Robin Leeah/Photo by Campaign
By Robin Leeah, candidate for Amarillo ISD Board of Trustees
I once heard Lauren Boebert, the United States Representative of Colorado, say, “It’s not necessary to run for a public office until it’s necessary.” When I heard that statement, it resonated with me. On that day, I decided it was necessary for me to run for AISD School Board. Here I am, two years later with early voting starting shortly and election day just around the corner. So, who am I and why did I decide to run?
I was born and raised in Amarillo. I’m a mom to two daughters (one in college and one in high school) and wife to Ben Leeah for 24 years. I’ve been a stay-at-home mom for over eighteen years. Before I decided to stay at home with my children, I was a high school science teacher for 5 years. I attended Texas Tech University to pursue an education in the sciences, and this provided the opportunity for me to be a researcher within the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. While enrolled at Texas Tech, I was a member of the Alpha Phi sorority.
After graduating from Texas Tech University with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with an emphasis in Natural Sciences and Behavioral Sciences, I enrolled in the PACE program at WTAMU. Through that year-long program, I became certified to teach chemistry. I taught high school-level integrated physics and chemistry (IPC), Biology I, Chemistry I and II, and health. During my tenure as an instructor, I wrote curriculum guides and scope and sequences for each of the classes I taught in order to meet the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) accreditation requirements. Furthermore, I was an English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) adjunct faculty member at Amarillo College. In addition to my teaching activities, I am a former member of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, which promotes and supports women educators. I was involved with the local Kappa Eta chapter in Amarillo. My teaching skills weren’t just found in the classroom, but in the community as well. With the knowledge gained from raising two daughters as a stay-at-home mom, I was encouraged to lead a life group mentoring young mothers, which I have done for 8 years.
It’s been a two-year process prepping to run for AISD School Board. The summer of 2021 was when I really started looking into the role of a school board member. I signed up for a 6-week course from FreedomWorks BEST (Building Education for Students Together). I learned about the role of a school board member and strategies for organizing a campaign. This past fall, I was selected to participate in the conference Restoring Education in America Fly-In in Washington, D.C. (sponsored by FreedomWorks BEST), but it was canceled due to the unstable atmosphere in D.C. during the midterms. As I shared with friends and acquaintances that I was considering running for the school board, they encouraged me and offered their support. But before I could make a decision, I knew I needed more information. At that time, I had a daughter who had just graduated from Tascosa and an 8th grader at de Zavala Middle School. I was an involved parent, but decided I needed to be more invested in the inner workings of the district. I joined committees to meet and interact with teachers and principals and learn about AISD. I contacted my daughter’s principal, offering up my time, and I was selected for the Sight Based Decision Making (SBDM) Committee. I requested at a school board meeting to be placed on another committee — one made up of parents and community members who would be part of the discussions within the district. I was quickly asked after that meeting to be on the School Health Advisory Clinic (SHAC) committee. Now, I am serving my second year on both the SBDM and SHAC committees. In addition, this year I was selected to participate in the AISD iLEAD Program, which acquaints its members with the workings of the district and schools.
These committees have given me the opportunity to be involved with administrators and teachers, but I realized I needed to experience the classroom once again. It was clear that the classroom setting had changed in the years I had been raising my daughters. I applied for a substitute teaching position, did the training, and started substitute teaching. I subbed primarily in elementary and middle schools and I enjoyed being back in the classroom, interacting with both students and teachers. I realized the classroom of today is somewhat different than what I was accustomed to as a teacher. It requires a very dedicated and gifted educator. It also became apparent to me at this time that The Lord was truly calling me to run for the school board—all of these opportunities pointed towards campaigning for parents, teachers, and students.
After being on the committees and in the classroom, it was clear what goals I wanted to achieve as a school board member. These were:
Empowerment: I'll help empower parents to be a part of their child’s education.
Standards: I will work to bring high standards back to our classrooms.
Board Involvement: I will work towards greater communication and transparency between the board and the community.
Empowerment is engaging parents to advocate for their children. If a parent sees or hears something in their student’s class that concerns them, they must speak up and say something to the teacher or principal of that campus. This includes Critical Race Theory (CRT). I do not support CRT. The Governor, legislators, and superintendents have said there will be no CRT taught in K-12 classrooms. I’ve been to the classrooms and have looked at my daughter’s classes and it is not being taught. However, if a parent sees it or hears about it in a class, they must say something. The district cannot address it if they don’t know about it. In addition, it is important to me to empower parents to seek the truth behind what’s happening in their child’s classroom. In my visits, I have had many teachers and administrators express their frustration and heartache at being accused of grooming children, advocating CRT, and indoctrinating students.
Standards are important in the classroom. We must allow our students an environment in which they can learn effectively and efficiently. We need to limit cell phone usage in the classroom. My daughter has a cell phone and texts me several times a day. I want to know if something is wrong or if she needs something. However, I do not want her to have her phone out during instructional time. Students need to be attentive when instruction is occurring. Cell phones need to be put away while students are in class. In the same vein of technology, Chromebooks were essential during the period of remote learning due to COVID-19. However, with our children back in the classroom, students need instruction from their teachers. The focus should be on communication between students and their peers, as well as between students and their instructors. There needs to be a balance between classroom instruction and the use of Chromebooks. Enforcing the dress code at all district schools is another way I want to improve the standards in the classroom. Students should be able to express their own personal style, but in a way that is not distracting to others. We do have a dress code but the problem is the enforcement of that dress code. We need ALL teachers and administrators on board to enforce dress code throughout the district.
Board Involvement means that I would like to see the board have better communication and transparency with the community. It is important for the board to keep the community — which includes parents, teachers, and students — informed about district plans, actions, and achievements. The only way we can build trust is to communicate. That is why I think it is important for me to speak on the discussion about the English Language Arts curriculum, Amplify Texas. Doing away with this instructional resource is not an option — school board members are not able to add or remove instructional resources from the state-approved list. The board approves instructional resources that support the TEKS and courses offered in schools. This is mandated by the TEA (Texas Education Agency). The only time the board approves instructional resources in the classroom is if the purchase exceeds $100,000. Thus, Amplify Texas is not going to be removed entirely unless the state chooses to. However, I was incredibly proud of the parents who spoke about their concerns with this instructional resource. In addition, I was so glad to see a response from the district about these concerns — they made changes based on parent feedback, which is amazing. I support having these discussions and raising these concerns, because regardless of whether we all agree with each other, our voices can be heard and change can happen.
As I prepped to run for the board, I wanted to be the parent on the board who would partner with other moms, dads, parents, grandparents, and caretakers. When at the board meetings, I noticed there was only one mother with school-age children on the board. As I sat in the board meetings, I also felt that there was a lack of communication between the board and parents. So, my platform was born: “Partnering with Parents.”
I want to listen to parents’ concerns and be the person they feel safe and comfortable coming to with concerns, regardless of whether or not I share their beliefs. We all want safe and productive schools, but we must work together to find the best solutions for the students. I want to be a team player with the parents and the community to do what’s best for all the teachers and students in Amarillo. We have such a diverse population of students who need to be served, and that means coming together as a community to support them. Being a teacher, I had many interactions with parents and students. I understand both perspectives. I would work with the parents to find appropriate solutions for their students to help them succeed. I want to support and help parents advocate for their children. Being a high school teacher meant working with the student to help them find solutions and being the person they could depend on. I would stay during lunch to tutor, come early for make-up sessions, and stay late for support on hard days. I may no longer be in the classroom, but I want to bring that attitude into the community and advocate for parents, teachers, and students on the AISD Board of Trustees.
Finally, I am asking each person who reads this to be a voter. We have been given a precious gift to vote. It must be used to let our voices be heard. Elections have been very important in my family. Throughout my life, I heard my parents and grandparents talk about voting. I was so excited when I turned 18 and could vote. I remember standing in that long line and finally casting my vote, and I have been voting ever since because many lives have been sacrificed for our freedoms and the right to vote. My grandfather fought on Iwo Jima to preserve that right, and many others have fought to guarantee these freedoms.
Early voting begins April 24th and the election is May 6th. The AISD Board of Trustees election utilizes cumulative voting. This means you have three votes that can be used for one candidate or mixed or matched. Please consider giving all three of your votes to me, Robin Leeah. I am number three on the ballot, so remember, “three votes for number three!”