Jennifer Wilkinson Chin

Meet The BOE Candidates Night 2024. On May 21st, Four candidates are on the ballot for three open seats on the Grand Island CSD Board of Education beginning the start of the 2024-25 school year. Meet The Candidates Night sponsored by the GI PTA Council is the chance to hear from the four people trying for those trustee positions during this public event, which takes place in the Professional Development Room of Grand Island High School on Wednesday May 8, 2024.

What qualities do you possess that would make you an effective school board member?

As a creative director in the advertising field I’ve developed several key skills that I think would help me serve would serve me well if you happen to elect me to serve on the board I’m an active listener a strong Communicator.

I have well homed writing and speaking skills and in my professional career I’ve listen learned to listen to inputs from many different people clients and colleagues alike much as you do on the board and use that input to create solutions that are going to address business needs which is another thing that that the board is always doing is addressing the needs as they come up in a world

where it’s common to listen to respond I have been striving for years to listen to understand not only does this skill help me focus on what’s being said so I can gain deeper insight into each speaker’s needs and desires it’s also a skill that will help me quickly get up to speed on any new topic and become an active contributor on the school board similarly I ask a lot of questions um I do this often times just to make sure that I fully understand a given situation and the potential outcomes and all of that helps me to carefully consider every issue that’s in front of me or a topic that I’m working on to arrive at an optimal solution also I’m an information processor if you didn’t gather it already I’m a writer by trade and in my job in pharmaceutical advertising I have to sift through large amounts of information very technical information pulling out just key facts nuggets processing them into simple clear stories um I’m also writing for a variety of audiences and I’ve become adept at assessing each audience’s needs and shaping the final output to meet those needs.

I think these are skills that would actually be put to use quite effectively on the board I have a little thing about budget like contribute to budget. I don’t actually write budgets but I do have to accurately assess how much time any job I’m working on would take and then I have to make sure that my team and I stick to those projected times to get our jobs done in scope and on time and finally this field I don’t know how much you know about advertising but it requires a lot of collaboration and consensus building just like the school board.

I’ve become proficient at guiding teams to make decisions that everyone can support so I think put it all together these skills of active listening information processing effective communication and a collaborative consensus-driven approach are necessary skills for a board member and also skills that I’ve honed over years of working as a Communications professional.

What are the biggest challenges facing our district today?

I want us to actively collaborate on the development of fiscally responsible budgets that support our teachers in providing the highest quality education to all GI students.

I hope to demonstrate my commitment to putting Children First by helping to ensure that all Grand Island students have universal access to all programs that can advance their education by providing a means for all to be able to afford to participate in programs such as currently some students who cannot afford to pay for those longer overnight trips to attend competitions can miss out on those educational opportunities and I want to change this looking for ways to restructure the way the activities like those are funded.

I also hope to put my health and wellness expertise to work for Grand Island by continuing to build upon the success of the mental health initiatives that have been rolled out to date within the school district and expanded if needed and also by looking for new opportunities to address their health related issues in the schools um and I feel this is important because in order for students to be able to succeed in school they have to be physically and mentally healthy also I’m an Innovative thinker and a stem Advocate and because I believe in the power of stem um it’s going to help us produce the next generation of innovators to that end

I’d like to ensure that all Grand Island schools lead the way in producing students who excel in STEM related subjects and this means making it possible for our school’s curricula to remain up to date and to encourage the growth of clubs and other opportunities for our students to compete in activities like robotics that enable students to learn by doing one of my children participated in robotics in middle and high school and when he did that he was able to develop engineering programming and project management skills all of which helped him success in college and in his career as an engineer and last but not least I want to expand parent and Community engagement I want to hear from the community teachers students staff and parents what are your needs and how can I help you to meet them by working together I hope that we can advance the mission of our Grand Island schools to ensure that all students can achieve their highest potential by fostering academic excellence personal growth and social responsibility.