Issues

Lauren believes the school board must always provide clear information to the tax base of the district as to how their money is being utilized. They also need to be mindful of the limits of taxpayers, especially those with fixed incomes, while also investing wisely in our schools. That happens when school directors make educated and informed decisions. Lauren personally believes we need to be communicating with educators to ensure money spent on instructional technology and instructional programs are appropriate for their needs , and are being actively utilized to their fullest potential. 

As a former Ford-certified automotive technician, Lauren knows the need for qualified and skilled workers is dire. She hopes to increase focus on vocational education and provide career pathways and alternatives to post-secondary education. A report done by Children First PA highlights the importance of strengthening career pathways and dual-enrollment to ensure more students have the opportunity to earn skills in high school that give them access to earning post secondary education credits and/or skill credentials for certain vocational careers before graduation. L-S already allows dual-enrollment with local colleges and an opportunity to attend Lancaster County Career and Technology Center, but she believes we need to take it further. As a board member, she wants be an advocate to work with state agencies and external partners to build these pathways to a steady career that utilizes the resources of high schools, regional technical training schools, private employers community colleges, and apprenticeship and training programs. These systems will make students more employable, more likely to recieve industry recognized certifications, and more likely to persue post secondary education. 

Lauren believes we should be able to trust our educators to take care of our students. The educators themselves have pursued higher education and are distinctly qualified to make decisions as to what is being taught in their classroom.  If parents do wish to see the curriculum, a syllabus for their child's class should be made available through official channels for review. 

Schools already have rigorous processes to identify books that are age appropriate and have learning value. Books being pulled from libraries in districts across the state include themes of racism and are often written by authors of color, or the authors are members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Books like these offer students access to diverse viewpoints and ideas.  District policy stresses "weighing the value of the material as a whole and not on passages or segments considered out of context," (Lampeter-Strasburg School Board Policy 109 - Resource Materials) when it comes to reviewing library content. Lauren agrees with this policy; that we should not be removing books due to plucked passages and individual words and ignoring educational and literary merit of these books as a whole. She believes in the regulations and oversight that is already in place, but not in outright censorship. 

We seek to foster a safe and inclusive environment for all students, regardless of race, gender, religious background, and/or sexual orientation. These topics will be discussed and acknowledged with students at times that are appropriate. School is a place of acceptance and learning about those who may be different than us. Students also learn more effectively in an environment where they can grow and flourish, and that is a place where they are able to be themselves.

Trans students, their needs, and their integration into the school community is a topic that requires careful handling, potentially even on a case-by-case basis. Transgender individuals age  12-24 make up less than 0.5% of the state's population.  Broad stroke decisions cannot be made on something that is a highly individualized experience.  

Mental health is a looming crisis in our country,  particulary among students in the years following the pandemic. We should be attending to the needs of our students to ensure that they have the proper resources available. Other institutions have created monitoring systems to keep tabs on the mental health of students and employees by asking a simple question at regular intervals, and then monitor potential needs for outreach and, in extreme cases, intervention. Burnout should also be accounted for with regular low-stress days for students.