Submitted
Anne Poindexter, an attorney, small business owner and longtime community volunteer, is one of nine candidates seeking two at-large spots on the Carmel Clay School Board in the Nov. 3 general election.
Poindexter
Poindexter is a 1980 graduate of Carmel High School and a founding member of the Altman, Poindexter & Wyatt law firm. She’s served on the boards for several nonprofit organizations, such as The Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel.
Her daughter graduated from Carmel High School and she had nephews who have graduated or are currently attending Carmel schools.
Poindexter said she decided to run because she wants to keep Carmel Clay Schools strong.
“It’s fine to say we need to focus on the whole child and do everything to inspire and engage every student and our diverse population, but we can’t do any of that without continuing to recruit and retain the best staff,” Poindexter said. “We can put our kids in the best buildings in the world, but we can’t do anything without the best staff, so we have to continually recruit, treat them well and do whatever we need to do to retain the quality staff.”
Poindexter outlined four areas of focus if she’s elected to the school board.
Focus on the whole child
“We need to focus on the whole child,” she said. “Carmel Clay Schools have historically and consistently functioned at a highly level in student academic achievement and student athletic achievement. However, now more than ever, we must continually increase our focus on the whole child and attend to the safety and mental health issues that are sadly prevalent in our world. Carmel has safety plans in place for the schools against all threats of attack. These plans must be constantly updated and evaluated to ensure that our students are safe and feel safe each and every day that they are in our school facilities.”
Support mental health initiatives
“Carmel’s new mental health initiatives in conjunction with Ascension St Vincent’s to provide for the therapy and medication management that students may need, is a wonderful start,” she said. “As designed, students would no longer need to leave for as long in order to go outside of the school for assistance and could get more rapid onsite help. Mental health issues of depression and anxiety cannot be allowed to prevent our children from reaching their potential.”
Inspiring and engaging students
“Constantly striving for increased student performance and engagement of ALL students must be done in recognition of our increasingly diverse and culturally rich student population,” she said. “Each and every student must be inspired and engaged to achieve individual maximum success.”
Retaining great teachers and staff
“No child is well served in only the best buildings and facilities, with the best programs and initiatives that we can provide unless we are able to continuously recruit and retain the most talented staff,” she said. “Our children and our staff are the two most integral parts of a school; we can’t have a school without both.”
Learn more at anneforcarmelschools.com or facebook.com/AnnePoindexterCCS.