Three newcomers vie for a seat on the Center School Board

By Jill Draper

Three parents in the Center School District are competing for two open seats on the board in the April 2 election. All are newcomers and all say they want to increase parental involvement in the schools.

Mariah Roady

Mariah Roady wants to make a difference in the community. “I was really curious and wanted to do something in my own neighborhood. I thought I might as well leave a mark now,” said Roady, mother of an 8-month-old and a kindergartner at Indian Creek Elementary. She says that Center schools are performing below base in nearly every category, and while all categories are connected, one at the forefront is the district’s below-average student attendance. This ties directly into how much state funding schools receive, and it must be improved, she says.

Another key issue is increasing family engagement. She has several ideas: provide more access for non-English-speaking families; conduct surveys and focus groups to ask what families like and don’t like; and create incentives for participation at events, perhaps with a passport program in which proof of attendance leads to prizes like sports-game tickets for kids, parents and teachers. If evening events are inconvenient, the schools could experiment with adding morning events that might include coffee and donuts. Roady, 31, works as chief development officer for an EarlystART/Head Start nonprofit in the urban core, and says her experience with an infant pre-K facility will help her better understand how to manage educational needs at the district level.

Michael Sarver

When Michael Sarver heard that two school board positions were open and nobody had rushed to apply, he decided to run. “I’ve always been interested in being more involved with the community and my kids,” he said. Sarver has two children at Red Bridge Elementary and has been pleased to attend events like Black History Month and student Science Night stations that featured raffle tickets for families that participated. “It was such a cool thing,” he said. “The kids came home and were begging us to take them back.” He would like to see the same type of approach adapted at middle and high school levels to increase parental involvement.

Sarver, 43, also advocates for increasing teachers’ happiness, including simplifying their complex pay scale and focusing on retaining experienced teachers so they’re not leaving for other districts. He read a presentation made to the school board recently and concluded, “There’s a resounding call that we’re not doing enough.” He says his work as an insurance claims adjustor will be helpful on the board in terms of several essential skills: listening to other people, asking tough questions and reaching agreements. “I do a lot of mediations,” he said.

Da’Jion M. Lymore 

Da’Jion Lymore’s son, now 5, is at Yellowjacket Early Learning Center and will attend Boone Elementary next fall. But Lymore was frustrated by the different answers he received when he tried to enroll his son in the school system, as well as the amount of paperwork involved. He would like to make the process smoother and easier to understand. He also would like to increase parental involvement with incentives such as drawings for gift cards for those who attend functions. “I go to a lot of school events and I see a lot of the same parents,” he said.

A former art student, the 30-year-old Lymore works for a women’s nonprofit and runs his own photography and videography business. He views his tattoos and piercings as the mark of a unique, open-minded individual who is not afraid to try new things in education. For example, he’s in favor of incorporating artificial intelligence in the classroom, because it will be an important function in the future. “Let’s try it,” he said. “We can take chances and then intervene when necessary.” He also emphasizes the need to listen to students and let their voices be heard in a safe place, because “they’re going through things we’ve never experienced.”