DEI work. Cultivating a sense of belonging in both public and private learning communities is the research work of Cornelius Vanderbilt University Professor of Education, Dr. Eric W. Carter, who says “Belonging is rooted in relationships. Having people in our lives who know us, like us, accept us, need us, miss us, and love us is at the heart of our well-being (p. 1, Carter, 2021).”

Should the board be more careful about adopting policies that are cited as reasons to leave the district for private schools? Why or why not?
Collaborative and consensus building board work should be done carefully and respectfully. Recent policy work that may contribute to a family choosing to leave public education for a private or home school education experience is not work that is done lightly or without careful consideration. Student safety is paramount. The freedom to choose private education, a cooperative home schooling scenario or the choice to participate in the public education system is also paramount and done with the same careful consideration.

As a board member, what obligation do you have to the people with whom you disagree?
If elected to this non-partisan role of public service as a board of education trustee within Saline Area Schools, I have an obligation to always pursue civil discourse, consensus building and unifying experiences while always seeking to listen to understand instead of listening to respond.

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