MNIB Board Officer

Candidate Statements

MNIB President-elect

MNIB President-elect position now open

Every two years, the position of MNIB President-elect opens for a one year term on the Board. At the end of the term, the President-elect becomes the next MNIB President for a two year term. The one year term serves to orient the next President to the Board's operations and the priorities of the Association. The position of President-elect is as a non-voting member.

So, our next President-elect will begin serving July 1st, 2021 and then become MNIB Board President July 1, 2022 and serve through June 30, 2024.

Please contact Jon Peterson director@mnibschools.org if you are interested in running. We will hold the election in late May following the Association meeting on May 25th. Applications will close April 30th.

Please read the candidate statement below.

Sarah Wernimont - Anwatin Middle School

Since 1998, I have taught at Anwatin Middle School, an IB MYP World School, in Minneapolis. In this time, I have taught Language and Literature at 6th, 7th, and 8th grade (Levels 1, 2, and 3) and I have coordinated the IB MYP programme. I am currently the IB MYP coordinator and a 6th grade Humanities teacher (MN Studies and Language and Literature.) Starting with the 2021-22 school year, I will be a full time MYP coordinator.

In the fall of 2010, I was accepted into and attended the IB MYP Academy in Miami, Florida. Since becoming part of the IB Educators Network (IBEN), I have led IB MYP Head of School/Coordinator workshops and led verification/evaluation visits to schools in both the U.S. and Canada.

From 2010-2012, I served as the Secretary for the Minnesota Association of IB World Schools. For the 2012-2013 school year, I was selected to serve on the Global Literacy Advisory Board, which was sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Education, in partnership with St. Cloud State University, in an effort to support and increase global literacy learning for all Minnesota students.

I am interested in running for the MNIB president-elect position. As I was in the MNIB meeting in March, I was realizing how grateful I am to the MNIB community for how much it has given to me, and how much I like all of the people. As an organization, we have a unique opportunity to blend anti-racist belief and action with IB pedagogy, and we have a a responsibility to take action for our students. MNIB has started to do this work, and I believe we could continue to provide tools for helping coordinators/schools/teachers do this work at a deeper personal and school-wide level. It blends so beautifully with IB, and I think we all have a lot to learn from each other and our students.

MNIB Vice President positions up for election this year

Every two years members choose MNIB Board Vice Presidents for a two-year term serving each of the IB Programmes represented in Minnesota.

For the first time, the Board has changed the bylaws to include the fourth IB Programme - the CP (Career-related Programme) as an additional VP position. We are seeking candidates for these positions from our membership. In some cases, current VP's are standing for re-election while others are stepping down.

Please contact Jon Peterson at director@mnibschools.org if you are interested in running for one of these positions. We will hold the election in late May following the Association meeting on May 25th. Applications will close April 30th. The new terms begin on July 1st, 2021.

Please read the candidate statements below.

For DP Vice President

Ashley Brown - Champlin Park High School

This is my 7th year being an IB Diploma Coordinator at Champlin Park HS and throughout those 7 years I've learned a lot from my fellow coordinators in the IB MN association. I now feel confident being able to step into the role of the VP for DP position and give back to the community that has given so much to me. I would like to be able to lead my fellow coordinators and the association with excitement around topics that we as schools need to continue to push ourselves in and grow to better serve our students and communities. I'll continue to listen to the needs of others as past VPs have and pursue answers to help us all feel confident in the jobs we are doing. Thank you for the consideration of this position!

For CP Vice President

Chris Baker-Raivo - Champlin Park High School

I have been working in an IB coordinator role for five years and have been focused on the IB Career-related Program for the last four. Our site was authorized to run the CP in 2019 and will be graduating our first group of seniors this spring. I believe the strength of MN IB is the spirit of collaboration we share. To this end, I will strive to provide the kind of support that was so readily given to me as we were just starting our program and to work with the IB to receive answers to our collective questions. Additionally, I am excited to work with you in order to develop and refine our respective programs and support our students together. Thank you for your consideration!

For MYP Vice president

Kate Andrews vanHorne - Olson Middle School

For the last 5 years, I have had the pleasure of serving as MYP Coordinator for THE Olson Middle School. In February of 2019, we became the most recent Minneapolis middle school to receive MYP authorization. I have also supported implementation of IB in my role as the MPS Social Studies Lead from 2008-2011. Before that, I cut my IB teeth as an Individual & Societies teacher at Anwatin Middle School under the tutelage of Sarah Wernimont during their authorization process. I am interested in running for the MYP VP position because I would like to assist my fellow MYP coordinators to continue to deepen our work in constructing rigorous, authentic, culturally sustaining programs for all of our middle level learners. While these past two years have been really, really challenging, I know we have all learned so much about how we can push beyond returning to “normal” and I look forward to collaborating with all of you on where we can take IB MYP. I thank you for your dedication and for considering me for this position!

Page updated

Report abuse