On April 8, citizens of FHSD submitted their final votes for the district’s annual school board election. Candidates Randy Cook, Ashley Strum, Sarah Oelke and Amy Gryder were on this year’s ballot. Projected results declare candidates Gryder and running mate Oelke to have won by 4.7%, naming them FHSD’s new Board of Education heads.
The swearing-in occurred on April 15 at 5:30 p.m. in FHSD’s administration building. According to their campaign, Gryder and Oelke are “Aiming Higher” for not just students, but teachers as well. They firmly believe in keeping politics out of the Board and maintaining communication and open understanding between all students and teachers, from Barnwell to North.
“Over the course of the last few years, I’ve gotten increasingly involved in paying attention to what’s happening at the Board level, and have continued to see examples of things that I feel are not in service of supporting our teachers and students,” Gryder said.
Gryder is a long-time citizen of the district, with two graduates and one child currently enrolled in Francis Howell schools. Her background has prepared her for a role like this, and her past has given her the passion and insight needed.
“I am running because I believe that we should be aiming higher for Francis Howell,” Gryder said. “I grew up here. I graduated from Francis Howell North in 1994, actually. I’ve raised my three kids up through the district as well. I have seen in the last few years what I believe to be a shift in focus from our student-teacher support to more micromanaging of our teachers and administrators, and that’s concerning to me. So I am coming to this race feeling uniquely qualified to help people collaborate again, and as a board member, coming with a propensity for leading, with curiosity and listening and looking to data to drive our decisions.”
Running mate Sarah Oelke is filled with passion for the classroom and aims for academic success. Although she hasn’t grown up in the district, Oelke has years of teaching experience, making her fit for the job.
“I volunteered a little at Warren Elementary,” Oelke said. “I volunteered through our church. I helped with a before and after care program at our church, and then I was even on the Board of Little Hills Youth Archery for several years in St. Charles. I decided to go back to school, and I knew I wanted to be a teacher. I’m here because we need a current teacher on that Board. Someone who understands what it’s like to be in the classroom right now, because we know that the kids of today are not the same as the kids 10 years ago or 20 or 30, and we need to understand what the future of education needs to look like. We can’t keep repeating the same patterns and expecting better results, and that’s why I’m here to help bring in that insight, expertise and awareness.”
