School should be a place in which every student feels safe. Support CCS believes this requires an environment in which all students feel protected from both physical and mental harm.

The world we live in is beautifully diverse and interconnected, and Carmel itself is home to people whose roots and traditions span the globe. For our students to succeed–in Carmel, in college, and beyond–they must have an appreciation for all the different perspectives and experiences they may encounter in our increasingly globalized society.

Success can mean so many things to so many different students and families across Carmel Clay Schools. We believe school board members should balance traditional measurements of achievement with other metrics of excellence, and should work to ensure all students are supported in developing and fulfilling their unique goals for academic excellence. 

Support CCS believes that public education is the foundation of a healthy democracy: accessible to all, it brings communities together across differences while respecting the individuality of all. In keeping with this spirit of respecting and bridging differences, we asked one of our volunteers, Julie Kratz (who, in addition to being mom to three current CCS students, is an Inclusive Leadership Trainer!) to share some tips about how we can have conversations with our neighbors in a way that is candid while also being respectful and productive.

Support CCS believes that public education is the foundation of a healthy democracy: accessible to all, it brings communities together across differences while respecting the individuality of all. In keeping with this spirit of respecting and bridging differences, we asked one of our volunteers, Julie Kratz (who, in addition to being mom to three current CCS students, is an Inclusive Leadership Trainer!) to share some tips about how we can have conversations with our neighbors in a way that is candid while also being respectful and productive.

Support CCS recognizes that none of our goals can be achieved without our teachers, whom we recognize and respect both as professionals and as members of our community who care about our kids. We are therefore committed to promoting school board candidates who demonstrate respect for teachers by acknowledging their expertise, listening to their concerns, and seeking to ensure that they are given the time, funding, appreciation, and resources they need to succeed in their work.

Support CCS endorses candidates who see public education as a joint endeavor between teachers, administrators, and families, and who understand that such collaboration requires clear, timely, and consistent communication between all parties to establish and maintain a relationship of trust. School board candidates should recognize that parents have the most important role in their children’s lives; that role is strengthened when families and teachers forge strong connections. Candidates promoted by Support CCS will work to affirm and enhance CCS’s current efforts in this area across multiple platforms of family-school engagement, including but not limited to email, Canvas, website access, and the StopIt App. Additionally, candidates endorsed by Support CCS must commit to engaging in open dialogue with the community.

School board candidates endorsed by Support CCS will understand that student mental health and wellness are important for enabling academic excellence, creating a safe environment, and allowing all students to achieve their potential. Our children need our support now, more than ever, to cope with the distress that the pandemic has caused. We will support school board candidates who will promise to continue and deepen the robust mental health and wellness partnerships CCS has established (such as the partnership with St. Vincent Ascension Medical Center) and who will support CCS’s efforts to find new tools (like the StopIt anti-bullying app) to improve the student experience.

Our increasingly globalized society requires that, in order to successfully navigate the world and its challenges, students must acquire broad cultural competencies that will allow them to collaborate across differences and to be aware of and respectful toward the vast array of human experiences. Support CCS endorses candidates who acknowledge this reality and are committed to expanding CCS’s ability to prepare students for it, both by recognizing the cultural diversity within our own Carmel community and by seeking to understand and appreciate the world beyond Carmel and the concerns and customs of people around the globe.

School should be a place in which every student feels safe. Candidates endorsed by SupportCCS will be committed to creating an environment in which students feel safe from physical and mental harm and feel confident expressing themselves in a judgment-free environment. SupportCCS will promote candidates who partner with and support the Director of Student Services, the specially trained SROs, building safety specialists, counselors, social workers, and all other staff working to foster a safe and non-threatening learning environment for students.