Mother, Grandmother, and lifelong educator Julie Stockwell bleeds public schools.
She also cares deeply about school children being prepared for academic and career success in their K-12 education.
That is why she is running again for the Deer Valley School Unified School District Governing Board.
Believing “school board members should be champions of the school district,” Ms. Stockwell will, if elected to the Deer Valley Board, work to secure appropriate funding, restore and maintain community ties with the school district stakeholders, and fight for the success of school children.
Ms. Stockwell graciously took the time to interview with Blog for Arizona to discuss her candidacy for the Deer Valley School Governing Board.
The questions and her responses are below.
Please tell the readers what are at least two reasons you would like to run for the Deer Valley School Board.
“There are many reasons, but two reasons that I would like to run for the school board are that I do believe, and Deer Valley hasn’t always had this, that school board members should be champions of the school district. I mean, they should see value in the school district in what it does day to day, as well as year to year, celebrate the successes, and take a hard look at where we need to improve.”
“To that first point, my second reason for running is that I think school board members also need to be willing to build relationships with district employees and community members in order to earn mutual trust, so that we take an honest look at tough situations and make better decisions collaboratively. And that is also not something Deer Valley has always enjoyed with some board members.”
What are two education-related issues you would promote as a governing board member?
“Deer Valley is in a unique situation where we have explosive growth in the northern part of our school district and logical declining enrollment in the southern end, where I live, where a lot of us, our children are grown, and they’re no longer in the school. So we have twin problems to deal with simultaneously, and I think that is definitely one of the hard problems that we’re going to have to deal with, that we’re struggling with already in Deer Valley.”
“And then secondly, as a school board member and a member of ASBA and some of those other organizations, I do believe that school board members have a responsibility to be an advocate for adequate public-school funding in as many arenas as we can, and in Arizona, that is not a given. And so I do believe that I could add my voice to that after years of working as a private citizen for that.”
“The main factor that I want to highlight is building trust with the community because we, as a school district, have community members who struggle with believing that we are bringing honest, authentic responses and answers to problems that we have. Just in this arena of social media, it’s easy to stir up concerns that are exaggerated, and so, getting in front of community members in multiple places, face-to-face, is going to matter in the future.”
What are these two reasons you would be a better fit for the Deer Valley Governing Board than any of your opponents? Please explain.
“First of all, I’ve got lifelong experience in multiple areas in public education, as a long-time teacher and long-time coach. I’ve worked on district and state committees. I’ve also worked extensively in career and technical education, which, throughout, especially at the high school level, but also middle school, that is an area of explosive growth in building skilled workers for the future, both in college and if students choose not to go to college. So I think those options are really important for our district. And then also I’ve been, I’ve served on many assessment teams for the Cognia organization that determines schools’ eligibility for accreditation, both throughout the state, as well as some national schools. In public schools, charter schools, and private schools, I’ve served on those teams, and I’ve led some of those teams. So I’ve been able to take a step back and also see the really great things that other schools are doing that my school district wasn’t doing, and why aren’t we doing that too? So all three of those different areas of expertise I would bring to the school board for my career.”
And then secondly, as I mentioned before, I have worked extensively at the local and state levels to advocate for school funding for public schools. It’s a tough fight. I am door-knocking. I am attending meetings. I am going to training. So I think I could bring those skills as well to the school board.”
Please describe at least two ways you and your team will reach out to voters and convince them to support you.
“Well, primarily because of my experience with advocacy for public school funding, I can’t get past the need for the face-to-face in terms of getting to know people, letting them get to know me, and so I will be in the next 10 months attending as many public events as I can to put myself in front of an extensive audience.”
“And then also secondly, continue that canvassing door-to-door. I did knock on thousands of doors when I ran in 2024, and I plan to do that again. Deer Valley is a huge school district. I mean, we encompass about 500 square miles, so I won’t get to every door for sure but I have a lot of supporters, and they’re already out there collecting signatures right now
Is there anything else that is not covered in the first four questions that you would like the readers to know about your candidacy for the Deer Valley School Board?
“If you cut me open, I would bleed public schools.”
I mean, that’s so corny, but that has been, as a student myself, I attended public schools, the University of Arizona, and I lived and breathed school as a teacher and administrator. And the well-being of students, ask anybody I worked with. I was not a loud bulldog, but I was a bulldog for my students. I believe the students are at the center of everything we do. And if we don’t take care of them, what are we even doing in this? So they will always be my first focus as a school board member, not other issues that have nothing to do with how students are educated and prepared for a successful future.”
“I think I’m repeating myself already in terms of, I mean, 40 years in public education, the past 10 years in advocacy for public school funding. In terms of who I am, I hope to meet people in person so that they can get a sense of who I am, a mother, a grandmother. I care about schools.”
Please click here to access Ms. Stockwell’s Instagram Page and find out more about her candidacy for the Deer Valley School District Governing Board.
Discover more from Blog for Arizona
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.