FOCUS. ACCOUNTABILITY. TRANSPARENCY. RESULTS.
Vote for Rob Willey for Eden Prairie School Board Nov 3rd, 2009!
Download My Mailer by Clicking Below
This mailer went to EP homes that voted during the last school board election.
willey09_schoolboard_6x11_email (2).pdf
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I am running for one of the three (3) open school board seats.
I want to make sure I do my part to make sure the board is focused on the right issues. That we set the right goals and ensure the interpretation of board policy is appropriate. That the board 'inspects what it expects'. That we strike the right balance of accountability and responsibility between the board and administration. We need board members that are willing to 'agitate for change in a curious way', but without an agenda. Why can't we score as high as Edina? Wayzata? Minnetonka?
I started working at the start of the technology revolution -- when mainframes no longer needed punch cards. When the first PC was introduced into the marketplace. When the internet was used primarily by Computer Science Majors like myself or academia.
I have held Senior Vice President and Vice President positions at multi-billion dollar companies - including Best Buy. Throughout the years, I have hired Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y. Working for Best Buy and Musicland, I have seen how technology and fundamental generational/attitudinal shifts have changed the workforce. The next generation will need to be more flexible - and more comfortable being put into situations that they do not necessarily know the answer - but instead be expected to figure it out and work across not just functional but geographical and cultural divides. Job security is already a luxury of past generations. This is not just a trend, but a fundamental shift in how people will conduct business in the future. We need to do more now to prepare this generation for the next set of challenges.
This does NOT mean, however, that we abandon core educational principles for the ‘book' or 'idea' of the moment. This challenge demands the best teachers. That parents renew their commitment to help, as Robert Frost would say, 'awaken' their children and instill a love of learning. This challenge requires a laser focus on what is important and a setting aside of those issues that detract from this charter. This board and this administration need to create a common focus, align decision making to include the best thoughts of our best teachers, and be more transparent with the community in order to bring everyone along.
There are a lot of positive things going on in our district. According to our Superintendent, we are ranked in the top 15% of public schools. I am committed to improving that - I want us to be part of a top 5 or 10% school system, and to accomplish this by simultaneously increasing the quality of the education while reducing or maintaining the cost of delivering it.
I am excited to have the opportunity to earn your vote and lower my shoulder to help move the ball up the hill!
We Have Lived in Eden Prairie for 11 Years
Willey FamilyI have been married to my wife, Jennifer, for almost 20 years. We met in High School and have been together ever since. She is pharmacist at a local hospital. Each of our children are enrolled in Eden Prairie Public School system (Eden Lake, Oak Point, and CMS).
We both believe strongly in 'life-long learning". Jennifer earned her BS in Pharmacy at UW-Madison and her PharmD at the University of Minnesota. She wanted to show our children the importance of education even though the degree would not result in more pay. I received my MBA from the University of Chicago Booth school while working full time by going every Saturday for 2 1/2 years. It is important to model a love of learning in all of our children's lives and to show them that learning does not end after K-12 or college or even graduate school.
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