Jade Tomelden is running as an independent candidate for school board:
I am a 35-year-old mother of three, currently teaching privately and working in loss prevention. The decision to run stems from an incident in my son's class when his teacher tried to tape a student's mouth shut. I had always considered running, but I didn't have the guts to do it. However, the negative response that my son, his friends and their parents, and I have experienced from this incident made me recognize that nothing will change if I don't help it to. This summer we sold our home in Vancouver to move to Burnaby. Burnaby is central to places we have to be. I attended elementary and secondary schools in East Vancouver my entire life; I know the school system as a student and as a teacher. I am a graduate of Kwantlen, SFU and UBC. I have a diverse work and education background, which includes social -recreational program planning, academic curriculum development, providing financial services and coaching sports. I specialize in second language education and in working with gifted and/or learning disabled students. My goal is to establish a quality education system that supports its students to experience successful learning. I intend to achieve this by developing unique programs tailored to Burnaby's students' needs, within the current school system's goals and budget. I support the use of various teaching methods because I know that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to education. I want to ensure that parents and students feel comfortable telling us about their concerns. Above all, I believe we can improve our education system.
