VISION

Purpose of Education

One of my greatest passions is educating my children. From an early age, I learned the importance of a strong education from my father, an immigrant from Ireland. My father understood that education was essential to create opportunities in life and to develop students as critical thinkers.

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Littleton Public Schools perform well relative to other districts in Colorado. However, with 2023 Littleton district-wide proficiency scores in math at only 51% and literacy at 59%, I worry about what these scores mean for the future of our children. The performance in our schools disproportionately affects the vulnerable and disadvantaged in our communities, who have limited opportunities to remedy their situation.

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Prioritizing Academic Excellence

To serve our children well and to deliver an outstanding education, I believe the Board should prioritize academic excellence.  This can be achieved through:

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1. Identifying academic excellence as a clear priority of the Board. Educating our students is the primary reason why our schools exist. We should never lose sight of this goal.

2. Creating a culture that celebrates academic excellence in our students, teachers, and administrators so that we always orient towards this goal. 

3. Identifying and implementing best practices. A great example of a best practice in Littleton Public Schools is Newton Middle School, where proficiency scores have improved by 31% in Math and 15% in English simply by adding 20 minutes to each of those classes each day.  

4. Ensuring full transparency and accountability at all levels of LPS to promote trust and to create a highly functioning system. 

5. Always keeping politics out of Littleton Public Schools to ensure that our focus remains solely on our educational mission.

Teachers understand what is needed to effectively teach our children.  We need to listen to them more carefully.

Among the priorities that both teachers and parents consistently identify is the need to decrease class sizes.  Our classes are simply too large within the district; we need to prioritize making them smaller. Teachers also need support with managing disruptive students who often derail their classes. We need to find other learning environments for these disruptive students, so that all students thrive.  Finally, teachers face increasing administrative burdens which detract from their teaching. We need to relieve them of these tasks to the greatest degree possible so that they can focus on their passion for teaching.

My wife Ann and I have been blessed with five children. Like all parents, we love our children deeply, have the best understanding of what makes them flourish, and are the best suited to make decisions about their wellbeing. As parents it is our role to teach our children to become virtuous, honest and respectful citizens.

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In schools around the country, highly-charged and politicized issues often arise of which there are widely divergent opinions expressed. If elected as a School Board member, I pledge to promote trust and transparency with regards to such issues.  I pledge to always honor and respect our parents and ensure that they control decisions regarding their children’s beliefs, values, and the formation of their character. 

Our youngest and most vulnerable children within Littleton Public Schools deserve a school environment that is safe from outside threats. Currently there are only two School Resource Officers that cover all of our elementary schools in the district.  As a Board member, I will prioritize ensuring that each of our elementary schools have their own dedicated School Resource Officer in each of our schools.