EDWARDSVILLE - Allison Carroll has entered the Edwardsville School District 7 Board race with high hopes for the future. The key of her platform for school board she said is she understands District 7 is an outstanding district, but with a reputation as a leader, has to be more forward-thinking to stay that way.
"We cannot be simply reactionary - for example, only installing WiFi in elementary schools after we went remote," Carroll said. "We need a Board and a new superintendent who can look ahead and help put this District back on the map. We cannot be a strong District without this vision and we owe it to our community to keep striving forward, admitting and learning from our mistakes and striving to be a place that attracts, cultivates and retains fantastic educators."
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Carroll explained she is married and has a second-grade daughter and a son in Pre-K.
"With children as young as they are, I view myself as 'in it for the long haul' with this district," she said. "My hope is that I can bring the unique perspective to the board that only a parent can have. There is no one more invested in the success of a district than the parents. No one. A good relationship with the community at large - parents included, is critical to our district and we need a board who understands this implicitly. I intend to bring this inclusive perspective to the Board."
Carroll is originally from the Milwaukee area - from there, she graduated from the University of Iowa and then went on to complete a master's degree from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. After returning to the United States, she lived and worked in Washington D.C., as a researcher for a progressive Congressional ethics watchdog group called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. She came to Edwardsville in 2009 and joined McGraw-Hill Education as a Senior Product Developer in their Higher Education group in 2010 - and has been with them ever since.
"Edwardsville is hardly recognizable from the town I moved to 12 years ago," Carroll said. "It’s growing rapidly and our district has struggled mightily to keep up with progress. Our stark lack of technology in the classroom, in particular, was an eye-opening experience for many parents this past spring and really what spurred me to become involved. I have spent the better part of 11 years developing educational curriculum materials for the classroom - I can tell you with 100 percent certainty that the new emphasis on classroom technology that COVID-19 Pandemic brought is not going anywhere.
"Being able to deliver a classroom experience in an agile, dynamic way is the new normal," she said. "I hope to bring this experience to the Board as they work to bring District 7 up to date on some of these issues that have been ignored for years."
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