Now that the candidates for the Peoria Unified School District Governing Board have been firmly established, it’s time to get to know them better.
The district has a competitive race for two open seats on the board that will be vacated by Cory Underhill and Rep. Beverly Pingerelli, R-Peoria.
Three candidates will be fighting to win those seats in the Nov. 8 general election.
The Peoria Independent will be hosting a candidate forum to learn more about where they stand on specific issues that affect students, teachers, administrators and the surrounding community.
But first, residents can gain some insight as to who the candidates are through a series of questionnaires the Independent is publishing.
The candidates are Melissa Ewing, Heather Rooks and Devon Updegraff-Day.
In this first installment, we learn why they decided to run for school board.
Melissa Ewing
Age or date of birth: Sept. 1, 1970
City/town you grew up in: Born in Flossmoor, Illinois. Moved to Scottsdale, Arizona in 1997 from my hometown of Bloomington Indiana.
Number of years you’ve lived in Peoria: 15 years in the Vistancia community
Political experience: None
What do you do for a living?: Earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology with a minor in sociology concentrating in family studies. I also earned my Master of Education in guidance counseling and a Master of Science in marriage, family and child therapy.
I have been involved with Peoria for six years as a substitute teacher.
As a parent, educator, counselor, school and community volunteer, my commitment is to students and schools to ensure that they have the resources and support for academic excellence.
What types of involvement have you had within the community?: More than 15 years in various community volunteer positions. Education related involvements include PTO vice-president, site council member, classroom reading and math volunteer, Girl Scout leader and community mental health provider.
Family information: Married husband Aaron Ewing in 2002. I have two children: daughter Alexia Ewing, born in 2004, and recent graduate of Liberty High School, and son Zachary Ewing, born in 2005, now a Junior at Liberty High school. Raised my children as a stay-at-home mom.
Why are you running for school board and what is the first thing you want voters to know about your campaign?
Learning and education is the pathway to community success. I am passionate about providing support to schools and staff. I have done that in various roles — as a parent, volunteer, counselor and educator. Being a part of the school board is the next step in advocating and supporting students, teachers, parents and schools in my community. I care deeply about the success of our students and community. I have compassion and respect for educators and school staff who are working hard to provide our students with a quality education in an environment where our families are under stress.
With my training and educational background, my unique experience both inside and outside the classroom, my community relationships through volunteerism, I am highly qualified to be a Peoria school board member.
Heather Rooks
Age or date of birth: 33
City/Town you grew up in: Glendale/Peoria
Number of years you have lived in Peoria: 28 years
Political experience: Republican Precinct Committeemen for about a year
What do you do for a living?: I am a wife and stay at home mother.
What types of involvement have you had in the community?: I have been attending and speaking at Peoria Unified school board meetings since October 2020. Devon Updegraff-Day and I are co-founders of West Valley Parents Uniting. I have been working the past two years advocating for parental rights in education.
Family Information: I have been married to my husband for 11 years and we have four children together. We both graduated from Sunrise Mountain High School and attended Frontier Elementary. Our children attend Peoria Unified School District.
Why are you running for school board and what is the first thing you want voters to know about your campaign?
First and foremost to serve the parents and citizens of PUSD. For the past three years I have been asking for information and questions to which answers should be readily available and yet are not. I witnessed parents trying to stand up for their parental rights in education to later be ridiculed for doing so. I was done listening to excuses and not having any resolutions. It is time for a board that listens to parents. I will stand up for academic education in Peoria Unified. I will stand up for parental rights, transparency and accountability.
Devon Updegraff-Day
Age or date of birth: Nov. 22, 1980
City/town you grew up in: Phoenix
Number of years you’ve lived in Peoria: 14
Political experience: Together with Heather Rooks and a small group of parents, we formed a growing nonprofit that advocates for parental rights. West Valley Parents Uniting has become extremely involved with various parental rights legislation and we hope to work with legislators to correct Arizona’s student expulsion/suspension law and push for required K-12 curriculum transparency.
What do you do for a living?: I have been a dermatology physician assistant for almost 14 years, and I co-own a dermatology medical practice. I also have a BA degree in sociology with a minor in anthropology and will be receiving a doctorate in health sciences later this year.
What types of involvement have you had within the community?: I provide informative lectures on skin cancer diagnosis, treatment and prevention, as well as free skin cancer screenings to the community. I am also a co-founder of West Valley Parents Uniting which was formed to advocate for parental rights.
Family information: I have been married for 13 years and I have three children ages 12, 9 and 4. My father is a dermatologist of over 40 years and comes from a long line of military doctors. I have an older brother who is a retired marine and is currently a NCIS agent. Every member of my family are huge animal lovers; we have two rescue dogs and one beagle. In addition to dogs, I also have two retired racehorses that I train and ride in my spare time.
Why are you running for school board and what is the first thing you want voters to know about your campaign?
Student performance, parental rights, district accountability and transparency are my top priorities. Fellow candidate Heather Rooks and I have been working together fighting for parental rights for over two years. If both elected, things would change for the better! Otherwise, it’s just more of the same. Same poor student behavior, same wasteful spending, and the same disregard for parental rights mentality.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here