“However beautiful the strategy you should occasionally look at the results” – Winston Churchill

As a parent and a business woman, I think this quote speaks to one of the most fundamental issues in the upcoming school board election.  We are blessed to live in a strong school district, with active parents and a supportive community.  We have the luxury of having many talented people interested in raising their hands to say they would like to be part of our school board to help make our great schools even better.  The real question for me is do we have candidates who understand what it will take to make the district strategies actually work.  Andrea Cuene is uniquely qualified to be a school board member because she has both an insider and outsider viewpoint on the issues. As a mom of two boys in our school system, Andrea knows the importance of maintaining our strong school standards, the impact of board decisions on her boys, and the value that parent voices can have in helping to prioritize our focus.  As a teacher, Andrea sees everyday where good ideas become unclear and complicated to implement.  She will be able to ensure that our school strategies are designed to appreciate the many competing priorities of teachers and that they are integrated into, instead distracting from, the work schools are already doing.

As a speech and language specialist, Andrea works directly with individuals with unique needs. She understands the importance of personalizing learning so that all students can be successful. In her role, she works everyday with students, parents, and teachers to implement effective strategies that impact student learning.

Andrea has been an active volunteer in the district for the last 8 years. She served as the PTA treasurer for two years,  a District Liaison for three years, and for three years on the Legislative Action Committee. She has proven she is in this for the long haul to work together to come up with solutions that not only sound good in a sound bite, but can impact students and lead to successful results for teachers, parents, and our district. Andrea’s unique 360 vision for our district will help keep an eye on both our strategy and our results.  I am happy to lend my support to Andrea Cuene and encourage you to vote for her for Wayzata School Board.

Sarah Waite