March 28, 2024

NCSD board candidate profile: Ann Leonard

EDITOR’S NOTE: Ann Leonard is one of the four Newton Community School District board of education candidates for the Sept. 8 election. Here are her replies to a Newton Daily News email questionnaire.

The Newton Daily News and the League of Women Voters are sponsoring a candidate forum, at 7 p.m., Aug. 27 in the Newton Council Chambers, located inside City Hall, 101 W. Fourth St. S.

Josh Cantu’s profile was published Thursday. The Newton Daily News will publish replies from the other two candidates as those are submitted.

Occupation: Communications Consultant at DuPont Pioneer.

Family: Husband Eric and sons Ben, 7, a second-grader at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School, and Caleb, 4, in preschool at the Newton YMCA.

Years of residence within the NCSD boundaries: 15.

Educational background: Bachelor's from Iowa State University in agricultural communications.

Three objectives I feel the NCSD board of education should have for the four years ahead: I support the four (board-stated) comprehensive goals already established for the 2015-16 school year. They all are vital to the success of the district and will take more than one year to accomplish.

My goal would be to focus on meeting — and exceeding — these goals, especially the one set to “develop partnerships by collaborating with parents and community stakeholders.” Establishing a network of champions for our children will serve the community better rather than letting our focus stray to shortsighted agendas.

The element of campus and student safety I feel needs to be addressed most urgently in central Iowa: Bullying is top of mind when it comes to the safety of our children. Unfortunately, experience and research has taught us that the issue isn't something easily addressed through a policy. It requires the collective effort of parents, teachers, and other community leaders interacting with our students.

This stems back to the need to establish a stronger network of champions for our children who will set expectations of behavior at all ages in the school district.

My position on Newton K-8 reconfiguration, as of today: Based on what I know today, which includes the fact that we are not a growing school district, I am not in favor of reconfiguration.

I understand there are some benefits, such as fewer building moves for students during their tenure in the school system, but I believe they don’t outweigh the consequences, which include losing the momentum that our teachers have established since the last reconfiguration, and, in some cases, the value teachers have told me they have found in larger groups per grade level.

I would like the board to consider options (e.g., magnet school) that would make Newton unique and serve as an enticement for people to move to Newton, open enroll, or, frankly, stay in Newton.

These tools should be utilized in Newton to get parents more involved in the educational process: I recommend increased networking. School board members are all involved in the community in various ways, and we need to leverage those interactions to encourage more participation.

It could be as simple as a personal invitation to attend a school board meeting, or establish a team of community members to deliberately and openly collect feedback, or by board members attending parent-based meetings hosted by groups such as the PTA.

It’s vital that this outreach be extended to the teachers, too. Aligning and strengthening these relationships within the community will only increase the success rate of the Newton Community School District.

Newton offering preschool without a basic monthly or annual charge to parents should be studied carefully before the current arrangement is changed: This is a topic that requires more thorough review before a decision can be made.

In addition to reviewing the financial aspect, I believe we should connect with those already offering preschool in the area, and identify opportunities where we can partner to meet the needs of our youngest students.