GAL's School Board Recap: Dr. Kelly Lessens Seat B
Dr. Kelly Lessens is running for Anchorage School Board Seat B, a four-way race.
Seat B garnered a lot of attention last month when candidate Judy Eledge appeared in a video interview conducted by Emmy Award-winning investigative Journalist Daniella Rivera about Eledge's inflammatory social media posts that began circulating online shortly after she announced her candidacy for the school board.
Mrs. Eledge did not participate in the Growing Alaskan Leaders Candidate Forum for reasons that weren't immediately clear.
Dr. Lessens has said that she believes "it’s important for the public to know that I’ve received encouragement from right and left leaning members of the Board to run for this position, and have collaborated with and frequently emailed many of them. Board leadership should not be about partisanship. It needs to be about leadership."
The Introduction
Dr. Lessens graduated from Stanford University and earned a PhD from the University of Michigan.
Two years ago, Lessens began working with school board members, administrators, teachers, parents, and a network of community stakeholders to create and implement ASD’s nationally respected Wellness Pilot program.
Her goal has been to give all students evidence-based time for nutrition and recess to provide equitable baselines for learning. During the past year, NEA-Alaska recognized the group she co-founded, ASD60, as their 2020 “Champions of Children,” while the State of Alaska featured their work as a “School Health Success Story.”
Dr. Lessens is the parent of two children in the Anchorage School District and is running to improve student outcomes by focusing on "wellness equity and learning," three things she believes collectively contribute to children's success.
During the thumbs up, thumbs down portion of Gal's candidate forum, Lessens was a solid thumbs up on the question:
"Currently there is not a policy or consistent practice of land acknowledgment in our schools. All ASD schools should adopt a practice of land acknowledgment to honor Dena'ia peoples who are the first and forever stewards of the places our schools stand."
Dr. Lessens believes that an "equitable ASD begins with leadership and with who the voters elect as their school board leaders to direct the administration and to figure out what the budget priorities are going to be and how the policies are going to be translated."
Lessens believes that "teaching and learning are deeply connected" and supports "evidence-based class sizes for low-income students so that they learn better."
Dr. Lessens believes teachers need to be able to practice the "art of teaching" to meet children's needs and that the district needs to engage children early on. Lessens says that in 2020, only 18% of students entered kindergarten school-ready. She says that the district serves too few pre-schoolers and that too few of our kids are coming in ready to learn."
Dr. Lessens arguably gave the best answer of the evening to a question asking candidates to define the role of the school board.
In the flashcard portion of the candidate forum, Dr. Lessens wrote, "Yes! for everyone," in response to the phrase "academic rigor."
Kelly's entire candidacy for the Anchorage school board is focused on child-centered decision-making. Dr. Lessens will bring a wealth of experience, education, and insight to the school board, which desperately needs leadership for the sake of Anchorage's children.
You can learn more about Dr. Lessens on her website and Facebook page.
