Update/News

First, my apologies to the Owatonna community. I had prepped and planned to be virtually present for the school board meeting on 8/28/2023 while my family was spending a long weekend in Wisconsin Dells. When I attempted to connect to the meeting with the Google Meet invitation received last week, the wheels were turning but never connected. After 3 attempts between 5:30 and 5:40pm, I sent a text to Mr. Elstad and let him know that my attempts were futile, and I was not attending. I’m sorry to my fellow board members and Mr. Elstad that I wasn’t better prepared to connect to the meeting. I will watch the video recording and write my summary blog post this weekend. Thank you for your grace.

Secondly, my family was deeply saddened to hear the news of Coach Fromm’s passing. Our son Carson was looking forward to one day playing for Coach Fromm on the varsity hockey team and Coach was one of the reasons he worked so hard playing hockey. Thank you, Coach, for the inspiration and encouragement you have given to our son. Hugs and prayers for the Fromm family, as well as the many hockey families and communities that are grieving his loss. Another painful reminder that we are not promised any more than the moment we are in with this very breath in our lungs.

Lastly, I wanted to let you know of the organization called FAIR – Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism, and specifically FAIR in Education: https://www.fairforall.org/fair-in-education/ . This is a great resource for anyone who is interested in a pro-human approach to “defend civil rights…advocate for individuals who are threatened or persecuted…support respectful disagreement…believe that objective truth exists…promote compassionate opposition to intolerance and racism.” https://www.fairforall.org/#what-we-stand-for . Please consider joining Tanya Simons, FAIR in Education fellow and Osseo school board member, who is hosting a virtual meeting through eventbrite.com called Parent Advocacy Training: Engaging School Boards: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/parent-advocacy-training-engaging-school-boards-tickets-685835130337. Tanya Simons was in Owatonna not long ago, invited by our own OPEN Owatonna group (https://openowatonna.org/) and she presents much wisdom and understanding! FAIR in Education has developed some curriculum that I would like to explore as future options for Owatonna schools.

More to come, thank you for your patience!