LAURA PARSONS
for Cape Henlopen School Board
Campaign
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Priorities
Ensuring physical, mental and cyber safety, optimizing technology usage, and enhancing student learning experiences are at the core of my campaign. Join me in supporting a brighter future for all children in the district.
Technology
Focusing on enhancing safety measures related to technology usage, promoting healthy screen time habits, maximizing new learning technologies, and advocating for impactful remote learning strategies.
Education
Implementing initiatives to address bus safety concerns, ensuring a secure and respectful environment for all children during their daily commutes.
About Laura
In 2012, my husband Eric and I relocated to Lewes from Philadelphia for his position in mortgage banking. I had recently graduated magna cum laude from Thomas Jefferson University’s School of Nursing with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Prior to this, I earned a Bachelor’s Degree in International Business/Marketing/Spanish from James Madison University and enjoyed a fulfilling career in pharmaceuticals before choosing to pursue nursing. I worked at Bayhealth in Dover before welcoming our first son in 2013, followed by our second son in 2015 and our third son in 2018.
Although my boys have always been my priority, I opened an aesthetics practice, Parsons Aesthetics, LLC, in 2020 and partnered with the medical group, Women’s Wellness of Southern Delaware. I take pride in supporting both men and women who wish to benefit from anti-aging and cosmetic injectable treatments in a safe, confidential, and nonjudgmental environment. I am committed to personalizing clients’ experiences to enhance their overall well-being and natural beauty. I am thankful for the flexibility to accommodate the busy schedules of our three boys, all of whom thrive at Lewes Elementary.
In my free time, I enjoy traveling, skiing, running, cooking, and learning. We actively participate in the Seaside Jewish Community and enjoy contributing to the community and local philanthropies.
Experience
I am deeply involved with my young children both at home and in school. As a parent in the district for the past six years. I have a unique perspective on Cape’s policies, curriculum, and administration. My three boys actively participate in and test every policy and directive implemented. Furthermore, they are direct recipients of the district and state’s tax dollars, grants etc and I am able to see, in real time, how the implemented programs are working. I’m also able to witness how the rapidly changing educational and political climate is affecting their education.
Additionally, I observe the strengths, weaknesses, and loopholes of policies that may seem impressive on paper but falter in practice. I aim to leverage this unique knowledge and daily involvement with the district to further enhance our already successful schools, setting my children and every child in the district up for optimal success.
Professionally, I lead a small team of three, alongside two partners and ten other staff members who, while not directly reporting to me, play crucial roles in my success. Through my guidance, openness to collaboration, feedback, and delegation, my business has thrived over the past four years. This success is not solely due to my own skills but also to the cohesive team I have built and mentored. They are trained to deliver the high level of customer service and attention to detail that I exemplify and demand.
I am also actively involved in various local charities and have participated in numerous service projects, including the Epworth Soup Kitchen, Pennsylvania Alliance for Labor Support, Rehoboth Art League, and the Jefferson Honickman Breast Imaging Center at Thomas Jefferson University Additionally, I serve as a nurse at my boys' summer camp in the Poconos and lead a local symposium focused on uniting my professional community.
Education
2012
Bachelor of Science, Nursing
Thomas Jefferson University
Member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing
Dean’s List member, Magna Cum Laude
2003
Bachelor of Science
James Madison University
Major- International Business with Marketing Concentration
Minor- Spanish
Study Abroad: University of Salamanca, Spain
My Motivation
Motivation
The success of all 6,600+ children (3 of whom are my own) in the district is my primary motivation. The quality of our curriculum, the competency of our staff and administration, the effective use of our technology, the collaboration between students, teachers, parents, and community, and the facilities in which the children learn, are all critical to their achievement. We are building the foundation for the rest of their lives and we must get it right. I want to be a part of ensuring the best outcomes for every single child. In my home, my children are loved, protected, nurtured, encouraged, and supported. Not all households are the same. I want to ensure that the schools can provide this support for every child, whether they receive it at home or not, so that every child’s future can be prosperous.
Goals
Technology
Of main concern is optimizing use of technology and giving children access to high quality and meaningful resources. This is specifically in reference to school issued iPads and internet accessibility. While there is oversight and control of what is accessible, there are loopholes that leave the children susceptible to mature and violent content. Furthermore, the iPads are often used in the classrooms when children finish their work early, are waiting to be dismissed, at indoor recess, etc. I’d like to closely examine all technology policies, including cell phone policies, to find areas of improved safety and greater quality use of time. Ultimately, as technology is at the forefront of many industries and is progressing daily, preparing our children to be innovative, safe and savvy in a highly technological world is critical.
Remote learning
Ensuring that children remain engaged in meaningful learning experiences during school closures is essential. If in-person days do not need to be made up, it is important to guarantee that students are receiving an equivalent educational experience through virtual learning as they would in a traditional classroom setting.
Given the fast-paced nature of the curriculum, it is vital that the children stay on track with their studies, even when a significant number of in-person school days are missed. When students return to the classroom, they should be able to seamlessly reintegrate into the curriculum. Ultimately, it’s crucial that the lessons delivered at home are comprehensive enough to achieve mastery of the material.
We must also enhance avenues for students, parents and teachers to provide feedback and express their concerns, thereby promoting a collaborative and responsive educational environment.
Safety
Assuring the physical, mental and cyber safety of our students is a must. This includes safety on school buses where children often report touching, hitting, bullying, rowdy behavior, inappropriate language and inappropriate use of technology. It’s not the bus driver’s job to run interference among the students, however, he/she is tasked with this job while also trying to safely drive home a full bus of children. While the buses are monitored via video, this can only be helpful after an incident has occurred. The schools have lunch monitors, hall monitors, recess monitors, etc, yet the children are placed on the busses without close supervision, needed support, or expectations that are clear and direct.