Community member Jeshua Erickson filed for the seat vacated by Bill Villarreal on the Albert Lea school board for the November election. Erickson is a freelance web and computer consultant.

He lives in Albert Lea with his wife, Jennifer Vogt-Erickson, and their 1-year-old son, Axel.

Hobbies of his include spending time with his family, running long-distance races and volunteering as a track coach at Albert Lea High School. Albert Leans also find him playing disc golf at Bancroft Bay Park.

Erickson, 35, has also been on the United Way Allocations Committee. He said it was a challenge but helped him find out much more about Albert Lea and services that are available to residents.

Goals

Most of Erickson’s goals for the school board, if elected, fall under the broader goal of improving student achievement. Erickson said he takes the school board position seriously and hopes community members elect him by choice, not only because he’s running unopposed.

“I was nervous about filing,” Erickson said. “I don’t want to do it unless I can do the best possible job I can do.”

Erickson has done some research on school boards throughout Minnesota. He said Albert Lea isn’t behind other districts but said the board should strive to be ahead of the curve as well.

His suggestion for this is to start moving in the direction he said other school boards are working toward. This direction would be to change the board from a group of people who deal with problems as they arise to a group of people who craft policies based on what community members want for the schools. Therefore any problems that would arise could be dealt with by looking at the most relevant policy. This would eliminate board members who vote using their personal opinions and judgments. This style of government is often called policy governance.

“When hot-button issues come up, they could be dealt with easier,” Erickson said. “It establishes consistency.”

The plan would involve working with other school boards who have implemented a similar style and a lot of input from the community about what they think student achievement is.

After the board understands what the community considers student achievement they could draft policies that support that vision, Erickson said.

Erickson said if elected he would try to learn from the board and wouldn’t present the idea immediately. He thinks it could be a good long-term plan for the school board.

He said he wants to make clear the fact that the school board is a subset of the community and represents residents of Albert Lea.

Another goal of Erickson’s is to learn as much as possible about the state funding formula and legislative issues. He thinks it’s important for board members to educate themselves and to be aware of funding sources.

Technology

As a web and computer consultant, Erickson said he’s excited about new technology in the classroom.

“I think it’s really important going forward,” Erickson said.

He said too much, too fast could hinder student achievement, so it must be monitored carefully.

Extra-curriculars

As a volunteer track coach, Erickson said he understands the importance of activities outside the classroom. He said he enjoys seeing kids make goals for themselves and how excited they get when they achieve those goals.

“When I was in high school I was in orchestra and sports,” Erickson said. “Fine arts are a really big part of student achievement.”

He said he wants to support extra-curricular activities as much as he can if he is elected to the school board.

New administration

Erickson said if he’s elected he hopes the board will be open to new ideas and perspectives. So far he’s talked to a few members of the board and believes they will be open to suggestions and new ideas.

“If people are open to ideas, that will help us become a higher-performing board,” Erickson said.

Erickson said he thinks Superintendent Mike Funk is doing a good job as well.

“He’s really focused on clear expectations and results,” Erickson said.

Standardized testing

Erickson thinks state-mandated tests have their purpose to measure student achievement. He also thinks it’s important to ask the community besides standardized testing what they want to see for district performance.

“It’s up to the community to see what’s essential in measuring student achievement,” Erickson said.

Erickson said he hopes the community will elect him to the school board and if he is elected he said he’d be excited to work with the current board and other potential members.

“I really value diversity of opinion,” Erickson said. “It makes for a better school board.”