Basketball, Blessings and Bleachers!

Not being a big fan of social media, I must admit that I was excited to wake up this morning and write this post. After an extremely hectic week as a mother, a basketball fan, a neighbor, friend, daughter, wife, employee, driver, chef, etc., etc., and as the board president for an amazing school district, I’m writing with joy this Friday morning.  

Due to the record-setting snow day on January 12th, the North v. West boys basketball game was rescheduled to this Wednesday, sandwiched between the South v. West and North v. South games on Tuesday and Thursday.  As a result, athletes, students, parents, grandparents, coaches, administrators, staff, boosters and neighbors across the School District of Waukesha shared a lot of time together in our high schools this past week.

As a basketball mom, the last 7 days have been busy, to say the least! I’ve had the opportunity to park in all the high school parking lots, sit in all the fieldhouse bleachers, eat makeshift dinners at all the concession stands, see firsthand all the weekday extracurricular activities buzzing around our schools, and just really take in all that it means to be part of our district. I watched my sons play the sport that they love with (and against) classmates and friends they’ve known since preschool (and even one that shared a neighboring bassinette in the maternity ward at Waukesha Memorial Hospital), with coaches and officials they respect, and on courts they have played on since second grade. These hundreds of little boys have grown into strong, talented, funny and kind young men, with families we’ve traveled and volunteered and carpooled with across various activities for countless hours over the years, who I’m honored to call my friends. I sat alongside parents from both benches, cheering for one another’s kids when we weren't supposed to, catching up on the events of the past few months, and sharing our bittersweet feelings about our seniors graduating, and our children growing up way too fast.  

I saw our athletic directors and principals open the doors to their facilities with pride, working well into the night to ensure events go smoothly and that students and families have fun. I admired our SROs, whose roles are serious, but whose presence brings peace and happiness to our schools, including their high fives and fist pumps with students, little siblings, and yes, I even caught them cheering for the home teams a bit too!  When the games were all over, I watched our facilities staff work their magic to put everything back in place and clean up after all of us. (PSA: Please throw away your own trash so they don’t have to!) 

As cheer and dance seasons wrap up, our high schools celebrated parents nights for these athletes and their families too, and honored the seniors who have championships and friendships that they will carry with them well beyond graduation. Senior nights are particularly emotional this year. I wonder if the students can possibly understand how much these moments mean to us parents, and I pray someday they'll experience all the joys of seeing their children grow and succeed in big and small ways, and being blessed with a front row seat to all of it. Last night, South also revealed the Fusion Volleyball Conference Champions banner that enshrines the incredible representation the North-South boys co-op team gave us last fall. Having watched them play, and knowing that some of them only began their volleyball careers as freshmen, and will now have the opportunity to play beyond high school, it just underscores our kids' boundless potential - if only we provide the runway, great coaching and the dream of untethered success. 

As they reset the game clock for overtime last night, I looked around the South fieldhouse, and reflected on the people I have spent the last week (and the last 18+ years) with, too many of whom have experienced unimaginable tragedy in the recent past - losing their children, experiencing the horror of the 2021 Christmas parade, dealing with unexpected diagnoses, job loss, loss of parents, serious accidents, injuries and setbacks. Yet, we found ourselves together in the same gym(s) this past week, on the same bleachers, enjoying the same high school basketball games, frozen in a brief moment in time where our babies who are no longer little children, though not yet adults, put on a clinic of life lessons for us.

Among them:

• Practice matters.

• Learn quickly from failure.

• Talk more.

• Take the long shot.

• Don't miss layups.

• Take a time out.

• Go up strong.

• Don't argue with the ref.

• Tuck your shirt in.

• Run the play.

• Pass the ball.

• Don't waste your fouls.

• And most importantly, it's not over until the final buzzer.

We parents watched our boys perform at their best, while we shared a kind of camaraderie and purpose that comes from wearing school colors and just being together in the presence of these impressive kids who have been shaped by our school communities, churches and neighborhoods, and it was SO good.  

Since I announced my candidacy for school board in 2021, motivated by wanting to return some normalcy for our children in a COVID-stalled world, I’ve learned so much about the district, our strengths, our opportunities and some of the challenges that lie ahead. While the past three years haven’t been easy, or without conflict, I knew (and I said) when I started this journey, “doing hard things is how you change things.” This job has been harder than I expected, because so much change was needed. We are making great progress, but the best is still ahead of us. I’m still growing in my role as a board member and board president, but I’ve learned a lot along the way that will guide my service over the next three years. 

Three very important lessons I’ve learned about public education are that,

1. It's very difficult to stop doing anything, but if we’re going to succeed into the future, we can’t take the whole past with us,

2. When we need them the most, our district families will always be there for one another, and

3. After about 20 minutes, old wood bleachers are more comfortable than new plastic ones, but if you're lucky enough to get a top row seat by the post at West, you can make it a couple hours.

There’s quite a bit more I’ve learned that I’m eager to put to good use in the years ahead as much work still remains. Therefore, while it’s no surprise at this point, I’m humbly seeking the community’s support for another 3-year term on the Waukesha School Board. 

Thank you for giving me the chance to help lead positive change for the School District of Waukesha. We are making strides in a rapidly changing world. With the community’s support, I would be honored to continue this important work.

-Kelly