Jean announces candidacy
PRESS RELEASE May 11, 2009
Jean O’Connell, retired 3M executive and Central High School alumnus, announces her candidacy for Saint Paul School Board. She is running as an independent, unaffiliated with any political party.
“Our kids can’t wait for better schools,” O’Connell said. “We need to stay focused on an improvement agenda.” If elected, O’Connell plans to focus on:
- Providing a quality education to all students,
- Increasing the involvement of the entire community in our schools, and
- Ensuring that resources are focused on bringing great programs to all of our children.
A lifelong resident of St. Paul, Ms. O’Connell has been an advocate for and supporter of the Saint Paul Public Schools serving as a parent volunteer, tutor, science fair judge, Junior Achievement teacher, committee member, and chair of the Superintendent’s Advisory Committee on Large Scale System Changes. She has extensive experience in managing people and change throughout her 3M career.
Her experience can help the district successfully implement the large-scale system changes currently proposed. “We can’t make incremental changes and expect to see significant improvement in the achievement gaps between student groups,” O’Connell said. “Speed and decisiveness are key to helping all of our students achieve.” By redirecting current resources to proven, research-based programs, O’Connell believes the district can achieve better results for the students and families it serves.
Ms. O’Connell is known for her collaborative leadership, and her facilitation and teambuilding skills. Her goal is to strengthen community engagement in order to bring the talents in our community to bear on our students’ needs. “ I believe that, long term, our community can only be as successful as our children,” O’Connell said. “We need to look at new ways to engage parents, businesses and community members in improving the achievement of our students.”
Former Saint Paul mayor, George Latimer, endorses Jean’s candidacy saying, “Jean’s firsthand experience as a parent of public school children, her frequent attendance at school board meetings and her management of the advisory panel to the superintendent has given Jean a broad knowledge and clear perspective of the needs of our school children.”
To learn more, email jean at jean@oconnellforstpaulkids.com or visit our website.