Thank you for voting in the election for two seats on the Estabrook School Council for the 2019-2021 term!

Below are the bios and statements from the three candidates running for the seat. Please review the information provided and vote via the form at the bottom of the page.

Voting is open from May 12, 2019 through May 19, 2019. Results of the election will be made available the following week.

[This begins the candidate information section.]

CANDIDATE NAME: SARA SHEIKH
My name is Sara Sheikh and I’ve been a part of the Estabrook community for the past 5 years. I currently have a first grader and a fourth grader. I’ve served on the executive board for the PTO for 3 years… first as secretary and most recently as VP of community service. I’ve been an active room parent for the past two years and have enjoyed getting to know teachers and families along the way. I firmly believe building community and understanding each other is what makes us flourish.

Why I would like to serve on the Estabrook School Council:
I believe I would bring a unique insight and perspective to the council and could truly help the Estabrook community by being in ‘ the room where it happens’.

CANDIDATE NAME: JOYCE DVORAK
I come with the experience as both a parent of and someone with close to 20 years of work in the public schools. My career has been as a school psychologist and special education team chair. This combination allows me to understand both points of view and can assist me in bringing various ideas together in a way that benefits everyone. I enjoy big idea development and have strong organizational skills. These skills have helped me steer Cub Scout Pack 137 and previously LexFUN! where served as Co-President. I have been active with the PTO and have served as a room parent.

My two boys will continue at Estabrook this fall and I am excited for the opportunity to continue to contribute to the school community in this way. Thank you for your consideration!

Why I would like to serve on the Estabrook School Council:
Having the honor of being an Estabrook Site council member for the past two years, I would like to continue to represent our families. As Estabrook has experienced several administration changes in the past few years, it would be beneficial for someone with a historical perspective regarding the school improvement plan to be able to offer insight to our new Principal and council members.

CANDIDATE NAME: ELAINE YANG
Professionally, Elaine has served as a software developer/consultant, patent attorney, intellectual property analyst and college computer science instructor. Elaine is also a trained mediator and has served as a volunteer tax preparer and tax instructor and has advised non-profits on formation and tax issues.

Elaine’s particular interest is in finding creative solutions to challenging problems, especially in an academic environment. She has spent the last 16+ years studying creative thinking and educational pedagogy and helping to brainstorm “out of the box” ways to motivate students in learning various concepts. Many of the solutions are technology-based solutions which she has implemented herself.

At Estabrook, Elaine has a son in first grade, and Elaine volunteers weekly at the library, monthly in the recycling room, serves as a room parent, and tries to help out at various school events when she can.

Why I would like to serve on the Estabrook School Council:
As parent representative to the Estabrook School Council, I would have two main goals: 1) to be a representative for the entire spectrum of parents in the Estabrook Community, and 2) to leverage my experience in thinking “outside the box” to help provide creative solutions to challenges faced by the Estabrook community.

I see that the Estabrook community is diverse. As a parent representative, I would leverage technology to invite the whole parent community to provide monthly input on issues that the School Council is discussing with the principal. I would do my best to ensure that all parent views are represented to the principal, including minority and outlying views. Sometimes, the quiet viewpoints would serve our community better than the louder ones, so I would be working to ensure that every parents’ viewpoint is given due and careful consideration.

I also see that the Estabrook community has a long wishlist of things to improve. While achieving everything is probably not realistic, I hope to be able to use my ability to solve problems creatively to help Estabrook improve in more areas than people think is possible. With the right mindset, we can achieve a lot!

[This concludes the candidate information section.]

To vote, please use the form below: