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District 2 and 4 Director Appointment
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Ray

Janai Ray

Pronouns: She/Her

Director District 2

Video Statement

Statement of Interest

Janai Ray

Candidates were asked to submit a letter of interest describing why they wish to serve and should be selected for appointment.

As a parent of 3 Seattle Public School students, I am invested in the future of not only my children but all children. During the pandemic, students social and learning environments changed drastically. Students were forced into online learning environments with limited social interaction. Families were glued to news reports trying to figure out how to survive a pandemic. However, the news revealed several social injustices happening to American citizens during a time when people were fighting for their lives from an unknown virus. Then organized protests were occurring across the world; demanding social change. Our children witnessed, these social injustices on the news and they had many questions about what was happening in our country. As parents, we had to make sure our kids focused in virtual classrooms by day and deal with the emotional woes of seeing people fight for social justice by night. Since the pandemic, schools have opened back up to try to regain a semblance of normalcy. Our children are not the same as they were before the pandemic.

When schools opened back up with limited access, I wanted to assist parents, teachers and students with their transition back to in person learning. Luckily, there was an open position for PTSA President at McClure Middle School. I didn’t know anything about a PTA but I was willing to learn and help. As the President, I spoke with McClure’s faculty to set up a communication platform where people can have their concerns addressed. Parents were concerned about virtual bullying, peer pressure, and their kid building healthy friendships. School staff concerns consisted of lack of supplies, lack of help, and dealing with unusually disrespectful students. Students wanted more after school activities, free food, and to adjust the curriculum.

During my 2-year tenure, I was able to work with fellow board members, McClure families, and McClure staff to achieve all these requests except one. The adjustment to curriculum was not in the scope of a PTSA President. I was informed decisions to change curriculum is a Seattle Public School Board matter. As PTSA President of McClure, I reached out to other school PTA communities and we established a support system. Joining the PTSA taught me the importance of building a strong team and establishing a support system can make a difference in one school. When deciding if I would could work with the Seattle School Board, I thought of all we accomplished for McClure and how I could add to other schools across the city.

If given an opportunity to serve on the Seattle School Board, I will uncover the needs of each school within my district and work hard to improve their current situation. I offer the Board a new perspective, determination to improving school quality, and represent the needs of my community. I am asking for a chance to continue to serve my community on a broader scale.

Resume / Summary of Related Experience

Tell us about your experience, including any Board or other leadership experience.

Scrum Master

  • Accomplished professional with over 15-years’ experience in management and process improvement.
  • Detail-oriented and results focused leader with extensive experience planning and managing complex projects in highly regulated and complex industries. Comprehensive understanding of technical analysis and scrum methodologies. Influential mentor and advisor able to cultivate successful partnerships and teams with high-level executives and associates across various organizational and industry levels.
  • Full Cycle Project Management / User Training and Support / Strategy & Implementation
  • Best Practices / Troubleshooting & Issue Resolution / Scrum Methodologies
  • TECHNICAL PROFICIENCIES
    • Platforms: Windows, Mac OS
    • Tools: Microsoft Office Suite, SAP, OIS

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Real Estate Agent (2022- Present) Keller Williams Eastside, Bellevue, WA
Specialization of the residential markets; knowledgeable in both buying and selling. Develop strong relationships with clients by providing excellent customer service skills. Utilize a variety of marketing techniques, such as print ads, social media postings, email campaigns, listing services, etc., to present properties to potential buyers. Negotiate contracts on behalf of clients to obtain favorable terms of purchase or sales.

Project Coordinator (2009 – 2019) Phillips 66, Roxana, IL
Supervised a team of 20 operators to ensure each project was completed according to corporate Health, Safety, and Environmental (HSE) standards and OHSA regulations. Briefed staff on daily goals, expectations, and responsibilities. Obtained the necessary equipment required for operators to complete energy isolation tasks and perform routine machine maintenance. Analyzed and evaluated project statuses and production activity. Provided timely and accurate weekly updates and recommendations to high-level executives. Key Achievements:

  • Awarded the Phillips 66 10-Year Outstanding Service Award in 2019.
  • Spearheaded a multi-million-dollar project that was completed $800K under budget, before the deadline, and according to precise scopes.
  • Increased productivity 12.5% by maximizing workloads, exceeding targets and goals, and completing projects early.
  • Led trainings to increase operator and production output and streamline workflows on topics such as decontamination, completing work orders, and unit start up and shut down processes.

Assistant Manager (2005– 2007) Walgreens, Chicago, IL
Responsible for daily store operations while managing a team of 15 employees. Delegated responsibilities and assignments, monitored staff performance, offered constructive feedback, resolved customer and employee issues, and promoted a healthy and motivating environment. Oversaw receiving, stocking, pricing, and returned items. Guaranteed each customer received exceptional service. Key Achievements:

  • Examined inventory trends to develop merchandising strategies that improved sales.
  • Increased sales 150% on Thanksgiving 2005 achieving record sales and profits for the district.

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

  • Executive Master of Business Administration, Colorado Technical University, Colorado Springs, CO
  • Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL

Technical Certifications

  • Certified Scrum Product Owner (2024)
  • Certified Scrum Master (2020)
  • Colorado Technical University Change Management Certificate (2008)
  • Colorado Technical University Business Management Certificate (2008)

Professional Licenses

  • Real Estate License (2022)

Application questions

What is your connection to the Director District 2 or 4 community, schools, families, and students? How do you foresee growing or expanding on those connections and relationships in your role as a School Board Director?

I am a unique case because I have connection with District 2 and District 4. My oldest child attends school in District 4 but my younger children attend school in District 2, where we reside. Having attachments to both communities is a perk because I am already a bridge the Board members can utilize to benefit both districts.

I am a member of 2 PTAs and I sign up to volunteer for varies events at my children’s schools. In order to expand my community to encompass all of District 2, I will contact each schools’ staff and PTAs. I have already spoken with some parents within District 2 and they have voiced some concerns with the condition of Seattle Public Schools. Many are considering pulling their children out of public school and placing them in private schools. Other families have already left their community schools.

As a future School board Director, I would continue to have conversations with parents of SPS students and those that have left. In order to have more of conversations about the future of SPS schools, I would be soliciting community schools to help with outreach. I will notify the community, schools’ staff, and families of my goal to assist in reflecting their vision for their community school. Once I have compiled a complete and thorough action list I will report to the Board and with their assistance, we will work a plan to move forward.

What is your understanding of the role and responsibilities of a School Board Director and the Seattle School Board? How do you foresee working with your fellow Directors, the Superintendent, staff, and the public?

A school board’s role is to make rules and guidelines for all of Seattle Public Schools while abiding by federal and state laws. The board sets the schools curriculum, safety protocols, and hires the superintendent. Once school policies and rules have been established, the school board strives to address community concerns while ensuring no laws are being violated. The school board is to represent school administration, parents, and students throughout the district. Each school board director represents a different district.

Board Directors gather information from their districts to be presented to the board to determine what is the best course of action to address each district concerns without violating policy or law. After the districts information is presented; if there are similarities to community desires; then the Board will vote how to proceed. If differences arise and the board reaches an impasse, then the discussion will be tabled until the next meeting.

While waiting for the next meeting the directors return to their respective districts and communicate the impasse. This is done in hopes the community can help come up with a solution or alternative resolution to move pass the decision hold up. My work with fellow Directors, the Superintendent, staff, and the public as an active mediator role. While working with each group I will maintain a respectful approach and a positive attitude to all incoming suggestions.

Describe the areas of strength you bring to collaboration and building positive working relationships with fellow Board directors.

Throughout my work experience I have learned the best way to achieve great working relationships is to be polite, respectful, and listen intently. Also, I am open to constructive criticism and improving myself. I will offer the Board my skills of problem-solving, patience, compassion, and communication. There is a lot of pressure dealing with different people from different backgrounds and making sure everyone is heard fairly. I will balance all of the needs of my constituents and walk a fine line to ensure I am achieving their goals to the best of my ability. I try to approach each issue systematically with the compassion it deserves while showing respect for an individual’s valid concerns.

Please give an example of how you have addressed conflict and overcame it to build alignment as a member of a group decision-making body.

During a volunteering event, one parent adamantly volunteered for a task, but wasn’t able to complete the task in a timely manner. Other members noticed the uncomplete work and it was brought to my attention. I was asked to speak with the parent because others had exhausted all of their avenues to get through to the parent. As the PTSA President, I reached out to the parent to inquire about the issues with completing the task on time. The parent assured me the task was being handled.

A little time passed and the same issue was brought to my attention, however this time another volunteer offered to be assigned to the task. The new volunteer didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings but eagerly wanted to work on this project. I agreed to assist with placing the new volunteer with the previous volunteer. I changed the task to a co-position role because who wouldn’t like an extra pair of hands to help. When doing work to improve the community the more the merrier. Both volunteers worked together without any problems plus the task was completed in a timely manner.

School Board Policy No, 0030, Ensuring Educational and Racial Equity, includes the following commitment:

The Seattle School Board is committed to the success of every student in each of our schools and to achieving our mission of ensuring that all students graduate ready for college, career and life. We believe that the responsibility for student success is broadly shared by District Staff, administrators, instructors, communities and families. We are focused on closing the opportunity gap and creating learning communities that provide support and academic enrichment programs for all students. Additionally, we believe that it is the right of every student to have an equitable educational experience within the Seattle Public School District.

What does this statement mean to you?

This statement means all students will receive an equitable education and be prepared for life after high school. The district will have a dedicated team to ensure the success of each student within their schools. The dedicated team consists of District staff, administrators, teachers, communities within the district, and the families of those students attending Seattle district schools. Other components the district vows to contribute to students’ achievements is to provide support and academic enrichment programs. As a future Board Director, I will resonate the above commitment with every decision brought before me. Also knowing I have a team to help me reach these goals is reassuring.

The Seattle School Board has set three goals for student outcomes with accompanying metrics that serve as broader indicators of the school system’s performance. Provide your insights into how setting goals and monitoring progress influences student success.

The School board’s mission is to obtain student success. In order to achieve this mission necessary goals need to be set. Once the goals are in place the next phase is to assign them to different members of the team.

As teams receive their objectives and start working towards the goal then monitoring of the set targets begin. The monitoring of progress needs a timeline to stay on schedule and regular check ins. Check ins ensure if any road blocks have appeared they are removed and the goal has remained the same. Issues may arise at any point during this project it is to be expected. When issues arise with careful consideration the board will prioritize each concern. Higher priority items will be dealt with in a timely manner versus lower priorities will be addressed at a later time. This process will continue until the project completion.

When I was the PTSA President we would set monthly and yearly goals. Our mission was improving the lives of parents, school staff, and students. We held open meetings where people could come to offer suggestion on defining what improving their school life means. From their suggestions the PTSA Board would decide if we had the ability carry out the task and would it benefit our whole community. I made my team aware to come to me with any pressing issues otherwise I would check in on them weekly to gauge their progress.

Please share your knowledge and/or thoughts on an ongoing educational issue that is a high priority for you. How do you see the Board’s role in this issue?

My priority within the education system is helping students get the support needed to be productive students. SPS students require mental, physical, and academic support. Counselors are needed in the schools to help with the mental struggles facing our youth today and how to deal with stress in a healthy way.

Physical support for students includes: proper nutritional information, healthy exercise habits, understanding the importance of regular sleep habits, and are they seeing doctors and dentists regularly for checkups.

Academic support would depend on each students’ individual needs. These needs can be assessed through standard assessment test and also through understanding of classroom concepts ascertained by an educational professional with minimal societal bias input. To have a well-rounded student prepared for the future academics must include the arts and learning life skills. Life skills are basic adulting skills; students need to know how to balance banking accounts, how to pay bills, and how credit cards work to name a few.

Currently, SPS schools feel disconnected from one another. School resources aren’t being fully shared with other schools. For example, a SPS student living on the North side of the city found an art curriculum class they would like to join on the South side of the city. Unfortunately, the student could not join because access belongs to the students attending the South side school. If classrooms have the room give the student a day pass to attend the class, enriching their lives. I know Seattle Board can make away for schools to partner within the district to share resources.