COMMUNITY: A day in the life of School Board Member: Whitney Antrim

Day in the Life

School Board Trustee Whitney Antrim arrives at her site visit at Village Elementary School.

of a School Board Member: Day in the Life

Four open seats set stage for November Election and deadline to file is approaching

By Christine Van Tuyl

t’s 7:55 a.m. on a brisk

Tuesday morning in January, and Whitney Antrim, trustee with the Coronado Unified School District, is at Village Elementary on one of her monthly site visits. She’s talking with Village Elementary school Principal, Dr. Heidi Bergner, who’s just learned that more than 13 members of her staff are out sick with COVID-19.

“Our COVID numbers are higher than they were last week,” says Dr. Bergner, who shares that both teachers and classified staff are home with the virus. “But it’s important to acknowledge our successes even when we are struggling. It gives perspective.”

The school, like others nationwide, has been crippled by the virus. Antrim tours several classrooms with Dr. Bergner, who seems to know every student by name. Some are running late, balancing elaborate mission projects in their small hands, and others are already at work in their classrooms. Many classes are headed by substitutes, but you can’t tell from the comfortable way they start the morning.

“I’m surprised at how well students and teachers have adapted to the new normal,” says Antrim, who also works as an attorney representing school districts in complex civil litigation in special education. “Too much focus has been on what’s been lost, but let’s also remember that our schools have been open and kids are back in classrooms learning.”

This is one of many monthly site visits required of school board members. Antrim, who was elected to the CUSD School Board in 2020 and took office in January of 2021, says site visits are one of the best parts about being a school board trustee.

“Every opportunity we have to be on the ground and show the teachers and students we care is crucial,” says Antrim. “It’s a chance to see and hear the kids, to witness the energy and see the love. This is where all the hard work comes to fruition.”

Dr. Bergner points out some of the flexible and creative seating options teachers have given their kids: some sit on balls while others sit on the ground to suit different learning styles. And then, there’s the “kid on a stick,” which is essentially an iPad affixed to a tripod on wheels. Kids can zoom in from home and still be a part of the classroom and get wheeled around whereever the class goes. On this particular day, there are three kids learning from home; several students pop over to the iPad to greet their classmates.

Dr. Bergner also points out a student with Rett syndrome who sits with her instructional aid, using a device to communicate through the gaze of her eyes.

“These are things you just wouldn’t know unless you actually come and do these site visits,” says Antrim, who lives in the Coronado Cays with two children attending Silver Strand Elementary. “We have a real responsibility to know what’s going on, but it’s also a privilege.”

Dr. Bergner says these site visits are key to building relationships between administrators and board members, allowing the needs and successes of various school sites to be seen and heard.

Creating new connections through communication is something Antrim has championed since she decided to run for school board. On her campaign

Antrim enjoys volunteering at Silver Stand Elementary when she's not working as an attorney.

"Antrim says she's passionate about helping the district "build a bridges" in connecting families with the resources they need."

Antrim lives with her husband and two children in the Coronado Cays.

trail, she listened to community concerns about communication and transparency. In response to feedback that the district needed to improve communication with its constituents, the district has since hired a Public Information Officer.

In addition, Antrim holds monthly “Zoom Office Hours” for public feedback. She held one such Zoom the night before the site visit, from 3 p.m.-5 p.m. At one point, more than 25 people were on the call. Members of the public asked questions about a newlyvacated board position, and several teachers and administrators shared concerns about compensation and district turnover.

“I really wanted an opportunity to answer public questions in a respectful manner, and to make sure people felt heard,” says Antrim. “I feel like we need to work on healing and growth. The community has been faced with uncertainty stemming from the pandemic and we need to work on transparency.”

It’s a busy week for Antrim, who still has to prepare for Thursday’s school board meeting, a task she refers to as “immense.” Every board member must thoroughly read the board meeting agenda and understand the key issues, according to Antrim. Meetings themselves have been lengthy, some surpassing the five-hour mark.

Other tasks include reading emails from community members, working on professional development and handling emergency situations. Antrim estimates that she spends between 10-15 hours a week on school board-related matters, in addition to her full-time job.

The hardest part? Trying to focus on academic achievement when COVID-19 keeps throwing everyone for a loop. She says it’s also challenging to stay centered when, as a public figure, you sometimes feel like you have a target on your back.

Another hurdle? Time. With limited time available, Antrim emphasizes the need to step away from the negative and prioritize a “refocusing on civility.”

Antrim, who has participated in more than 100 criminal jury trials and more than 500 preliminary hearings in her work as a public defender, says that nothing compares to the vitriol of contentious school board meetings when civility is abandoned.

“People who are accused of crimes and the victims of crimes have all acted and spoken with more decorum than what we experienced at our school board meetings last year,” Antrim says. "The personal attacks are unnecessary and unproductive, and they take time and focus away from our vital work.”

Antrim says that “building a bridge” is one of the most valuable things she can do as a board member, connecting families with the resources they need. She says sometimes it’s easy to think that the district is failing due to deficits in communication — in reality, our district has the right intentions, programs and resources to that give us the ability to provide a bridge for people, she says.

But with this ability and responsibility as a conduit comes an important caveat: there is a chain of command. Antrim says she never sends an email to teachers and staff within the district without first discussing the issue with the CUSD School Board’s singular employee: the superintendent, Karl Mueller.

“It’s not a situation where you go in as a board member and say, ‘I’m going to fix this,’” says Antrim. “We aren’t in a position to meddle or interfere. I don’t call teachers or principals; that would be entirely inappropriate. We have zero authority over any employees, except for the superintendent.”

So what, exactly, is the primary focus of a board member? Two things: policy and budget.

“This job is not about politics. This job is not about curriculum. It’s not about supplemental materials,” says Antrim. “This board is committed to working together as a team to help foster academic excellence and rigor based on research and data. We’re not about following fads.”

Board Member Lee Pontes echoes the sentiment that being a trustee is being part of a team. He says that, no matter which side you’re on, trustees must support all decisions voted on by the board.

“As a trustee, you can come with ideas, even farreaching ideas, but you must recognize you are one of five,” says Pontes. “You must be a consensus-builder. If you are of singular mind, if you cannot compromise, you won’t be a good trustee.”

Antrim says that if someone in the community is thinking about running for school board, it’s important that they do their homework and make sure the job really appeals to them. It’s not the job for someone who wants to be on the ground, working with kids; it’s about shaping policy.

“You have to be on top of it, everything is in motion all of the time,” said Antrim. “It has to be something you will enjoy. You’ll be sitting on a board of highly intelligent people who care deeply about the kids in the community.”

The best part? The opportunity to put forth new ideas that could help students achieve greater academic success. Antrim is excited about the opportunity for an accelerated track for students, as well as a new partnership with the Peace Corps that allows students to earn college credit and get funds for college, in addition to learning about civic engagement.

“These are the exciting things we get to think about,” says Antrim. “We have the power to put these programs in motion to create a brighter future for our kids.”

If you want to learn more about running in the November election for CUSD School Board, please visit sdvote.com.

Antrim stands with Village Elementary Principal, Dr. Heidi Bergner at Village Elementary.

• Christine Van Tuyl is a freelance writer who lives in Coronado with her husband and two children.