Oliver, Jeremy - Northview
Are you an incumbent?
No
Brief Intro of Candidate
My name is Jeremy Oliver, and I am running for the Northview Board of Education. As a dad of a Wildcat, I am running to bring some new voices and ideas to the board and to unite our families, teachers, and administrators into one Northview!
My beautiful wife, Susannah, and I have lived in the Northview area for 15 years. She graduated from Northview and always spoke so highly of it, which led us to move here. My son is entering eighth grade in the fall and has been a Wildcat since his schooling started.
In my time in Northview, I have had the joy of serving as a Watch D.O.G. at West Oakview, I was the Vice-President of the PTO at West Oakview, served as the President of the PTO at Highlands for two years, amongst other volunteer opportunities in the district. I loved working in those roles because it gave me a wonderful chance to interact with the parents, educators, and our wonderful Wildcat students. I also have recently had the pleasure accepting the Committee Chair position for BSA Troop 283 in Belmont, MI.
Outside of my passion for serving, I love to spend time with my family. We love going on trips to different areas of the country, spending time in the backyard and caring for Susie’s special needs sister.
If I have the privilege of getting elected as a school board member, I want to make sure everyone has a voice, parents, teachers, and students. I also want to ensure that all our students are prepared to enter the world and be successful, by holding everyone working with our kids to the highest of standards.
Endorsements
Not Currently
Top financials Contributors
Website and social media links
No financial supporters
How would you engage and include parents, caregivers, community members and students in decision-making in your district around things like curriculum, budgeting and district policy?
I believe it should always be an open discussion and everyone has a voice. I think that as long as we have cordial communication in our district, it helps it continue to get better. If we are all like robots and just falling in line we can't prosper.
What are your thoughts on school discipline and the way it is exercised in your school district? What are your thoughts on restorative practices?
Schools need to discipline better. We can't just have a student go to office, say they are sorry, get a sucker and go back to class. We need the punishment to fit the crime. We need to make sure that everyone in the school feels safe and secure. We need to make sure teachers can teach and not devote all their attention to problem students. We also need to give resources to parents and students when the child is not behaving. Bullying in schools has risen dramatically because schools are afraid to mitigate the situation with punishments.
What are your thoughts on how to improve student mental health
Especially here in Michigan we shouldn't be reallocating $200 million dollars from resource officers and counselors. We need to give resources to school districts and not just have one counselor for 5 schools. We need to make sure the staff is educated on it, but also can't let the students use that as an excuse all the time of while they are misbehaving or not able to do stuff. It is a fine line that we have to dedicate more resources to figure out how to find the right solutions.
What are your thoughts on ways to improve Black student achievement in your district and in Michigan schools overall?
I don't like this question we should be focusing on student achievement for all students not just trying to get one group better achievement. We need to use our resources to let everyone exceed and help them succeed.
What are your thoughts on how to ensure that all students and their families, regardless of race, gender identity, sexuality, disability, religion, income status, etc., feel safe and included in your district?
Treat everyone the same, give everyone respect, and have the conversations without judgement. We need to go back to where even if someone is different they are still a human in this world.
What are your thoughts on how to recruit and retain staff, particularly staff of color, in your district with regard to pay, benefits, and working conditions?
Again, we need to recruit staff of all races. We can retain them by getting rid of some of the state mandated rules on dress code, discipline etc. When teachers can be themselves they feel more comfortable. We also need to make sure we are teaching the right things in the classrooms, we shouldn't be teaching about our opinions we should stick to the curriculum. If a student asks a question that might be non-conventional we should be able to answer it but not give their perspective. But I think the biggest way to retain teachers is to pay them more. We should be using money to pay the teachers. They shouldn't have to get extra jobs to earn money to live. They are one of the most important jobs in the world an should be paid as such. Teachers should get paid for benefits by the school district, they shouldn't have to struggle to go to doctor or be well while working around children. Lastly, the working conditions need to be better, if they need to go to the bathroom they should be able to go and not have to hold it until a break period. They shouldn't have to worry about getting in trouble for taking a sick day and then be responsible for finding a sub. We just need to treat them better in general.