Ken Dunbeck:
Educator, Advocate, Father.
March 28, 2024 – Deadline to vote early in-person at City Hall.
April 2nd, 2024 – Deadline for receiving vote by mail absentee ballots
April 2nd, 2024 – ELECTION DAY – Be in line to vote by 8:00 PM
Proudly Endorsed By:
Councilman Matt Damon, St. Francis District 3
Representative Christine Sinicki, Assembly District 20
Democratic Party of Milwaukee County
Why am I running?
As a father of a 3-year-old preschooler and an educator I have a long term interest in the success and academic strength of our district.
I see school districts across the country where schools are banning books, censoring history, and limiting academic debate in classrooms. I do not want to see that happen in our community.
I also strongly believe that a democracy is strongest when voters have a choice and that no candidate should run unopposed. I want to give our community that choice so that collectively we can choose who is best to lead our children’s district instead of just accepting the only choice on the ballot.
To help you make an informed decision this April 2, here is a list of what I support as father, educator, and candidate for the St. Francis School Board:
I believe in supporting, empowering and trusting educators in our community as they are the heart and soul of our schools.
I believe in providing competitive pay for educators to ensure we have the best teachers for our children. Those we trust to watch over and educate our children 8 hours a day should be able to support themselves and their families as they watch over and educate ours.
I believe in learning environments that promote diverse points of view rather than censoring topics. All parents have a right to raise their children according to their personal beliefs. It is important that parents play an active role and use exposure to differing points of views as an opportunity to engage with their children on these topics, rather than censoring what all our students can learn about.
I believe in embracing diversity and inclusion in schools as a strength that improves the quality of education for all. We live in a diverse republic and learning from each other’s experiences only strengthens our children and their ability to thrive in our country.
I believe in collaboration and open communication between parents, students, teachers, and the school board. We all have a rule to play in the education of our children.
I believe in providing opportunities for college preparatory academics as well as trade programs and workplace experience to make schools meaningful for all students regardless of their post-secondary education plans.
I believe in providing strong mental health resources for students. There is a mental health crisis in this country that predates the pandemic which only made things worse. We have to provide our children with the tools and resources they need to grow and develop into healthy thriving adults.
I support implementing civic education and news literacy programs to empower students to be more discerning consumers of news and information. Far too many adults and students alike have trouble telling fact from fiction. We need to set our students up for success as this will only get more difficult with emerging technologies.
I support programs that help students learn to navigate a healthy relationship with technology and social media. Technology and social media can be powerful forces in our world, we must help our children learn to use these tools in a way that empowers them in a healthy productive manner. Many children are getting access to these tools younger and younger and we can not wait and hope they can learn to navigate it on their own.
About Me:
My wife and I bought our first home in St. Francis in 2018 with the goal of raising a family here. We are proud parents of a 3 year old who will be enrolling in the district this fall.
I was born and raised on the south side of Milwaukee and graduated from Bay View High School just down the road from St. Francis before attending the University of Wisconsin – Madison. After earning a degree in Political Science with honors in the Liberal Arts I spent several years working at a non-profit law firm that specializes in helping low-income residents with civil matters focusing on elder rights and removing barriers to employment.
Later I enrolled in the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee where I received a post-baccalaureate in secondary education in Social Sciences. For the last 6 years I have been teaching History, Minority Studies, US Government, and AP US Government & Politics down the street at Cudahy High School. Before that I taught for 5 years in Milwaukee Public Schools at both Bay View and Bradley Tech High Schools. I have also taught in several districts as a substitute teacher across Dane County prior to working in MPS and have coached Debate Teams and Track and Field Teams to help students grow in and out of the classroom.
My experience working in classrooms in urban and suburban settings has taught me the importance of having school board members that truly understand the realities of the classroom and needs of our children. I have seen first hand school boards and administrations that act in what they believe is in the best interest of our children, but in reality create unintended negative consequences for students simply because the decision makers don’t have first hand experience leading classrooms and working with our children.
I’ve seen first hand the problems in classrooms caused by falling enrollment and funding coupled with rising mental health concerns and academic apathy. As St. Francis moves forward, we are not immune to the problems facing small and large districts alike across our state. I want to make sure that as we face them the decisions our district makes will not only have the best intentions at heart for ALL our children, but will also be informed and guided by over a decade of experience with the realities of the classroom.
As parents we trust teachers like myself to be there for and guide our children to become the best versions of themselves. I am asking for your vote because if we trust teachers to lead our children’s classrooms we must also trust them to lead the district that those classrooms are at the heart of. I am asking for your vote, and ultimately your trust that I can use my first hand experience to have better outcomes.
