As a KHS graduate (K-12), and a parent of 3 daughters currently in the Kirkwood School District (a Senior and Freshman at KHS, and a 7th grader at Nipher), I love this school district and want it to be the best it can be. That will be one of many goals of mine if elected to the school board on April 5th.

KFEI Question 1: What input or influence should parents have on their child’s education?

Losse: We as parents are our children’s first educator, and research shows that we play a critical role alongside teachers in their academic success.

KFEI Question 2: How would you define transparency, and what is your approach when it comes to school transparency?

Losse: It is said that transparency is the basis of trust, and that being transparent means being open and honest when communicating with stakeholders. In our schools the transparency should be modeled from the top down, and we the parents are the stakeholders.

KFEI Question 3: What will be your number one priority if elected to the school board?

Losse: If elected to the Kirkwood School Board, my number one priority will be to direct our focus on the students in this district, and to ensure that we have prepared every graduate of KHS for their next step in life, whatever that may be.

KFEI Question 4: Have you reviewed the website KFEI and if so, do you feel it is a helpful and informative resource?

Losse: I have reviewed the KFEI website and do believe that it provides verified information and is a great resource for the community.

Matt Losse For Kirkwood School Board – www.votelosse.com

Thank you for taking the time to gather and verify this information, and thank you for offering me this opportunity to provide my thoughts.

No statement was provided to KFEI by this candidate.

KFEI Question 1: What input or influence should parents have on their child’s education?

Boyko: Children, and the school system as a whole, cannot be successful without parents involved in their child’s education. Parents influence their child’s education long before they enter public school and continue long after. And as any parent knows, it goes beyond the parent-teacher conferences, evening help on homework, and late-night run for supplies for school projects. Parents extend the learning beyond the required curriculum and provide love, support and values that teachers cannot.

KFEI Question 2: How would you define transparency, and what is your approach when it comes to school transparency?

Boyko: I believe that with very limited exceptions (for example, certain security procedures) school policies, procedures, and curriculum should be available to any member of the community.

KFEI Question 3: What will be your number one priority if re-elected to the school board?

Boyko: Kirkwood R-VII has a long history of being an asset to the community and its students. My focus will remain first on the safety of students, second on building and maintaining our community, and third on making improvements that support and build on academic excellence.

KFEI Question 4: Have you reviewed the website KFEI and if so do you feel it is a helpful and informative resource?

Boyko: I have visited your website. As a school board member, I’ve enjoyed hearing the full variety of perspectives our community offers.

KFEI received notification on February 27, 2022 that John Chong & Jason Baker have withdrawn from the race and are supporting Matt Losse and Jeff Mintzlaff for Kirkwood School Board. Their statement explaining this decision is below:

With elections for the Kirkwood School District Board of Education just one month away, we have taken a pause to reassess our respective campaigns with several other contenders running for KSD school board.

We recently met with Matt Losse and Jeff Mintzlaff and shared our perspectives on education and the future of our District, and discovered that we were all running on very similar platforms. After thoughtful consideration, recognizing our shared goals and objectives, we have decided to withdraw from the race and place our combined KFEI BOE Candidate Statements support and efforts behind Matt's and Jeff's election campaigns. We will continue to stay engaged in the workings of KSD and consider the opportunity to run next year.

To those who have lended their support to our campaigns, we thank you for your trust and confidence. We know you will find Jeff and Matt similarly deserving of your vote. If we want to make a change in the District, we must unite, spread the word, and get out the vote on April 5th. Our children, our District and our community deserve it!

Sincerely,

Jason Baker & John Chong

KFEI received notification on February 27, 2022 that John Chong & Jason Baker have withdrawn from the race and are supporting Matt Losse and Jeff Mintzlaff for Kirkwood School Board. Their statement explaining this decision is below:

With elections for the Kirkwood School District Board of Education just one month away, we have taken a pause to reassess our respective campaigns with several other contenders running for KSD school board.

We recently met with Matt Losse and Jeff Mintzlaff and shared our perspectives on education and the future of our District, and discovered that we were all running on very similar platforms. After thoughtful consideration, recognizing our shared goals and objectives, we have decided to withdraw from the race and place our combined KFEI BOE Candidate Statements support and efforts behind Matt's and Jeff's election campaigns. We will continue to stay engaged in the workings of KSD and consider the opportunity to run next year.

To those who have lended their support to our campaigns, we thank you for your trust and confidence. We know you will find Jeff and Matt similarly deserving of your vote. If we want to make a change in the District, we must unite, spread the word, and get out the vote on April 5th. Our children, our District and our community deserve it!

Sincerely,

Jason Baker & John Chong

No statement was provided to KFEI by this candidate.

The Kirkwood School District is faced with many challenges. 25% of our High School students are not proficient in Math, Science and English / Language Arts. Our Elementary/Middle Schools are doing even worse, with 35% of students not proficient in Math. In fact, Math scores have decreased by almost 9% in only two years. We can do better. Political and social re-engineering agendas have created division within the student and faculty body, only exacerbating the issues our children are having in core academic areas. Our District’s relationship with our parents must improve. We need more, not less, parental involvement to strengthen our schools. All curriculum, instructional and library content should have clearly articulated learning objectives and be age-appropriate. We also need to get back to mutual respect. Teaching pride and respect for each other, our school and our community will go a long way to aligning values.

KFEI Question 1: What input or influence should parents have on their child’s education?

Mintzlaff: Parents have the primary responsibility to educate their children. Research has shown that students achieve more in school when their parents are involved in their education. When academic achievement increases, a child’s classroom behavior also improves. One of the most important influences a parent can have on their child’s education is teaching them to read. Preparing a child to read and comprehend will benefit a them their entire life.

Research shows that parental involvement can free teachers to focus more on the task of teaching children. Parents who are involved tend to have a more positive view of teachers, which results in improved teacher morale. I strongly believe parents’ rights should be honored. This includes the ability to monitor classes, review learning material and have the ability to opt out of lessons that infringe upon parental values. When the community, parents, faculty, administration and school board are all synchronized, you’ll see a school district at the top of the charts.

KFEI Question 2: How would you define transparency, and what is your approach when it comes to school transparency?

Mintzlaff: Transparency is making something obvious or easy to understand and easily accessible. I’d advocate for posting lessons electronically for parental review. I also recommend establishing regular forums with the community to inform and better understand their thoughts and concerns. This serves two purposes: (1) it affords the community an opportunity to hear from the Board and (2) it allows the Board to hear from the public. This must be a two-way conversation or the trust is quickly lost and the value of the forum diminishes. It is essential for the Administration and Board to highlight key events and activities tied to community needs. For example, any questionable age-appropriate material, curriculum or library content should have prior review and approval of a committee that includes school district parents. In addition, any non-core topics being taught should not only have an opt-out feature, but be reviewable by parents. Many parents in our district are familiar with some very questionable material being taught in our schools. It’s time our School Board adequately capture the review process in district policy and the Administration should adhere to that policy.

KFEI Question 3: What will be your number one priority if elected to the school board?

Mintzlaff: I believe the most important thing for us to do is to keep our kids in school and continue without mandatory masking. We have recently seen tremendous progress in ending the mask mandates, and we must ensure parents have more involvement in these decisions in the future. My other top priority is to press for a curriculum review and assess controversial courses that compete with essential courses needed for academic development. Too much time is being spent in non-essential areas. We must shift the focus back to essential coursework and ensure our students are proficient in Math, Science, English, Language Arts and Social Studies with vocational opportunities to prepare them for life.

KFEI Question 4: Have you reviewed the website KFEI and if so, do you feel it is a helpful and informative resource?

Mintzlaff: As a concerned parent myself in Kirkwood, KFEI was one of my first introductions to some of the divisive and inappropriate content being taught in our schools. KFEI really leaves the assessment up to the individual viewing the information and I find that invaluable. This was a huge factor leading me to run for the school board. I appreciate the work our brave parents are doing for our children, the district and our community to ensure transparency and accountability.

I have the leadership, experience and commitment to serve as a member of the Board of Education, representing our community in elevating the quality of our schools – schools that seek to engage, educate and empower our children to have successful careers in an ever-changing world.