Marissa Ahlering

My motivation to run for school board is driven by my desire to better serve my community, my personal love of learning, and my strong belief in the importance of supporting public schools to provide access to a high-quality education for all. I am particularly motivated to advance work around diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of school culture. I have also long felt that our public schools are undervalued and underfunded, and I hope that if elected to school board I can be a positive voice and advocate for our teachers, students, and families.

My educational background and my years of experience helping to inform difficult decisions using science make me well qualified for this position. My doctorate training taught me how to gather and critically evaluate evidence (from scientific data to input from individuals and communities) to solve problems and make decisions. I bring the ability to listen, learn, and help build consensus around difficult issues. Additionally, our children will face pressing global issues that will require a strong background in STEM fields. As a scientist, I will support our teacher’s ability to teach a science-based curriculum.

My three main priorities include allocating more resources to the district’s diversity, equity, and inclusion staff to provide training. We need to create a culture where diverse staff and students feel they belong. I want to listen to teachers and staff to identify how to improve reading, math, and science proficiency as we recover from two difficult years, and finally, I want to make Moorhead schools a supportive workplace for teachers. Attracting and retaining good teachers is vital to student success, community success, and teacher well-being.

I think balancing the needs of a rapidly growing school district with properly resourcing teachers, staff, and buildings to support students with greater needs will continue to be a challenge. This challenge will also be exacerbated by the increasing difficulty in attracting and retaining teachers in the district as teacher shortages continue. Therefore, increasing the understanding of and focus on equity and inclusion in our schools as well as making the Moorhead school district a supportive workplace for teachers will be foundational to addressing these challenges.

I want the Moorhead school district to be a place where all students feel safe, enjoy learning, and feel like they belong. I want it to be a place where teachers and staff are representative of the student body, and they also feel supported and that they have the resources and freedom to provide a high-quality education to students. I want the Moorhead school district to support our community as a whole by providing an educated and motivated workforce.