PLATFORM
Who We Are
The Alliance for Upper Dublin Schools is an accomplished slate of candidates who bring their experience, fresh perspectives and thoughtful decision-making to the Upper Dublin School Board.
Jenna Evans, Andy Kessler, Titia Scherpbier, and Mark Sirota
Our candidates
What We Stand For
Common Sense Leadership
We are committed to doing the hard work necessary for Upper Dublin to consistently remain one of Pennsylvania’s top public school districts. We are empowered by a thriving community that strongly values public education and common sense decision making. Our school district and the people who make it work are what make this a special place to live. We pledge to engage with the entire school district community to further our shared goals.
We pledge to:
● Be transparent with the community about how decisions are made, and what factors are considered when making them
● Consider every viable option and to seek out all resources at our disposal
● Carefully weigh all of the options to make decisions that are in best interests of our school community
Responsibly Managing District Finances
We will always be mindful of the trust the community places in the School Board to manage public assets and to be fiscally responsible. We will seek sustainably-conscious solutions as stewards of our students’ futures. Under our leadership, the Upper Dublin School District will always responsibly scrutinize our costs of operation in fairness to the financial concerns of our community members, balancing that with the needs of our students and staff.
We pledge to:
● Be good stewards of our district resources
● Be forward-thinking regarding the impact our infrastructure will have on our environment
● Make financial decisions that will be positive long term investments in our district and our community
● Be resourceful in how we approach financial challenges
● Advocate for strong public schools and fair funding policies at the state and national level
Embracing and Promoting Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Every student deserves: access to an excellent public school education that meets their needs; to be and feel safe and supported in our community, regardless of their race, ethnicity, ability, sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity, or religion; and to be their whole, authentic selves.
We need curricula that are diverse, inclusive, and representative, and our faculty and staff need to be trained to recognize bias, to create safe spaces, and to use more inclusive language. This is how children know that they are safe, and that they belong.
We love Upper Dublin and the people in it, so we will continue to work towards a more equitable, inclusive, and celebratory community for all.
We pledge to:
● Create and nurture a safe environment where all students can be their authentic selves
● Support and meet the needs of all students, no matter their race, ethnicity, ability, sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity or religion.
Ensuring Excellence in the Upper Dublin School District by Empowering the District’s Potential.
We believe that the school district is central to the identity of the Upper Dublin community. Many families move here for the schools and due to the excellent quality of life, stay here long after their children have graduated. Our community strongly values public education. We believe that the Upper Dublin School District must meet the expectation of the community to remain one of Pennsylvania’s top school districts. Through forward-thinking facilities planning, our new building at Sandy Run will be a point of pride in our community for many years to come, offering a strong, unique middle school experience.
We pledge to:
● Keep students the primary focus of all decisions
● Hire qualified, dynamic faculty and staff
● Provide teachers and staff with the resources they need to maximize educational outcomes for our students every day
● Be driven by the goal of keeping Upper Dublin a desirable place to live, work, learn and retire