My name is Keri Guinn. My husband Nathan and I have six children, and two grandchildren. I grew up in Orem, and was educated in the Alpine School District. I attended Cascade Elementary, Orem Jr. High, and graduated from Orem High School. I also have a BS degree in Computer Information Systems. I love this community, I love children, and I love education!
I have been teaching for the past ten years. I taught computers at Ivy Hall Academy grades K-8, I have done home schooling, and I opened a preschool five years ago where I also teach three days a week, and I absolutely LOVE IT! I teach piano lessons, and I have also volunteered my time teaching children in my church for 15 years, as well as coaching Orem City soccer for several years. I love teaching, and next to being a mother and a grandmother, there is nothing that is more fulfilling.
I have been a mother of children in Alpine School District public schools for 15 years. I have a son currently attending UCAS, a daughter attending Lakeridge Jr. High, and a grandson at Vineyard Elementary. My father was a public school teacher for 28 years, my grandmother a second grade public school teacher, and my father-in-law was the principal of an alternative high school in the Mesa Public School District in Arizona for 25 years. I have such a great appreciation for all those who choose teaching as their profession and sacrifice so much for the children of their communities!
Curriculum
One of my biggest concerns is that students are not learning the things they
need to be learning, and at the age they should be learning it. We can be doing
a MUCH better job with choosing our curriculum. I believe in traditional,
proven, successful standards and curricula, and I will never support making our
children lab rats or guinea pigs, nor do I believe in constantly changing with
the latest fad.
Alternative School Choices
Many people don't know how to feel about homeschoolers, charter schools, and private schools. The common claim is that "they think they are better than public school kids." Nothing could be further from the truth. Parents who seek other options for their children do so because they have children that have a need or needs that they see can be met best through a different school setting.
I have homeschooled some of my children during some of their elementary school years simply because they have had needs that were not being met in the public schools. Children are unique and have different learning styles and different needs - whether they are academic needs, emotional needs, or medical needs, just to name a few. Parents who sacrifice for their children in this way should never be "judged" in a negative manner, they are simply caring for their children in the best way they know how, and usually at a tremendous sacrifice.
There has been an imaginary "wall" built between the school district and these families, and there is no reason for it. The school district should aim to support the education of all children and all families, which includes those who choose homeschooling, charter and private schools. We should also evaluate the reasons for the successes of the schools in our community, and then emulate what has proven to be successful. We can be united as a community, for the benefit of our children!