April-May 2013 - Meade School District

Election is June 4Five running for three board positionsFive people are running forthe three available seats in theMeade School Board election onJune 4.Vying for the three threeyearterms are Amy Conoverand Bryce Richter, both ofSturgis, Ezra Hays and CurtisNupen, both of Piedmont, andRobert Burns, the incumbent,from Black Hawk. The other twoincumbents, Wanda Blair of Valeand Nancy Richter of Enning,are not running for re-election.The deadline for voter registrationis May 20. For informationabout absentee voting, callthe school district businessoffice at 347-2523.Amy (Hallock) Conovergraduatedfrom SturgisBrown HighSchool in1997. Sheholds a bachelor'sdegreein cross categoricalspecialeducationfrom ArizonaAmy Conover State University,a graduate certificate inassistive technology, and a master'sdegree in early childhoodeducation from Northern ArizonaUniversity. She is a landscapeadministrative assistant atRockingtree Landscape, Sturgis.The 33-year-old and her familyrelocated to Sturgis from thePhoenix area in 2012 becauseshe and her husband want toraise their children in a smallcommunity where they could beactive in both the education oftheir children and the community."My primary reason for runningfor the school board is toset an example for my childrenthat being involved is not onlyindividually rewarding but has alasting positive impact on thecommunity," Amy said. "I haveover 10 years of experience inthe educational field - fromclassroom teaching to educationalmanagement - and trulyvalue what education has tooffer a community."She feels the school districthas done an excellent job ofmeeting the needs of the largegeographical area that itencompasses. She also feels ithas created and demonstratedthe value of the communitywhich is reflected in the successof its students."In my few experiences withthe staff, it is clear that theirdedication to what they do isexemplary. It makes me proudto say my children attend schoolin this district."Since she has just movedback to the school district, shefeels it is difficult to say whatexactly the district couldimprove upon, however, shesaid there is always room forimprovement when building theschool-to-home connection."Parents are a student's firstteachers and there is alwaysimprovement to be made onthat front," she said."I attended a recent boardmeeting,” she explained, “wherenew curriculum was being adoptedand I am proud to say that theschool board seemed to havedone their due diligence inregards to new curriculum andwere willing to hear both sides ofthe argument prior to makingtheir decision.""I do look forward to theopportunity to meet the challengesthe school district facesby being a voice in the communityheard on the board," thecandidate said. "I look forwardto the opportunity to reviewchanges and improvementssuggested by those residing inthe school district for the bettermentof all students."While a teacher in Arizona,she served on the school districtSuperintendent's AdvisoryCouncil. "Information that wasdiscussed and synthesized atthe Advisory Council was thenpresented to the school boardfor decision making that directlyimpacted the students in theschool district," she explained.During her last three yearsof teaching, she served as aELECTION: See Page 16April-May 2013 In Touch 15