- Giving students the tools to succeed.
- Making sure all children regardless of ethnicity, educational ability, or sexual orientation are treated with equal inclusivity, dignity, and respect.
- Ensuring that all students can access counseling for their educational, mental, and social-emotional needs.
- Presenting a curriculum that is historically accurate and culturally diverse, free from distortions and book bannings.
- Maintaining a safe and challenging learning atmosphere for all children.
These are among the themes of Paradise Valley Board Member Kerry Baker’s students’ first policy agenda.
A member of the board since 2023, Ms. Baker, an educator, and Paradise School District parent is running for reelection to ensure that all learners are supported and educational progress continues to move into the Twenty-First Century.
Ms. Baker graciously took the time to respond to questions about her reelection campaign.
The questions and her responses are below.
- What are two reasons you would like to run for reelection to the Paradise Valley School District Governing Board?
“I’m running for reelection to the Paradise District Governing Board to keep our board sane. To save public education at the level of government that’s closest to our students, there’s nothing that impacts the lives of students and educators more than the decisions of the governing board. That means we need to ensure that we elect pro-public education candidates who truly support all of our students no matter their needs. We need governing board members who lead with their most vulnerable students in mind and really take into account how policies impact every student in the district from low-income families, families with special needs, LGBTQIA plus students, students from the northern part of our district, and gifted students and athletes and every student in between.”
“I am also running to ensure all of our students have access to a quality education. That education shouldn’t be watered down with ideas from or videos from Praeger U or whitewashed versions of history. To be Twenty-First Century Learners, our students need to be taught real and accurate history. Their books, their art, and their music need to include representation of all kinds of different cultures and lived experiences. These students are our future leaders, politicians, doctors, educators, social workers, and more. And for them to be successful, they need to have a rich education that includes all of these things.”
“In addition, I’m running to support our educators. The best teaching environments make for the best learning environments. And for that to happen, we need to listen to our educators, show them the respect they deserve, pay them the salary they deserve, and give them the best possible working conditions we can.”
- If reelected to the governing board, what are two education-related issues you would promote as a member?
“The first is definitely education-related. I’m really concerned that there are people who want to get on the governing board who don’t support our student’s mental health, and I think mental health is something right now that needs to be supported especially after the pandemic and everything that’s happening. Students can’t learn if they can’t regulate their emotions. Giving children tools to calm down, and refocus, teaching them intra and interpersonal skills, and helping them problem solve is giving them what they need to be successful. Extremists will argue that mental health doesn’t belong in schools, but I’m not talking about mental health services. I’m talking about giving students the coping skills they need to self-regulate so they are ready to learn. As a board member, I’ve sat down and spoken with high school students several times. And each time I meet with them their biggest concern is the lack of mental health support in schools. Even if the topic we are discussing is not related to mental health, they still bring it back to how, as high schoolers, but even younger, they need to be taught these skills and they need people to be aware of mental health issues. It needs to be something that people are comfortable talking about at school. Our students are asking for this help, and we have a responsibility to give it to them. The problem with just teaching subjects and leaving out the social-emotional needs of students is that it’s not one size fits all. Each student has individual needs and those needs need to be addressed so the whole child is ready to engage in the curriculum.”
“My second reason for running again is the freedom to learn. We hear so much about parent rights these days and it’s absolutely true. Parents have and should have rights to their students’ education. However, when these parents are demanding certain books, topics, and discussion items be taken out of our schools, they’re taking away my rights as a parent and other parent’s rights to have a quality well-rounded education for their students. As a board member, I will use my voice and my vote to ensure all students have the freedom to learn in a safe, equitable, diverse, and inclusive environment that is full of new ideas and experiences. When parents in a district try to limit what the students can read or learn, they are taking away a resource that could potentially open and expand the child’s mind, make them more empathetic, give them a deeper understanding of the world around them, and truly learn from the mistakes of our past. I don’t want that to be limited for my children. I know the majority of parents also don’t want that limited or take it away from their children.”
- Would you care to comment on both the Republican and Governor’s proposals to expand Proposition 123 as well as Republican legislator’s attempts to ban certain books, promote a distorted version of history, and promote policies that discriminate against members of the LGBTQ community? Please explain.
Your views on Prop 123.
“I Support the expansion of Prop 123. Education in our state is severely underfunded and if we want to keep great educators in our schools, we need to pay them more and Prop 123 will give student schools more money for teacher pay but also education support personnel. It will also help increase the safety and security in our public schools without costing the taxpayer’s money.”
Concerns about Republican attempts on some school boards and also in the legislature to promote a distorted version of history or ban certain books.
“I’ve never supported book banning. We need as much access to new ideas and experiences as we can get and books provide that for us. They provide us with different perspectives, different stories, and different lived experiences, which I mentioned before. Representation matters. Our students need to see books that they feel seen in and that they identify with. For example, if we remove books written by queer authors about LGBTQIA+ experiences in stories, we are taking away a whole section of books that would resonate with our students and allow them to feel supported and seen. The same with books by black and brown authors like books about slavery and discrimination. The more we know, the more we understand. The more we are exposed to, the more we can learn to be understanding and empathetic to people who may be different from us. And that’s okay. We can’t do better unless we know better, and books help us do just that. Of course, parents can always opt out of the books if they don’t want their children to read but don’t take that right and those books away from other people’s children.”
On some supporting a distorted version of History education. You mentioned Prager in your opening comments. Please elaborate.
“Prager is, I’m sure you know, something Tom Horne supports. That gives us a distorted and whitewashed version of history and it does not accurately portray America’s rich, diverse, and sometimes brutal history. How can we learn from our past and not make the same mistakes if we’re not taught accurate history? Our history is our history, and no amount of whitewashing can change that. Students absolutely need to know honestly the horrors that Europeans inflicted on the Native Americans and the brutality of slavery and how that has led us to deep systemic racism in our country. It’s not to make anyone feel guilty, but it is to ensure a better future for our country.”
On Republican attempts at the legislature and in some school boards to discriminate against LGBTQ community members.
“LGBTQ students are some of the most marginalized and at-risk students in our schools and we have legislators trying to erase them, to out them, and to keep them from being who they truly are. That’s dangerous. The message it sends to our youth is that they don’t belong, and it is literally risking their lives, whether it’s through suicide attempts or dangers from Anti-LGBTQ people. The way to keep these kids alive and thriving is to support them in their educational setting and use their correct names and pronouns. Let’s let them use the bathroom that aligns with their gender and allows schools to be a safe place for these students. We have a responsibility to keep them safe and it literally saves lives. Arizona actually has one of the highest rates of attempted suicide among LGBTQ youth. A huge part of that is that the hate that these children receive comes directly from lawmakers and extremist groups. We can change that by accepting these kids for who they are and how they show up.
- Is there anything not covered in the first three questions that you would like readers to know about you and your candidacy for re-election to the Paradise Valley School Governing Board? Please explain.
“I think I would just like parents and educators in the community to know that I am here for them. I’m here to listen. I am here to do what’s best for our students and our educators and be an advocate for both groups so that Arizona schools stay strong and we don’t lose teachers or care professionals or anyone else to other jobs or groups because we’re not paying them enough. That’s a really big part of my candidacy is supporting all of the learners and educators as well.”
Please click on the below social media sites to find out more about Kerry Baker and her candidacy to continue on the Paradise Valley Unified School District Governing Board.
Facebook: Kerry Baker for PVUSD
Instagram @kerrybakerforpvusd