Michelle Pedersen
Incoming Carson City School Board member Michelle Pedersen has had children in the school district for 17 years. She’s a steady presence in the schools and served consistently on committees. She’s supported her four children through sports teams and church activities.
Now she’ll have a chance to bring a new appreciation for the everyday task at hand as a trustee, she says.
“In this capacity, I don't know if anything will shift or if anything will change, but I'm excited to see it from maybe from a different perspective and to continue to be as involved as I've been,” she said.
Pedersen told the Appeal she plans to start by listening to the community who elected her to the District 7 seat on the Carson City School District board. She succeeds outgoing member Joe Cacioppo, who ends his third and final term this year.
“I’m not looking to change much straight out of the gate,” she said. “I’ve seen it from the parent side of things for 17 years, but I know it looks different from the board member side. So my job is to understand and listen and figure out what is my role, what can I impact, and once I figure that out, I look forward to being a part of a team that keeps things healthy and strong and keeps kids first.”
She praised CCSD’s championing of its Advanced Placement and JumpStart offerings to challenge students who want to get ahead.
“I think we have a lot of great things like HOSA and other career readiness type programs,” she said. “I would love to see maybe more blue-collar offerings. Academics, of course, are very important, but we’re not just raising students and learners. We’re raising future leaders and contributors to society, and not every contributor contributes in an academic field, if that makes sense?”
While many might engage in Career and Technical Education courses, some students might feel comfortable in classes appealing to different trades, Pedersen said.
“My second kid did JumpStart and has always been a strong student, but I’ve known all along that’s my blue-collar kid,” she said. “He’s doing a lot of handyman type of work to figure out what he likes, and I think if there was a way to have exposure to more of that in school, I think we could serve more students well because not every kid is somebody who’s going to pursue college.”
Pedersen said during her campaign, she felt she received strong support from the community.
“To know that they saw something in me that was like, ‘She can make something,’ … I felt very supported,” she said. “And people would ask me all along the way how is it going and do you feel optimistic, and I would say, ‘I’m not nervous.’”