BIG COUNTRY, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) — This week on Big Country Politics, Blair Schroeder, the No. 3 candidate for the Abilene Independent School District School Board, shares her future plans if elected. He also spoke about his observations as a parent of an AISD student and as the spouse of a teacher.
Born and raised in Abilene, Schrader graduated from Abilene High School. After he spent time out of state, he returned to raise his family in the Key City.
“This is my home. Even though I graduated from high school, I went to college in Nashville and then spent some time in Cincinnati, where my wife is from, we have always known Abilene as our hometown. I knew it was there,” Schroeder said. “Here in West Texas, we want people to be a little different, so we wanted that kind of environment for our family. The values that we hold are appealing to us and… We want to pass this on to the generation we are raising.”
Schroeder is chief strategy officer at Abilene Christian University and has experience in politics and government affairs.
“When I was in Cincinnati, I was involved to some degree in politics and government communications and relations with Cincinnati. When I returned to Abilene, one of the relations I wanted to take up was the Arlington House of Delegates. Recognizing our mutual history and love for all things West Texas food, fuel, and fiber, we connected and had the good fortune to serve as his district director and later become part of his political career. “I was able to help,” Schroeder said. “I think it was a great opportunity to reconnect with your hometown.'' There are so many people here. I was excited to be a part of his team because the story of West Texas is vast and wonderful, and all of its values align with mine: its people, its faith, its heritage. Even now that I'm the Chief Strategy Officer and he's at ACU, Jody remains a dear friend of mine, someone I know I can always reach, and we still talk quite a bit. I am. ”
Teaching can be a rewarding career, and fewer people are currently entering the field. But Schroeder keeps this to himself.
“If we look back at one of the lessons we learned from 2020, it is that every elected office matters. Every office has the ability to impact communities in ways that were previously taken for granted. We cannot afford to lose a single seat because of the opportunities we have to give. The school board is near and dear to my heart. When I moved back to Abilene, I specifically said I wanted to move. I told her real estate agent to put me in AISD, where I want to raise my children,” Schroeder said. said.
He said he can offer a unique perspective as a father of four AISD students and a husband to an educator.
“So, I have four children. If you look at the makeup of the school board right now, I appreciate and respect all of the school boards. I don't have any students who have it. In my case, I have a senior in high school, a freshman in high school, a sixth grader, and a fourth grader. So these are kitchen problems for me,” Schroeder said. he said. “I'm going to take it a step further…When we moved back here, my wife started working as a teacher's assistant. She saw an opportunity and felt this was her calling.” is currently going through the certification process and is a special education teacher. So I'm hearing these stories not just as a parent, but as a spouse of a teacher as well. These are issues that are near and dear to my heart. Yes, when we look at AISD, I think there are a lot of great opportunities. But I also think there are opportunities to make significant improvements in some areas that we think are important to parents. That’s part of the voice I want to bring to the conversation.”
He said he aims to improve the district by improving teacher morale, improving test scores and promoting education.
“One of my roles at ACU has always been to try to attract talent to Abilene, and some of the work I've done in the past has been in economic development and education. Schools are important. This is not only an important slogan for people who have children in the district, but it is also not an economic issue for the region,” Schroeder said. “This is the school district that bears our name, and we certainly have some good school districts around us. Some people are actually advertising within Abilene to try to lure students away. So , we need to tell our stories better. But at the same time, I think it's really important that we come together as a community and support our education teams rather than just leave them alone. We have to do a better job of increasing teacher morale, improving student test scores, and focusing on what's important. Too many people leave the classroom for that kind of education. “I think we need to make sure our school system doesn't go in a culture war kind of direction because people are trying to take advantage of that. That's not what we're talking about here in West Texas.”
AISD's academic performance has been on the decline lately. However, authorities have made efforts to address this issue. To further this objective, Mr. Schroeder reiterated his desire to “better tell AISD's story.” He aims to raise academic standards and ensure that they are fair for all.
“One of the things we must do immediately to regain our confidence is to tell our stories better. We are more than just a C test grade that doesn't define us. Teachers. It doesn't define the job. [it] It does not define the student's work. A former president once described it as “soft prejudice caused by low expectations.'' That's something we don't have to live with as a community in West Texas. I think it's okay for us to want more and aspire to achieve more, but we can't find friends in Austin to save us,” Schroeder said. “I think one of the things that school board members need to do is lean into it and be able to provide support and encouragement where they can. I think it's important to help students adapt to make sure we do everything we need to do to improve teacher morale, while at the same time maintaining rigorous academic standards to meet student needs. I think it's also important to be compliant and actually administer the test, which is fair and unbiased in terms of assessing the whole child in terms of their experience.”
Abilene ISD is one of 22 school districts in Texas participating in the System of Great Schools program. This program aims to understand performance issues and contribute to district improvement from the outside.
“I applaud the effort to pursue that. Simply put, when you recognize there's a problem, it's not enough to recognize it; you need to develop a strategy to achieve success. So I think this is a step in the right direction. One of the things we learned from this program is we looked at how we lean toward some of the STEM courses. There are a lot of different things happening that are redefining what education is, but there's beauty in the basics, so to speak. One. So it's also the North Star program. I think this is a strong first step. But again, there are other necessary steps that need to be taken,” Schroeder said. Told.
School vouchers have become a political hot topic in Texas. Schroeder said he has been observing this conversation across the country for years and has seen both the good and the bad.
“We've seen it work really well. But in some cases, it's not a zero-sum game, and communities that are more rural or have unique needs for some of their students. I also know that it can be damaging to the community, and I think we need to pay close attention to what's happening in Austin. While we obviously have to follow the policy and the politics that come from it, we want to contribute to making sure that we don't just take what Austin gives us. We also need to be able to leverage our influence and leverage our relationships in a meaningful way to drive results. That's good for Abilene,” Schroeder said. “It's not enough to just have an opinion, but we have to know how to navigate what Austin sends us. So when it comes to the voucher program, what does the governor get through the Legislature?” I would like to suggest that there is a financial impact, regardless of what happens. We need to know how to prioritize, how to manage our funds. We need to know how to prioritize and manage our funds. We need to have a good understanding of what is going on so we can prioritize and invest accordingly.”
Mr. Schroeder is running unopposed for the No. 3 position on the AISD Board of Education. This is his message to his Abilene community.
“I'm one of you, too. I grew up in Abilene. I'm proud of Abilene ISD. I'm a parent, and the school board has been missing that voice for too long. I'm a voice for my children. I am keen to represent everyone involved in the educational process. We cannot just sit and let education drift by. We have to keep our eyes on what is important. I don't think there is anything more important because education is the foundation for our community in how we prepare our children to be successful. Our students deserve the best and our teachers deserve the best. That’s what I’m going to give them.”
