With longtime Denton ISD school board member Jim Alexander retiring from his Place 6 seat, three candidates mean to take his place and put their expertise to work for the rapidly growing district. Alexander has served on the board since 1993.
Charlie Stinson, the owner of a local trucking company, made his first bid for office last year. He opposed Charles Stafford for Place 5, but couldn’t unseat one of the longest-serving members.
In the meantime, Stinson, a parent with two children educated in the district, has served on two district committees. In this race, he is pointing to his corporate leadership experience — leading people and coordinating rail and trucking as well as managing multimillion-dollar budgets — as experience he can bring to bear on Denton ISD’s budget.
Political newcomers Terry Senne and Lori Tays are also vying for the seat.
Senne is a retired Texas Woman’s University professor and career educator who wants to apply her expertise to the district to improve student academic performance and to emphasize the formation of solid citizenship among students. Senne is also pressing for a board that is more accountable to parents and citizens.
Tays is a pediatric ER nurse, a parent of two Denton ISD students and a member of a local PTA. Tays has her sights on two top initiatives: safety and security of Denton ISD campuses, and strengthening the district’s partnerships (and establishing new ones with community leaders and nonprofits) to lower the barriers to learning that some students face.
Heather Roberts, a TWU professor in the occupational health program, filed an application to run, but withdrew from the race in February.
The Denton Record-Chronicle asked all candidates the same questions, and their responses here have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
Terry Senne speaks a Denton ISD candidate forum on Thursday night, April 13.
Jacob McCready/DRC
Terry A. Senne
Age: (not given)
Birthplace: Elmhurst, Illinois
Education: Doctorate in educational research and policy analysis, 1997, North Carolina State University; Master of Science in physical education (curriculum and instruction concentration), 1987, University of Illinois at Chicago; Bachelor of Science in physical education (teacher certification), George Williams College, 1977.
Family: Children Kelly, Michael and Jaclyn
Professional experience: Retired Texas Woman’s University director of academic assessment and associate professor of kinesiology emerita; public school teaching in physical education (four years at middle school and four years at high school) and coaching in middle school and high school, eight years total; lecturer, assistant professor and associate professor in physical education teacher education, 22 years; higher education administration, 10 years; various leadership roles including Board of Directors of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education; served on NCATE Board of Examiners to recommend college/university teacher education programs for national accreditation.
What do you believe should be the top priorities of the school district, and, if elected, how would you advance those priorities?
Academic excellence should be the top priority and responsibility of the board. Our schools need to return to the business of:
teaching academic subjects,
improving student learning performance, and
helping students to become good citizens.
If elected, I would work to eliminate all tactics of indoctrination currently embedded in the school system. I would eliminate the software currently being used to track SEL (social-emotional learning) in students. The company of this software actually owns the student data. This should be a real concern to the district. It can be used inappropriately to target students and parents.
I would focus on development of an academic assessment system to track improvement in student learning performance that is based on measurable outcomes of student exit competencies over time. This system could also be used as a means of systematic program evaluation of courses, programs and tracks using authentic measures as opposed to standardized tests.
I would conduct a comprehensive review of current/proposed board policies or initiatives to ensure appropriate vetting, implementation effectiveness, accountability and transparency.
Lastly, I would respect parent concerns and follow up with appropriate and effective solutions through consistent communication with parents and the community.
Social-emotional learning has become a buzzword in public education. What do you know about SEL in the school district, and do you think students benefit from an SEL curriculum? Why or why not?
SEL focuses on student characteristics, mindsets, values, behaviors and groupthink rather than academic content knowledge, skills and applications. It is based on feelings, emotions, attitudes, etc. which are affective in nature and cannot be measured accurately, as these emotions can change from one day to the next. Additionally, the data collected on students can easily be misinterpreted and lead to inappropriate actions taken by a teacher, administrator, etc. Further, SEL provides easy access for the indoctrination of students specifically with respect to gender identity, sexual orientation, and replaces current vocabulary with terms to normalize what is occurring.
It is not the job of a public school to engage in the process of identifying healthy behaviors, relationships, etc. The school’s job is to teach academic subject content so students acquire the knowledge, skills needed and application activities that will lead to student success in a career of choice.
Do you believe the school district properly values parental involvement in their children’s education and in setting district priorities? Why or why not?
I do not, based on my observations of Denton ISD Board of Trustees meetings over the course of a year. Many parental concerns appear to fall on deaf ears. There is a definite lack of follow-up. It often appears that the board has already made up their mind prior to the start of each meeting. There appears a real lack of communication amongst the district, parents and community members in being able to voice their very real concerns on issues. It also appears based on board voting, that everything is approved with six board members always voting for approval. This is unfortunate. Debate is a good thing and so is a difference of opinions. As a board member, one should vote for what’s best for the students, while still considering the constituency of voters who put him/her in office.
Do you have any children or grandchildren attending district schools — either in a virtual program or on a district campus?
No. I have a grandchild in another Texas public school at this time.
Charlie Stinson speaks at a Denton ISD candidate forum on Thursday night, April 13.
Jacob McCready/DRC
Charlie Stinson
Age: 49
Birthplace: Enterprise, Alabama
Education: Bachelor of Science in marketing, 1996, University of Alabama; Master of Business Administration (concentration in data analytics), Louisiana State University Shreveport, 2021; Certified Lean Practitioner; studied Fundamentals of Effective Sales Management at The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business Executive Education.
Family: Wife Lauren, a neonatal nurse practitioner; and two children who have grown up in Denton ISD: Isabella, currently attending the University of Alabama; and Ford, a sophomore at Guyer High School.
Professional experience: CEO and president of Nationwide Express Inc., a logistics and trucking company; volunteer member of the Denton ISD Citizen Advisory and Security & Safety committees. Worked 23 years for a commercial metals company.
What do you believe should be the top priorities of the school district, and, if elected, how would you advance those priorities?
The safety and security of all our children and staff is my No. 1 priority. We need to continue our “intruder” audits by campus and continue to invest in the newest technology to give advance notice of concern. Complacency is our worst enemy and we must be diligent every hour. This continuous improvement of culture and climate throughout the district will ensure that students and teachers feel safe and valued. My experience on the Safety & Security Committee for Denton ISD is valuable for this board seat.
Our tax dollars and oversight of those tax dollars requires a trustee, Charlie Stinson, with experience managing budgets, benchmarking best practices and qualifying spend. The ability to serve as a board member during this critical time in our district’s fast growth is important so all students have the best facilities for their education while ensuring that taxpayers get the most for their tax dollars.
Continuous improvement of student outcomes and teacher effectiveness. The district has a solid history of improving academic achievement and educating the whole child. Continuing with this focus is important as we grow and usher in the new generation of students. We must catch up!
Social-emotional learning has become a buzzword in public education. What do you know about SEL in the school district, and do you think students benefit from an SEL curriculum? Why or why not?
To my knowledge, I have not seen or heard from my children or their friends about SEL in Denton ISD in the daily curriculum. However, these soft skills have been present in life forever. Not to make light of this buzzword or topic, but the more I research the topic social-emotional learning, it sounds a lot like life skills, just much more formal within the curriculum, especially in early education.
Across the country, current lesson plans with weekly concepts and objectives have SEL within the curriculum. For example, some of the concepts: welcoming, listening, focusing attention, self-talk, following directions, asking for what you need or want, what are you feeling and thinking, and are you happy or angry. These concepts are embedded within units — skills for learning, empathy, emotion management, friendship skills and problem solving.
Parental engagement should be first, if a child has issues listening, following directions and/or behavioral issues. A parent-teacher conference should address these issues, not spending valuable classroom time explaining “listening rules” to 7- and 8-year-olds who are probably not listening to the “listening rules.” If my child gets in trouble at school for not listening, I need to know.
Do you believe the school district properly values parental involvement in their children’s education and in setting district priorities? Why or why not?
As selected leaders in the community, we must communicate with the public to keep community members abreast of challenges, ideas and progress. The face-to-face interaction over the last few years, during the pandemic, made this difficult. However, other mediums exist to collaborate with our stakeholders. We should have done better, as parents, educators, students and district staff.
Introduce a community ambassadorship program: engagement teams made up of students, teachers, staff and parents by geographic area to provide more focus on the community needs and experiences being faced. Look for local business leaders to speak to and mentor these groups. Monthly meetings to discuss the good, bad and ugly while displaying the glimpses of excellence each group provides. For example, Lantana — three elementary, one middle school — all feed to Guyer High School. PTA presidents, student government association presidents, school leaders, local leaders or elected officials would meet once a month to discuss these items.
Our school board will face issues that inspire a diversity of strong perspectives and beliefs. And our goal always remains the same: to pursue consensus, to reconcile differences, to reach compromises — all in service of students, which will help the board garner a much more encompassing viewpoint of all constituencies.
Do you have any children or grandchildren attending district schools — virtual or on a district campus?
Our son, Ford, attends Guyer High School and plays football. Both of our children have grown up in Denton ISD, attending Blanton Elementary School, Harpool Middle School and Guyer. Our daughter graduated from Guyer in 2021 in the top 6% of her class and our son will graduate in 2025.
Lori Tays speaks at a Denton ISD candidate forum on Thursday night, April 13.
Jacob McCready/DRC
Lori Tays
Age: 39
Birthplace: Arlington
Education: EMT certification, 2004, Dallas County College; Associate Degree in Nursing, 2013, Tarrant County College; Bachelor of Science in nursing, 2020, Western Governors University.
Family: Husband, 41, and kids, 11 and 8
Professional experience: Pediatric ER nurse (undisclosed for employee compliance)
What do you believe should be the top priorities of the school district, and, if elected, how would you advance those priorities?
I believe the safety of our children and meeting quality academic standards should be the top priorities of our district. The proposed bond will increase security measures across all of the district, which is why I support it. I intend to collaborate with our community leaders and nonprofits utilizing district communications to educate caregivers on resources available to decrease obstacles to learning. Reducing our learning barriers, reviewing the data regarding our testing scores and utilizing evidence-based practices will improve student outcomes.
Social-emotional learning has become a buzzword in public education. What do you know about SEL in the school district, and do you think students benefit from an SEL curriculum? Why or why not?
The district’s SEL program is built from evidence-based practices that increase positive student outcomes by learning life skills as mandated by the Texas Education Agency. In our schools, this is how our teachers and staff are relating to our kids, with dignity and respect. It’s how we are asking the questions, to increase problem-solving skills. It’s how they show their passion for academia, so our children will grow to love learning as adults.
It looks different on all levels, because our children have different needs. For our kindergartners, it’s identifying anger and learning why we shouldn’t act out emotionally. For fifth graders, it’s demonstrating we are different, but we have the commonality of enjoying half-days. For middle schoolers, it’s teaching them time management and organizational skills. For high schoolers, it’s having them visualize beyond high school so they can prepare for the real world. Evidence-based research proves SEL is beneficial and teaches the life skills parents want.
SEL and critical race theory are mutually exclusive entities, and there is no evidence of CRT in our district.
Do you believe the school district properly values parental involvement in their children’s education and in setting district priorities? Why or why not?
Yes, Denton ISD encourages parental and guardian involvement. The district sends out multiple opportunities for families to be more engaged in their schools. They encourage attendance of school board meetings, collaborate with the PTA to increase engagement, and have curriculum and proposed budgets made public. In my children’s school, I am offered consent for certain programs intended for my child with the right to refuse. Our schools support my involvement in my children’s education, and they send me rubrics and curriculum on request in an effort to assist my child at home.
I would like to increase the collaboration between families and the district. As the data has shown us, when schools and families work together, our children have better outcomes.
Do you have any children or grandchildren attending district schools — virtual or on a district campus?
We have been a Denton ISD family since 2017, and both of my children attend DISD schools. Volunteering with the PTA, and through the school, has allowed me to see firsthand the quality of the education and the passion our educators have for our children. I was amazed when my oldest was in kindergarten, and he was learning coding programs in the library’s creation lab. His teacher told me: They have the ability to learn anything. My second grader just finished a research project on a historical figure and independently made a slideshow presentation, which she demonstrated with the rest of her classmates.
I am excited about my oldest moving up to middle school next year, because they offer a study skills course, along with other electives and even honors courses. I am confident about his transition into middle school because I know he will have access to two counselors, one for academia and the other for behavioral/emotional support.
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LUCINDA BREEDING-GONZALES can be reached at 940-566-6877 and via Twitter at @LBreedingDRC.
