Lauren Rivera-Haire
Avoca District 37 Board of Education
Proudly Endorsed by the Avoca D37 Caucus
I am honored to have the endorsement of the Avoca D37 Caucus, a group dedicated to ensuring strong, thoughtful leadership for our schools. Their support reflects my commitment to transparency, collaboration, and student success.
Check out the Avoca D37 Caucus Facebook Page
I am thrilled to be running for the Avoca District 37 Board of Education. As a parent, community member, volunteer, and Parent Teacher Council Board Member, I am deeply invested in the future of our schools. I believe in fostering strong community engagement, supporting our incredible educators, and ensuring every child has access to the best education.
I would be honored to serve and bring my experience, passion, and collaborative spirit to the board.
I would love to hear from you! Explore some of my priorities, learn more about me, and let’s build a strong future for Avoca together!
Priorities
Your Voice
Strengthen transparency and collaboration between the Board, parents, and teachers.
Establish events, town halls, and/or other ways to bring all of the community in to our schools.
Our Schools
Retain our teachers, implement a collective bargaining agreement that ensures our teachers are paid competitively but while keeping costs in mind. Look for opportunities to develop engagement and recognition programs.
Enable accessibility for lower income families.
Support children’s mental health, Social Emotional Learning, and providing assistance for those with special needs.
Politics
Protect our schools from external interference.
I want to use my voice to ensure our children are able to learn things like history without the censorship being imposed by the current administration, and I stand by our curriculum. I believe in diversity, cultural awareness, and social emotional learning.
Assess funding. This is a very difficult and constantly changing subject. It requires someone to stand up when needed as well as be clear in communications while protecting what we value most.
Facilities
When you consider a Board Member, you should consider how the candidates will move forward on taking care of our facilities.
I voted no to the referendum. I do NOT want to move Avoca West away from its location. I love how it is tucked away, has green space, and is in the heart of a wonderful neighborhood.
I also do not want to put another referendum forward unless we design a more transparent process and communication strategy to ensure any surveys and data are objective and cannot be misconstrued. Everyone’s heart is in the right place, but I want to keep Avoca where it is and see what improvements and upgrades we can do for the school while retaining its current location.
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
Nelson Mandela
What Experience Can I Bring To the Table?
I have been in Human Resources and compliance roles since 2007. I have a Bachelors in Business Administration and a Masters in Law. However, I am not an attorney! The focus of the degree was learning many areas of business law.
Here are some of my skills that will make me an effective Board member.
Feedback
I like to ask a lot of questions, and try to understand different perspectives. I know I don’t always have all of the answers and listening is important. I am able to accept feedback without immediately going on the defense. Finally, I am willing to compromise, and I will accept the group’s decision even if I am in the minority.
Problem Solving
I love solving complex problems. I enjoy puzzles in general, and I see problems as a puzzle where I need to look at all of the pieces separate to try to match them, but at the same time not forget what the big picture needs to look like.
Labor Relations
I have been involved in negotiating collective bargaining agreements in partnership with employment counsel, addressing grievances, and ensuring compliance with the terms of collective bargaining agreement.
Engagement
One of my focus areas is in community and teacher engagement. In a previous job, I reduced turnover by 8% and improved engagement survey scores 10% by creating and leading employee experience programs for our Operations teams.