Heather Wilsey

Why did you decide to run?

I am a first grade teacher in a public school out in West St. Paul. My kids are getting older, I have one in high school and one in middle school. I was thinking about what I was going to do next. I thought about it a lot this summer and I came to the decision that I would really like to (run) because it matches my experience and my area of expertise.

What do you believe to be the biggest issue in the school district right now that you would like to address?

The biggest issue facing St. Louis Park is the opportunity or achievement gap. We are getting better at it and we are changing the structures to support students, but more can be done. One thing that I have used in my own classroom and one thing that I would advocate for in our schools is looking at a more personalized learning approach to teaching. 

What other issues are you passionate about?

The strategic plan is up for renewal in 2020, and there will be a huge focus on the curriculum and adapting it for the district and I think this is so important. Our curriculum really needs to reflect our diverse population so we need to be very strategic in deciding which curriculum we want to implement or adapt. It should really represent our students in the pictures and the stories it tells.

What was your background before you decided to run?

I started teaching in (West St. Paul) during my first years out of school in kindergarten. I switched to St. Paul Public Schools and taught kindergarten for three more years. Then my husband and I decided to serve in the Peace Corps as volunteers so we moved to Ecuador for two years, and that’s where I learned to speak Spanish. Then we came back and moved to Florida for three years and I taught while we were there, that was an interesting experience too. While there, we spent about three or four months (in) Oaxaca, Mexico, while my husband did his dissertation research and we brought our kids there. Then we came back and lived in Duluth for five years and then I came back to the West St. Paul School District. 

What skills do you believe you bring to the table for the School Board?

First of all, I have a teacher’s perspective. We currently do not have a teacher on the School Board. Secondly, I’m the parent of two children currently in the district, and I also have the perspective of living abroad and living in an indigenous community.