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ABOUT ME
Why I am running:
I am running for the Bellbrook-Sugarcreek School Board because I have always cared very much about our community, especially the children. My goal is to help our schools be the best that they can be. I believe that all of our students deserve to get a great education, feel valued, make friends, connect with teachers, feel part of the school community, and learn in a safe, fun environment. I want all of our teachers and staff to be supported and appreciated. I want all of our parents to be included in their child's education. I want to serve on the school board because I feel that my education, experience, love, and compassion for others will be assets to the board.
My children have loved their time in Bellbrook Schools. They have loved their teachers, friends, sports, clubs, and activities. However, I have friends whose children did not have such a good experience in Bellbrook Schools. No school will ever be perfect because people aren’t perfect. However, I believe that if parents, teachers, school administrators, staff, students, and board members work together, we can keep the great things about Bellbrook and improve the areas that need it.
I realize that the School Board has a specific role in governing the school, and it is not micromanaging the administration. So, I will do my best to make a positive difference in our schools while staying in the confines of the duties and responsibilities of a school board member.
Education and Work Experience:
I have a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from The Ohio State University. As a graduate student, I worked for 4.5 years in a Molecular Genetics research lab and as a teaching assistant for undergraduate biology classes and biology labs. I also run two businesses from home. I sell a drying rack that I invented, and I do experiments testing cleaning products and hand sanitizers for their ability to kill germs. Working from home allowed me to stay home with my three kids and also allowed me to have time to volunteer in the community and in our schools.
I also serve as a Board Member for a non-profit called Healing Funds which provides funds to cancer patients to pay for alternative or homeopathic treatments that are not covered by insurance.
I am currently taking classes/webinars from the Ohio School Boards Association to educate myself on the rules and responsibilities of being a School Board Member.
Volunteer Experience:
Food Pantry Manager
I ran the Bellbrook-Sugarcreek Community Support Center Food Pantry for 2.5 years during the pandemic. It was a nearly full-time volunteer job that I loved dearly. There is nothing that breaks my heart more than the thought of a person, especially a child, not having enough food or proper clothing. Whenever the teachers or guidance counselors at our schools would notice a student in need of food, toiletries, clothing, a winter coat, or school supplies, they would call me. I would immediately gather up the necessary items from the Bellbrook-Sugarcreek Community Support Center and bring them to the school. Sometimes we did not have the needed item at the pantry, and I would just go buy the items myself. I want all of our students to have what they need to be successful and know that their community loves them. Running items to the school was my favorite part of managing the food pantry. I also loved getting to know the financially struggling families in our area. I saw how hard the school shut down was for some of them (not having school lunch and not having an appropriate place to do school work with internet). I got to know and love clients from all walks of life and all communities. My heart would break hearing about some of the hardships that they went through. I was so glad that I got to help them, at least a little bit. I also loved getting to know all of the other volunteers and made some wonderful friends!
Soup Kitchen Server
My daughter and I help serve meals to people in need at "Grace's Place" which is part of First Dawn Food Pantry located at Restoration Church in Centerville. We like to meet people whose paths would not normally cross with ours and show them that we care about them.
School Volunteer
I have volunteered in our schools in numerous capacities over the years including photocopying for teachers, helping with book fairs, helping the PTO, putting on classroom holiday parties, and working the concession stand at sporting events. I was the mom in charge of most of the holiday parties who brought great games and treats...but made the kids go wash their hands before eating.
Sunday School Teacher
I am a member of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, and have taught 3rd grade religious education class there for 6 years and counting.
Santa's Helper
I am in charge of the Christmas gift program at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church. We give Christmas gifts to local families in need. Last year we gave gifts to 65 local families! I got to read all of the children's wish lists and pick out the gifts that our church parishioners would purchase for them. It was a big job but was so much fun! I am looking forward to doing it again this year.
Family:
You may know me as "Annie" Pryor, which is the name I usually go by. My husband Jonothan and I have lived in Bellbrook since 2005 and have three children who have always gone to Bellbrook Schools. Our oldest son, Jon, just graduated from Bellbrook High School and is a Freshman at the University of Kentucky. Our daughter, Katie, is a Sophomore at Bellbrook High School and our younger son, Michael, is in 7th grade at Bellbrook Middle School. We also have a black lab named Luke and a Holland lop bunny named Cream Puff.
My Views
I am in favor of:
✅ making the safety, education, and well-being of all of our students our top priority.
✅ a safe, secure school that does everything possible to deter criminals and prevent tragedies from happening.
✅ teaching true history in an age appropriate way without any political agenda.
✅ teaching true biological facts in an age appropriate way without any political agenda.
✅ teaching students to treat others with kindness and respect (and holding them accountable when they don't).
✅ teaching students that they don't have to agree with or affirm someone's beliefs or lifestyle choices in order to be kind to them.
✅ severe punishments for threatening or physically harming another student, teacher, or staff member.
✅ supporting and appreciating our teachers and staff.
✅ supporting our parents by including them in educational decisions.
✅ supporting our special education students with whatever they need including continuing the Supportive Peers Program (which is the best program that I have ever heard of). Thank you to all who participate!
✅ continuing to have our fabulous engineering, art, computer, business, music, jROTC, and biomedical classes!
✅ keeping our sports, band, and extracurricular activities such as theater, drone club, academic team, etc. In my experience, kids are happier in school when they are involved in an extracurricular school activity and feel like they are part of something.
✅ keeping bussing and appreciating our bus drivers!
✅ staying within our budget so we don’t have to ask for another levy anytime soon.
✅ the School Board being as transparent as possible with the community to avoid misunderstandings and giving the community time to comment on policy changes before voting. I would always want to hear from our school community.
I am against:
❌ mask mandates. Whether they worked to catch a virus or not, masks were too difficult for our students to wear, especially our hearing impaired, speech delayed, asthmatic, English as a second language, and special needs students. Plus, you are rebreathing a little bit of exhaled air every time you take a breath when you wear a mask. So you are breathing in higher levels of carbon dioxide than you would normally with no mask. (I've tested this myself with my own carbon dioxide detector). Also, most people got Covid anyway. So I won’t be voting for a mask mandate, but I will be an advocate for hand washing and children staying home from school when they are sick.
❌ covid vaccine mandates or any vaccine mandate.
❌ males in women’s sports. On average, males are stronger and faster than females. It is not fair to have any males in the women's sports. Males can still play on men's teams and coed teams, so everyone will be included in sports. I don't think this is currently a problem in Bellbrook, and I would do my best to keep it that way.
❌ males and females sharing hotel rooms on school trips.
❌ coed bathrooms and locker rooms. I want to keep school bathrooms and locker rooms separated by biological sex (male and female). I would want a separate bathroom available for anyone who doesn’t feel comfortable using the bathroom corresponding to their biological sex. On the rare occasion that we have a student who was born with an intersex condition causing their body to not be clearly male or female, I would want that student to be able to use whatever bathroom they are comfortable using.
❌ teaching students that they get to decide if they are male or female (boy or girl) or that it is possible to be born in the wrong body. Biological sex is determined by DNA, physical anatomy, and the type of gamete produced. Biological sex is determined at conception and cannot be changed. Students should be free to dress and identify however they wish if their parents' agree. However, they must still adhere to school dress codes, behavior rules, and bathroom/locker room/sports policies. While errors can occur during human development causing people to be born with physical problems, there is no scientific evidence thus far indicating that anyone has been born in the wrong body. There can be something wrong with your body, but you can't be born in the wrong body. The schools must teach true scientific and biological facts.
❌the school, teachers, or staff supporting a student's gender transition without the parents' consent.
❌ teaching any student that they are inherently better or worse than any other student based on factors beyond their control such as skin color, ethnicity, nationality, sex, religion, sexual orientation, disability, health conditions, family, or financial status. While each student will have different strengths, weaknesses, interests, skills, and personalities (not all students will be equally good at math or basketball), all of our students should be taught that they are equally valued as a person. Parents and caregivers are the first people who should be teaching this, of course, but teachers can reinforce this message.
❌ pornography in the school libraries. I'm not talking about banning art books with a picture of the statue of David. I'm saying that there should be no books with any type of sex scenes in the elementary and middle school libraries. Text books explaining human reproduction should be allowed in the middle school and high school libraries, of course. I am not aware of this being a problem in Bellbrook, and I would like to keep it that way.