Hello, I'm Zeke. Welcome to the Zekely podcast. Let's talk Pennsylvania. Today's episode is a first for me as I will be having not one, not two, but four guests. What they share in common is they are all running to be members of the Lower Merion School Board in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania, which is right outside of Philadelphia. In a time where school boards in Pennsylvania have been taken over by extremist groups like Moms for Liberty, I am grateful their are candidates in my own community willing to work for the public school system and put our children's best interests first.

Okay.

Thank you so much for being

Juanita

Jennifer

Kurry

and Anna Shurak

For years, I’ve knocked thousands of doors all over Pennsylvania and poured my heart and soul into supporting candidates and causes that make a difference—from local school board races to national elections. The personal is political, and I take every election in Pennsylvania personally.

Where the mainstream media has failed you, I will give you truth and independence. You’ll hear from Democratic leaders, candidates, and change-makers who are working to improve the health of the Commonwealth, and it won’t be boring as hell.

No matter where you are, I’ll meet you with hope and a plan to make your community better one day at a time. Welcome to the Zekely Podcast. Let’s talk Pennsylvania.

Zeke You're all here, yay! (1:29)

Hello!

Yay. Happy to be here.

Yay!

this is a first for me, four people at the same time, magic is gonna happen. We're gonna have fun, play some games, and learn all about all of you. So y'all ready? All right, here we go.

Ready?

What's everyone binging right now on their streaming apps? Did anyone finish the season finale of White Lotus? Anyone White Lotus fans? It's good. Piper, no! Tsunami!

I did.

Yeah.

I loved it. was, Ted Lasso, no, I love Ted Lasso. That's a good one too. Light, but very deep at the same time. I loved White Lotus because of the slow burn. I like a slow burn show. That's good. So White Lotus, Ted Lasso, Anna, you're a little quiet. What are you watching?

I'm rewatching Ted Lasso for positive energy.

Yeah.

I mean

Paw Patrol and PJ Mask on repeat.

Paw Patrol?

Hahaha!

You're

not having a lot of you time these days?

No, I don't know what you time is. Or me time. I like. Yeah. Yeah.

Okay, I mean... Or maybe you just like Paw Patrol, which is also fine. It's a lot of lessons to be learned on

Meh.

You

Paw Patrol.

and also

extremely deep.

Yeah, it is. No pup

Yes, Vi-

is too small. No job is too big.

Yes.

You

Just like being on the school board, which a great segue into my first comment about the school board.

Yeah,

Yes.

That's why she's watching it.

Thanks

being a member of the school board is a four-year commitment and completely volunteer-based, which means you're not getting paid a dime for anything that you do. So I want to know from each of you, what's the core reason you decided to participate in this important civic duty? So Jen, why don't you start?

Okay.

I would say the core reason is I truly believe in the power of education and its role in shaping the future of our children and our community. And I just feel like

it's so important. Why now? Why me? I'm tired of being on the sidelines and I feel as though it's time to get involved and I want to be part of a team that tackles

challenges and ensures that every child in our district has the opportunity to succeed. And although this is a volunteer job, I feel as though I'm in the position ready to give back and

my skills and time to

our educators, our students and our family. And that's so important to me.

I agree. Thank you for

Kerry.

I believe in democracy and I think the key to democracy is not standing on the

It's an

word. You do something about it. And the easiest way that you can make the biggest impact is locally. And so when I thought about ways where I can help my community, ways where I can engage, I do that at work.

.

I do that

and I have to do it locally as well. So instead of sitting there on social media and complaining about it, my thought was why don't I step into the ring, listen to other parents and try to echo their voices. And so that's why I ran for the school board. And I feel like that work isn't

done yet.

So I want to keep moving it forward and know that there's a lot of good people doing this work in lots of different spaces so I can help push it forward.

Thank you for doing the work.

Juanita?

Well because of so much that's happening today, I felt

very compelled to be a part of what our district already has in place with many of the policies, but to want the integrity of our education, the truth. And as everyone had mentioned before, instead of complaining,

and thinking about it. This was my opportunity to really step into it and do something about it and help bring a positiveness to the community, I enjoy it and I enjoy kids. So I just want kids to have the same opportunities as we all will hope for one another.

Thank you for that. And Anna?

Yeah, thanks,

I originally got involved in the midst of COVID. The last time Kerry and I ran, everything was online. Like it was shut down, locked down.

And that really compelled me to, as a long-time educator, to think about how can I get

And as I became more and more involved, I also enjoyed it more and more.

you

and in terms of volunteering, it's what I do. It's what I love. I've worked with kids since as long as I can remember.

And so I'm really excited to run again and looking forward to continuing to learn more from the community and in this next chapter.

I think it's great that you're all running. I think the common theme I see amongst

all of you is that you didn't want to wait for something to happen. You were all compelled to get in and do something. And I see so many people post online all the time that they're angry, that they're frustrated, screaming into the void. And my question I always pose them is, what are you doing? What are you doing to make your community better? I know there's a lot of stuff happening in this country at the federal level, but there's so much that we can do at the local.

That's great.

Yes. Yes.

levels that influence our lives every day, So I'm grateful that you all see that and that you're moving the needle forward in your own communities. So thank you for that.

Thank you.

I think you're all ready for another game. That's what I think you're ready for. So

Thank

we're going to play Name That Tune Okay? So I'm going to play a very short clip, like five 10 second clip of a song. You're going to tell me the artist and the song, and you can crowd source this together. Okay? So here's the first one.

Okay.

Did you? You got it. Good job, Jen. Good job. That was the first one. That was kind of an easy one. So here's another. This one is a little more recent. OK, here we go.

and sing bye bye bye.

Great job, Jen.

dochi, anxiety.

There you

go Juanita, very good. I got in Jen close second and very good. I love Dochi. I am staning for Dochi right now. She is phenomenal. I love her so much. Okay, next one. There's four of these because there four of you. I like even things. Okay, this one is a throwback for high school for me. So let's see if get this.

I do too.

Yeah

Clearly we don't like the same music you did.

You

I guess not.

So, Incubus. Wish you were here. Incubus. Okay, that I like to hear. Okay. Now, I... Okay. I wouldn't have judged you up until now, but if you don't get this last one, there may be some judginess going on, okay?

yeah, okay. Okay, see.

Zeke, is teaching us a lot about you.

You

You

Whitney Houston.

I'm just going let it go because it's Whitney Houston. I know. Very good. You all pass. Name that tune.

All right. So, Kerry and Anna, you are both incumbents in this election cycle, which means you've already served a four-year term. Now you're going up for another term. So I know, Anna, you kind of answered this already, but Kerry, why are you deciding to run again?

So, I mean, I will

to be honest, we still have like eight months left of this term. So people keep acting like it's over and it's not, and there's no break in between either. But the reason I'm running again is some of the work that we started really ensuring that our communities are being listened to, that our schools are being transparent, and that the work is aligning between the two, especially for me in the area of special ed, has taken a lot of

Mm-hmm.

positive steps moving forward. But one of the reasons that I wanted to make sure that that work didn't slip,

I wanted to stay on board to see it all the way to the end.

I really wanted to stay on again for another term to make sure that we can, our new superintendent, Frank Ronelli is coming on, that he has that support. And sometimes that support means time, giving him time to get the lay of the land, to get the understanding of the district, to feel out and talk to the parents, talk to the kids.

and really see where his expertise is going to help move us forward in those areas.

Kids don't show marked improvement until the superintendent stays for more than three years. We need to make

hmm.

we have stability

So,

so our kids do better. Because at the end of the day, the reason I run all the time is to support kids.

That makes sense. And you're currently the president of the school board, correct?

Yes.

I am currently the president of the school board, yes.

Got it. Well, Kerry and Anna, I'm so happy you're running again, and I look forward to voting for you in May and November.

Yes.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Well, it's time for another game, okay? And we're gonna play Gen Z Lingo, okay? So I'm

Yay.

gonna give each of you a sentence, and you're gonna translate that for me, okay? So Juanita, we're gonna start with you. I know, but it's for the kids, it's for the kids, okay? Yeah, no, no cheating.

gosh.

Like we're gonna fail all of these tests tonight.

I'm like, can I go wake my kids up? They might be better.

Yes! I can get a kid soon!

Yeah.

Yeah.

No cheating, Anna. Okay, here we go.

Alright, Juanita. I used to stan on that artist, but their last album gave me straight brain rot. What does that mean, Juanita?

Would you repeat that please? And can I call a life line?

Sure.

haha

You can, if you don't get this time you can. I used to stan that artist but their last album gave me straight brain rot.

You wanna phone a friend? Go to the rest of the group? What do you think?

So it basically means I used to be a huge fan of that artist. When you stan for someone, you're a fan. But their latest album was so bad, it felt mind numbing. So brain rots like mind numbing. This is gonna help you on the school board because you never know. You never know when someone's gonna come in and start talking in there. That's how they talk.

Let me write this

down. I am.

I know, take notes. Take notes. You're gonna have a lot of street credit if you know

Hahaha

this lingo. All right, you're up next, okay? Okay. That take is straight up delulu, but go off, I guess.

Next person, please.

Yeah

Okay.

That take is straight up delulu, but go off I guess.

Yep,

that take is straight up to Lulu, but go off I guess.

That was crazy, but I'll go with it, guess.

Yeah,

that was close. that opinion is completely unrealistic, but if that's what you believe, go ahead. that was close. That was close. That was good. All right, Kerry, you're up. Not me full on sending an essay length text at 2 a.m. because I got the ick.

you

Okay. my word. I'm shocked I haven't heard that one. Okay.

You

Nice.

Okay.

It feels actually like what I do.

You

You wake up and you have anxiety and then you send your friend a crazy text in the middle of the night. Basically, right?

Uh-huh. Yeah.

It basically means I can't believe I wrote such a long text at 2 a.m. just because I suddenly lost interest in someone. Yes. All right, Anna, bring us home, okay? She ate and left no crumbs. That speech was low-key iconic.

mine's more adult to the anxiety.

Never heard of

Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah, like you're killing it. Like in awe, like all the things.

That's a good one. Yeah.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

That's right. So if someone, you you gave a speech at a school board, that's how they would describe your speech. So basically means she did an amazing job. They do. I'm sure they do. Yes. Obviously. You are low-key iconic, Anna. It means she did an amazing job on that speech. It was actually quite impressive. There you go. Yeah.

They usually do, Zeke. That's what they say about me.

Thank you, thank you so much.

Okay, here's the next game at the next school

board meeting. We all have to work that in to the conversation.

Yes, yes, yeah, there

Yeah, yeah.

you go. Well, there you go, Gen Z lingo. See, you didn't know what kind of podcast you were getting on, but this is what we do. This is what we do on the Zekely Podcast, okay?

Yeah

No, we didn't.

All right, so Anna, you have over 20 years of experience in education. You've served as a teacher, as a principal, and a chief schools officer. Out of all of those three positions, what was your favorite and why?

honestly my favorite was probably being a

Mm-hmm. Okay.

all of them were really fun. think being a principal because you have the opportunity and the responsibility to work with your entire team to ensure that students are able to have the experience that they want and deserve. And so that responsibility is a lot of weight on the shoulders, but at the end of the day,

you always have the power to make a difference and make impact with students and that sort of just opportunity and love and and everything just embodies for me the so what now what like there's always a third way to do something for kids so how do you make sure to do it.

Mm-hmm.

Very cool. Well, thank you for answering that question.

Yeah, of course.

All right. So the Lower Merion School District has an anti-bullying and anti-discrimination policy in place. But if a parent or student approaches you believing that their school is not enforcing the policies, how would you address those concerns? So I want to start with you this time, Jen.

I would first, as a board member, respect, the role that I play, versus administration. So first, make sure that the parents connected with administration of their building, to make sure they're working closely with the principal, assistant principal. If the superintendent needs to get involved to address the issue.

Yeah.

And then if, if it does come to board level, just working with the superintendent to hold them accountable, to make sure that, you know, they're adhering to policy, to make sure the family's needs as well as the students is addressed, but also respecting confidentiality of the situation.

Yeah, that sounds extremely important. Kerry.

Cough

Yeah, I think what Jen said was perfect. It's like you want to help the kid and the family be most successful. And that means you want to do ground up. You want to say, OK, have you talked to the principal? Have you gotten this done? Have you done that work? Because that's really where, in that local situation, in that school, in that classroom, that's where the work needs to happen.

we have amazing people in our school system.

And they're looking for any issues, but sometimes you're on the balcony and you can see it little bit clearer. So you're supposed to support your schools and your parents and your kids this way too.

Yeah.

Yes.

So in agreement with both Kerry and Jen,

I see us as being an advocate and a bridge and making sure that we're aligning with the policies and educating what the process is. And the process always begins within the school, with the administrators. And making sure that we follow the chain of commands, so to speak.

I think it's very important that we give a voice and that we give a concern when there is a concern, but to ask all the questions and to make sure that we're getting to the heart of the issues,

By teaching parents that process and students that process, we're also giving them that empowerment and that ability to see that there are things that's in place, policies that's in place that work. But sometimes parents don't have that understanding or they don't feel so they have that type of support and ability. And that's the part of what we can do too is help

Yeah.

Mmm.

Okay.

connect the pieces and know when to step back and let the

administrators and everyone else involved take the lead.

You

sense. And Anna?

Yeah, would ditto everything my colleagues said. I would also offer, I think as school board members, we have unique opportunity to be a voice and the unique privilege to really lift up serious situations that have occurred. And I take that responsibility really to heart as a 10th grader.

Ahem.

one of my social studies teacher did something anti-semitic to me in class and I was put out of class and I was suspended. And they told me I only believe something because I was Jewish. And in that moment, when I was like paralyzed by that, one of my friends in my class who wasn't Jewish, stood up and said, no, doesn't believe that because she's Jewish. She believes it because she's Anna.

Okay.

And so we both got suspended and put out of class. But I'm telling you that story because

wow.

Okay.

it was such a real experience for me when I couldn't find a voice because I was humiliated and felt singled out. And I had a friend that did that for me. And so that's really instilled for me always to be that voice for others when something is happening. And if on the back end, it ends up like that wasn't what was needed at the time. I at least I did what I could. And so

Mm-hmm.

you

.

I'm telling you this story because I do and I have experienced a few times being a school

board member that it was really important for me to go directly to the superintendent. I'm not calling principals for people. I'm not calling teachers that I'm not calling the home and school associate. That's not my job. But one on one say to the superintendent, hey, I heard about this. I don't know where this is, but can you please just look into this? This is really egregious what I'm hearing.

Thank you.

Yep.

Yes.

That makes sense.

You know, I think people just want to be listened to a lot of times and protecting that confidentiality, then doing the right thing, either working through the system, managing the situation, and hopefully moving forward. So thank you for that.

Ha ha!

Whoa!

Ooh.

I think we can all get this.

We can all say that at the same time.

Koby!

Call

See?

good. Kobe Bryant, that is correct. Alright next question. Lower Merion School District serves students in how many elementary schools?

Six. Six. Six.

Yeah, six, that is correct.

Six elementary schools, three middle schools, and two high schools, according to the website. I do a lot of deep research on these questions, okay. Lower Merion High School's colors are which combinations? I have multiple choice if you don't know the top of your head. You want multiple choice?

you

You

Like Zeke, you should run.

Yes, exactly.

You

Isn't

it maroon and white?

So,

It's

It is maroon and white. Very good,

yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

very good.

All right. Well, thanks for playing Lower Merion Trivia.

We can tell you how many

Well, Kerry, you have worked extensively in civic education and museum management with institutions such as the National Constitution Center, one of my favorites, the Franklin Institute, and the Eastern State Penitentiary. Tell me a little about your work and how you got into that space.

I'm the CEO of Eastern State,

the work that we do really looks about how do we engage with the criminal justice system and more importantly, the justice system overall with a mission and a purpose to really make it better, to create a system that's better and based off of reform.

It's a non-profit

organization, but it's the first penitentiary in not

America, but it's the first penitentiary in the world. So Philadelphia was not just the birthplace of, you know, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and American democracy, democracy on a large scale in the entire world, but it's also the birthplace of

Hmm.

ensuring that when we give somebody liberty and we take it away,

it's done in a humane and just way.

Hmm.

So that's a lot of the work that I do now, which you can see easily layers off of the work I did for over 17 years at the Constitution Center about teaching about our fundamental rights, these ideas of natural rights, what rights you have that nobody else has, rights that are given to you by law and by government, but always ending with the fact that we, people, run that said government.

And before that I did work a lot of work in education at the Franklin Institute and for a fun claim to fame the first time we ever redid the heart exhibit I was one of the exhibit

and if you went into that exhibit and you try to zap somebody because their heart failed The medic was named Kerry That's the team that like design interactive wanted to give me a

Mm-hmm.

shout out because I was super obsessed with the fact that

If somebody flatlines, you can't actually zap them with the paddles. And like every TV show in the world is wrong about that. You to do it hand in hand in epinephrine. So it would tell you, no, no, no, can't zap them. So my life has been a series of trying to combat TV shows. So I went to the Constitution Center and said, hey, guess what? That is not really your Miranda rights.

Okay.

you

Yeah.

All

right.

And let's

really talk about what your miranda rights are to now understanding that incarceration is something that we don't talk about ghosts. We talk about purpose and humanity and human dignity and hope and how we can all come together to do better.

Mm-hmm.

Hmm.

Hmm.

I love it. You want

to ground people in reality.

makes a lot of sense. It does pain me a lot when I watch physician shows and I see how they do everything like ET tubes are put in wrong and they're shocking people when their flat lining and giving the wrong medication. So I feel your pain, Kerry.

Mm-hmm.

You

here's a question for all of you. With constant threats of budget cuts at the federal and state levels, how would you work together on the board to make sure that students don't suffer if money becomes an issue? So, Anna, why don't you start?

I

this is a real question for us to grapple with Zeke, not only in the current context of the political landscape, but also just the reality of our school district finances and how do we ensure fiscal sustainability and make responsible choices in the years ahead. And so I think first and

it's recognizing that in our role of governance,

We must rely on the superintendent and his team to really put forth the plan that they think best positions our students. Our role is definitely to ask questions and to learn more and to think about what are the different solutions to get us to our shared goal of student experience and impact and outcomes. But I just want to like delineate that, that our role on the board is really to let the superintendent do

.

his

right? And work with his team to do so.

Sure, sure.

You know, I think another important piece from my prior experience and just from being on the school board is really understanding that the school board, sounds funny, but it's one budget. It's just like at your house. So, you know, when we make choices to buy new books for elementary, that means we might not be able to do something at the high school or when we make a decision to fund.

a play and give more money for extracurriculars in one regard,

that means we might not be able to have new books in the middle school. And so the trade-offs are not one-to-one, it's one whole picture. So I think what I'd be really looking to holding the superintendent accountable for is understanding how does every choice that he makes and propose put students at the forefront and put students at the forefront in a way that sometimes might.

you

mean that us as a community and us as a team have to grapple with that there might be changes to the services

we provide because we have our students center and all of our students at the center.

It sounds like your responsibility is huge in picking the right superintendent for the school district because that superintendent really has a lot of power and influence in deciding where to shift different resources around. And so you definitely have control over a lot of the funds, but ultimately once those funds get pushed down to the schools, that superintendent has a lot of lateral movements. So I can see how you'll be working very closely with a superintendent when these difficult decisions come into play.

Exactly.

that sense. Kerry what about you?

Yeah, I mean, there's part of me that wants to just extend on that, like on that storyline, it's like, what's the role of the school board? And so yes, it's the fiscal oversight. And again, being that in between that bridge between the community and the school district, we serve the students. That's why we're all there. Every single person that's right on the school board, hopefully, and always will, will be there with kids first in mind.

.

But at the same time, affect over 62,000 people in our community that are paying taxes. So we have to be really responsible to the dollars that people are

.

us and making sure that they're being used best for our kids. And we have an extremely large budget. We are one of the top 10 wealthiest school districts in the country.

We have a lot of privilege because of that, and we need to be really thoughtful in how we use it and making sure our kids have what they need, but also saying, is this the appropriate amount? Do we need all of this? And I think that is something that we're gonna have to think about

Mm-hmm.

hard, not just because of what's going on at the federal and the state level, but because of the economy as well. It's gonna change prices for everything. It's gonna change that impact.

And so most of our budget right now goes to the people. And that's what you expect in a school because you know, the

one person that's going to move the kids forward in a school system is going to be the teachers. But we know as people in our community, as people that live through the education system and people, it's the teachers, it's the aides, it's the principals, it's the superintendent, it's the bus drivers. So our job is to ensure that money is being used.

Okay.

well, even when we're not in budget tightness, you know, we're not trapping our dollars down. So we

Gotcha.

have to hire the right superintendent. And we have to ensure that our goals and our values

spelled out clearly and transparency with the community, like

Yeah.

.

school strategic plan, and then hold people accountable to that, hold the superintendent accountable. So then when there's leeway at the local

Hmm.

level,

Mm-hmm.

It's

not just do whatever you want. They gave us this money. Now we can run loose. No educator would ever

Yes.

Right.

that. But we need to have measurement, have KPIs to be able to hold that up and down. That makes people trust you. That makes people say, my money's going to a good cause. Help the kids.

Mm-hmm.

Yes.

Right. So Jen, you you're listening to Anna and Kerry who have both worked on the school board already. You

Mm-hmm.

know, what

thoughts do you have as someone new coming to the school board how you would help, you know, balance these type of issues?

I mean, just to echo what they said, I would work closely with my fellow board members to prioritize resources that directly impact our students learning. Because at the end of the day, our priority should always be the well-being of our students and their education. So just to echo what they said, I'm in a complete agreement.

Yeah, and , Juanita?

think to add to what everyone has said, I think another important piece would be the communication back to the community to ensure them that we have this in place

Yeah.

Yes.

and that we are committed to making sure that our vulnerable students and families know that we are prioritizing all of the needs.

because that's the first thing that many people are concerned about would be the IEP or the special education. But as this being one of the best school districts in the country and why I moved from, South Philadelphia was for the space and for the quality of the education. So I know that we were all aligned to work together to ensure that

every family, every child has what they need in terms of resources. And where there are cuts that need to be made, I'm sure that we will have to make those hard decisions, but it would be for the betterment of everyone.

difficult decisions, decisions you will make together as a board.

Mm-hmm.

All right, well, let's play another game called Name That Movie, okay, where I'm gonna give you a quote from a movie, but it takes place at a school.

Okay, so I picked movies that involve schools. All right, so again you can work on this together. So here's the first quote. There are four of them because there are four of you. Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for what

Mmm.

Breakfast Club.

That's one of my favorite movies.

I was like...

Yeah, there you go. Very good. Mm-hmm.

I just remember the end scene is really classic.

It is a classic. mean, that's a classic movie. All right, here's one. We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race.

Dead Poets Society? My cousin was in that one. I know, who knew? And I watch like 10 movies a year.

Dead Poets Society, you're on fire!

Go Kerry!

It's okay That's good Robin Williams. Yeah the late

Sorry, I didn't mean to jump on everybody else if they wanted to answer that.

Who was in that? Was that Robin Williams? Yeah, okay.

and my cousin.

The late and great Robin Williams, yes. All right, this is a kind of obscure one. I leave for five minutes and when I come back, everyone's an alien.

Yeah.

It's not animated either. I'll let you suffer for a second.

I am not gonna get that one.

It's

not with someone with Will Smith. No.

No, not Will Smith.

No, it's from the faculty. I don't know if you remember, it was a character played by Josh Harnett and his name was Zeke, which is why I kind of, know, how many Zeke's, how many characters of Zeke are in movies? So obviously I'm gonna remember that one, okay? All right, here is the last one. This is not a democracy, this is a cheerocracy.

Mmm.

You

Yeah.

bring, yeah, bring it on.

Bring it on.

Bring it on! Bring

I was gonna say bring it on.

I got a wide plethora

you go.

of movies my life. Sorry. That's the one game I guess I can play.

Yes. Kerry, you kill it, you crush that game. Yeah, Kirsten Dunst. Yeah, very good, very good.

Alright, Juanita and Jennifer, you are both running for the first time.

I know we talked earlier, you know, why you wanted to run for school board, but this is your first time. So tell me about some of the barriers and wanting to actually enter this race.

So go ahead, Juanita you can start.

I have to be honest.

most of it had to do with the elections last year. I just, quite honestly, I started thinking about my ancestors. I started thinking about the civil rights movement. I started thinking about what can I do at the grassroots level? And really at the grassroots level is how

many communities became more empowered. And I wanted to be a part of the process. And I wanted to also at the same time, try to bring more unity within the community. That despite what we're going through today,

We have to know that there have been many generations that have gone through stuff before and this is just our time. And so I use that as the catalyst to not get discouraged, but to try to Keep pushing forward to make something different happen, to make more positive influences.

Mm-hmm.

And I think that I can make a difference and I think that I can add something to it, something fresh and new. And I think that all of us

We have this commitment to just wanting to do the best for our kids.

I'm glad that you made that decision. And Jen?

had an opportunity to be the youth leader and mentor of a number of middle school and high school kids here in the Lower Merion School District. And over these years from partnering with other amazing movers and shakers of our community, I began finding myself in situations where I've

where I was advocating on behalf of the youth that I get to mentor with, asking them questions, what's going on in school, learning more about how things are impacting them and their academic journey in the district, and found myself getting involved with other great leaders on advocating on their behalf, attending meetings on their behalf, where I realized that

is the time that every student in our district deserves an advocate who will act on their

you

behalf on the school board. And just now that I've started my own family in this district, I'm truly passionate that about creating an opportunity for every student, regardless of their race, their religion, their gender, their socioeconomic status, their abilities. It's just so important that we create an environment where every student could excel.

So I would have to say it started with just my passion for the middle and high school youth that I get to work alongside in this district. And then just from there, just stirred up to just continue to do the great work on advocating, not on just behalf of the students I get to interact with all the time, but all students.

it's a big decision to run for public office. And so I'm glad that you both took that step for the first time and hopefully many more years to come. Absolutely.

Yes.

Yes, thank you.

you

You are an active parent volunteer at Cynwyd Elementary. You engage with the Home and School Association. You mentor middle and high school students and have partnered with the Build on Service Club at Lower Merion High School. What has volunteering taught you most about the Lower Merion community?

Yes.

Just in general, I just always have been raised and taught by my parents. It's always important to give back, especially the community you live in. so many times, especially in Lower Merion, we're so fortunate. But so many times we forget that there's so much that needs to be done, ways we could give and partner and collaborate with one another to support one another as neighbors or strengthen our community.

I mean, I'm just so grateful and blessed and I just want to pour into others and give back the best I can.

Lower Merion is a special community and you clearly come from a long line of volunteers. So volunteering for the school board makes a lot of sense. So thank you. Thank you for doing that.

Thanks.

It is.

Yes.

Yes.

So Radnor School Board, which is right up the street, recently banned some books from the high school library.

How would you uphold the current Lower Merion policy in regard to purchasing or removing books from the schools?

.

I want to start with you.

Yeah, Zeke, this is near and dear to me. I am

of the work that we have done on the policy committee as a co-chair. We actually revised this policy last year in particular, really making it aligned with our equity policy and making sure that not only do we have

.

language in the policy that protects any one group or people from being able to have that kind of authority to ban books,

but actually really articulate that it is our goal in alignment with our values to ensure that we have books in our resources, libraries, curriculum, et cetera, that purposefully represent counter perspectives and opinions. And so if this was somehow challenged

and brought to the board, obviously I would, as a board member, want to learn

I wouldn't say definitively I would do this or that.

But I'm really proud of our policy because I think it represents best practice and being proactive and setting the structure that we want to be in place in alignment with our strategic plan and values and have integration and synergy with our other policies.

Yeah, think Anna said it perfectly, but I think it also just echoes the importance of the fact that a board isn't one person, that it's not one person making

It's nine people together being representative of the entire community and all the voices in the community,

Books make choices and books tell kids what is acceptable, what, when you leave it out is not acceptable. So we need that to be a reflection of our diverse community, but also the diverse community of our entire world. Our kids are walking out of Lower Merion at some point in time. They're entering to serve. And we want to expose them to so many different ideas. That's the power of education. It's not indoctrination, it's exposure.

Good work is exposure. And so our kids can go out there with all the tools they need to move forward.

I love the statement you made, it's not indoctrination, it's exposure. I that's a very powerful point. I thought that was great. Juanita, what about you?

Hmm. Yes. Yes.

That's education.

Thanks.

I think it's important for kids to be able to see themselves in those books and that speaks to their unique individuality and that every kid needs to feel some connection that helps them through those awkward ages. So I think having age-appropriate books that aligns with the district

policies is exactly what we need and we need to ensure that our kids can have access to that.

representation matters every time. And Jen, what are your thoughts?

Mm-hmm.

similar to what everyone else has said, I just want to echo, know, I truly believe that our school should have access to a diverse literature and it's essential to intellectual and emotional growth of students and that it's crucial that our libraries include books that will reflect a wide range of experiences, identities and perspectives.

Yes.

including, you know, our LGTBQ community, as long as the books are age-appropriate and that they are aligned with educational standards.

Thank you very much. This is very important topic to talk about.

All right, Juanita, you have spent over 30 years in healthcare as a medical photographer and supporting radiology applications at Penn Medicine. What is a medical photographer and how did you become interested in this field of medicine? Because when I think of medical photographer, a lot of things go through my mind. So I'm curious, how did you become interested in that?

Thank

Yup.

I attended the Art Institute of Pittsburgh for photography. And my interest actually at the time was photojournalism. And I love street.

portraits. my favorite was black and white photography. I just loved it. And when I graduated, it was challenging trying to find a job. I actually happened to have a friend who worked for the media services department at University of Penn High School. And they needed someone to fill in

Mm-hmm.

for the summer. So I started out part time just for the summer.

And I have to admit, I wasn't sure how I was going to react in that role because I could be squeamish about things. But once I was behind the camera, then it just became about the composition

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

But I really loved that job. It was great. I thought it was like the coolest job in the hospital.

I wonder if some of the pictures that you took wound up in some pathology books that I read when I was in training.

They did. have

one, there was one medical book where the doctor was kind enough to give a credit. I have my, I have a photo credit in a couple of medical journals and books. Yeah. Yeah.

Wow. Yeah.

That's great. Well, you are

That's cool.

That's

contributing to the education of medical students and doctors all over the country and probably world. That's really cool. Really cool, Juanita. Yeah, that is very cool niche market. I love it.

Yes.

That's true. Thank you.

Well, I think it's time to do a little bit of reenacting together. Okay So I'm gonna play a game with you called read for the class Okay, and I'm gonna give each of you a line a Shakespearean line and I want you to to say it back to me in the Shakespearean way Okay, can you do that for me your best?

Shakespearean reenactment. right, so Juanita, I'm going to give you the first one. All right, this is from Hamlet, and you're going to repeat this to me. To be or not to be, that is the question. So project yourself back to the stage and scene.

Okay, let me get into character.

Get into character.

Okay, to be or not to be, that is the question.

Stage is yours.

and scene. Very good, very good, very good. Round of applause for Juanita. All right, Jen, you're up. We have Twelfth Night, okay? This is your line, if music be the food of love, play on. Okay? If music be the food of love, play on. Jen, the stage is yours.

Yeah.

Okay.

If music be the stage of love, play on.

And scene. Very nice. Very nice. Very nice. Excellent. Excellent. Okay, Kerry. Now this is great. This is great. This is exactly what you signed up for. Exactly what you signed up for. All right, you are going to have a line from The Tempest. Okay? Hell is empty and all the devils are here. Okay? All right, here we go. Quiet. Shh.

This is horrible.

Okay. Okay!

Hmm. No! Oh, that's... It's like you picked one!

It's like you picked that one!

Quiet on the set, okay, and the stage is yours.

Hell is empty and all the devils are here.

end scene, very nice. Very nice, very nice. Okay, Anna, yours is from The Merchant of Venice, okay? No legacy is so rich as honesty.

know deep deep I know right okay all right warm warm up those vocal cords you're standing for those who cannot for those who cannot see we are stretching okay okay here we go

Wait, hold on. I'm trying to be dramatic. Hold on, except I'm like stuck.

Wait, wait, I forgot the line.

No legacy is so rich as honesty. And scene.

Okay.

you

No legacy is as rich as honesty.

Yes, unseen! Very nice. That's great.

Hmm.

I'm

me laugh because she was laughing

at me.

sorry! The whip around in the swivels! Nailed it!

I love it. The whip around on the chair really made it. it.

You

my word.

Yeah, it

you

Absolutely, absolutely. Thank you for playing. Read for the class. You're all good

sports. I love it.

All right, more serious. There are a lot of options in Lower Merion and the surrounding area for schooling, including private school, but all of you have or are currently sending your children to public school. So why have you decided to do so? Anna, why don't we start with you?

you

So first and foremost, I do believe every parent should be able to send their kids where they want to for school and where a kid goes to school to meet their personal needs matters. For me, Lower Merion is an amazing school district and the opportunity to live in a community school have both my

Mm-hmm. Sure.

12 and 11 year old walk to school matters, be immersed in the community is important to me. I grew up going to public school and some of my fondest memories are from high school and middle school and being able to continue to give back to the community by being immersed in it from school being the hub of a community is really why me and my family make that choice.

you

Kerry

It's funny, I don't think it... I went to a mix of different schools growing up. I actually went to Bala Cynwyd Middle School, but I also went to a private school before that.

Hmm

Wow.

I do think I agree with Anna

and I echo with parents can choose whatever school is best for them and their families. And that can be a mix of people. It could be one of your kids is going to private, one of your kids is going to public. That's your choice. You know what's best for your family.

Thank

Hmm

Okay.

But for me, the best fit was a public school.

make sense. Juanita?

Well, so I have older kids and they attended Lower Merion High School and I knew that it would be a great learning environment for them and that it will offer them all kinds of opportunities.

And it did.

And public education, I think is so important.

because every family should have access to a great education. That's what we have out here. I can't say any more than that. I just agree with both with Kerry and Anna said about the access and about how public education should be maintained and fought for.

Yes.

I agree. And Jen?

Something similar, you know, I truly believe in the values of public education, equity, diversity and opportunity for all. And I truly believe that our public schools provide a rich, inclusive environment where all students from all walks of life could thrive and learn together. And I think that's so important and why I value public schools so much.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, I agree. it's very important to me who is serving on the school board because I know that you're going to have a direct effect on how my child learns every day. So thank you for that.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Alright, so we're gonna play a game called Am I Lying? Okay, where I'm gonna tell you four things about myself, or is it five? Maybe five things, and you're gonna tell me whether I'm lying or not, okay? Alright, I was the editor of the sports section for my high school newspaper. Am I lying or is that true?

Line.

Let's look.

Lying, lying.

Lying. True, true, true. Okay, it was true. I was, which is hilarious because I'm terrible at sports knowledge.

True.

That's what I

I know, I know. I was an editor. I was the editor, but I was not very good at it. But you know, I think the person in charge of the newspaper just gave me something to do. And that was what I, so yeah, that is actually true. All right, I pulled the fire alarm in middle school as a dare from one of my friends. True or false?

too.

you told us that.

But

he's an editor.

Yeah.

Pulse.

Pause.

True? That is is false. never I did not do that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I did not do that. All right. Three more. I sang solo in my elementary school music concert.

True.

See you later.

Yeah,

no way.

True.

True.

That is true. I did. I did sing a solo. It was actually a Hebrew song, and I was the only Jewish kid in Schoeneck Pennsylvania, which is in Lancaster County, and the teacher thought, why don't you sing the solo? And so I sang the solo of Dodi Li and it was... No, was an extremely high-pitched solo as well.

Sing it for us.

I love Dodie Lee.

something that

I could not sing now, so yes I did actually do that. I was the weatherman for the high school morning announcements.

You

true.

True.

to.

you

That is true. I was the weatherman for the... Yeah. Yeah, you're doing a great job. And the last one, I planned and helped execute the class prank for my senior class. True or false? False, false, false? That is false. I did not have anything to do with it. I know. Anna, where were you? Where were you? In Lebanon, Pennsylvania. Yeah.

winning on a deep game.

true.

boss.

Yeah!

Hahaha!

See,

Zeke, you needed me. You needed me.

you

In the current climate,

large portions of the Department of Education are being dismantled, which threatens a lot of funding for IEPs or individual education plans all over the country. And most recently, a school board in our neighboring state of Ohio actually slashed all IEP funding for its students. So what would you do to protect students from losing these vital resources? So, Anna, we'll start with you.

Yeah, my initial response, like that's just illegal. IEP services are mandated. know these courts are challenging these things. I am worried about 504s. I am worried about

other services that in some regards can be more supplemental. I think as a school board, I am really grateful for our equity policy. It's something I fought hard to pass. And I think leaning into those policies will be really important so that we have guiding

principles and guardrails to ensure that when things come up,

you

we're proactively knowing where we stand in alignment with our values and not being reactive to situations that in particular are coming from a federal stance when we are a locally elected school board.

Mm-hmm.

Kerry

Yeah, I echo everything that Anna just said. There's a lot of concerning areas. When I think about it, this is a hard one because, you know, knowing our school board, now and what it will be in eight months, this does not look like anything our school board would ever do. And that, I think that's really important for people to know who they're voting for, so to make sure that they don't vote this type of school board in that says, you know what, we need to financially cut back.

you

Yeah, right.

Yes.

Okay.

Hmm.

I also don't understand how it's legal. This is, you know, American with Disabilities Act. This is the 14th Amendment. I don't understand how the school board was even able to do that in the first place. And to be honest with you, we're looking at 26 % of the population that that affects.

Mm-hmm.

Well, again, I agree with Anna and Kerry.

What's been interesting for me just as a candidate is I've had several people, several moms, to mention to me.

You know, I'm concerned about my child's IEP. And so that's another reason why I wanted to run.

Yeah.

We've learned through history that provided

that these kids have the right resources, the right instructions, the right assistance, they thrive. And so to deny that and do away with it means that you're denying a child an opportunity and a chance to grow into a productive adult and get that type of job that they want to have. They need to have those resources

I just think that, I really think it's a crime that anyone would want to consider to slash funds and to do a waiver program that's going to impede the progress of a child's education. And that's essentially what you're doing. You're just cutting down their life,

Yeah.

And I just think it's wrong.

I get emotional thinking about how it seems there's a segment in our population that wants to deny the rights to a quality education. So in order for me to deal with those emotions, that's why it's important for me to run as a candidate.

Yes.

and Jen.

Exactly. mean, ensuring that students with disabilities have access to the resources they need is a non-negotiable. And I'm in agreement with my colleagues on here. I mean, I would advocate, or as Kerry would say, we would fight for maintaining the vital services at the local level and working closely with our superintendent, working closely with our district leaders, and working closely with our other board members to

prioritize these resources. It's so important.

So good to hear all of you say that. That really means a lot. Thank you so much.

Jen, what gives you hope?

just knowing that there are amazing people in our community like us here tonight at 11 p.m. and others around this country and world that have not given up hope, who are dedicated to future of our students in this country. even think about,

Yes.

Booker and all that, you know,

like we're not giving up, you know, we could easily respond to the situations in our world today, our country today and just give up. But instead we are fighting. We are rallying together, you know, letting our light shine in our communities and in our states and throughout our country. And that's what gives me hope.

Mm-hmm.

you

Juanita, what gives you hope?

wow, I'm getting emotional thinking about it. Actually, what gives me hope is looking at my son, right? And wanting the best for his future.

seeing Cory Booker, that gave me hope. And seeing everyone here on this platform with these amazing ladies, they give me hope.

Yeah, you all give me hope too. And Kerry, you do. You all give me hope. Absolutely.

Mm-hmm.

See?

I'm not

going to lie. I've said this from the beginning. I've been loving since the idea came around and I met these two of an all female run at the school board slate made me really happy. But when I think about what gives me hope, there's a few things. I've worked with kids my entire career and watched kids do really hard things and really powerful things.

We have great kids and this is an inclusive community. And even though sometimes we might wanna be annoyed with each other, we still have awesome kids and they're doing good together. our kids give us me a lot.

Okay.

Anna, what gives you hope?

I think what gives me hope as of late are my past students, our current kids, and our educators. Just this weekend, I ran into a student from when I was a teacher and principal 15 years ago, or 10 years ago, and she was like, Ms. Schwartz, that's my maiden name, and was like, hey, hey, so-and-so, how are you?

Okay.

Like just having those moments where you get to see what

our brilliant students can accomplish and knowing that when you keep students at the center, anything is possible and then they will be able to achieve all that they want to is what keeps me driven and hopeful. And in this current moment, our current students and children in this world, it's our kids, our schools, our future. And that's

Okay.

Yes.

phrase and the slogan the four of us have adopted. And similarly, I'm so excited

to continue to work alongside these amazing, brilliant women because what we are focused on in Lower Merion, I know represents the majority of our community. And to continue to maintain that, build on that, and collaborate with our amazing educators is something I feel really honored and privileged to do, especially with this group of amazing slate mates.

I

couldn't agree more. That's great.

And last but not least, final question. What plans do you have to get yourself through these next few years? So Anna, what plans do you have?

Yeah.

Okay.

man, Zeke, you're always giving me the hard ones. I

think the next few years, you know, I have two middle schoolers and a three year old. So at the very least, really just finding some boundaries to keep myself present to what matters the most, which is them and my husband and my family. you know, so self care in that regard. But at the end of the day, also really prioritizing.

friends and family and work and things that give me passion and energy.

Okay. Kerry.

I've been thinking about it because I've definitely felt the last couple of months just like scattershot. There's a lot going on. I think everybody has. But

I'm going to stay focused and move with intention instead of thinking about the 72 steps I have to do before that. And just

moving through the years in Cape and making sure that I'm having that intention of relationships,

My universe is teaching, teaching me that right now. Move with intention and then let it go when you can't or you haven't.

Sounds good to me. Jen, what are you going to do?

I would say just stay grounded and stay true to who I

And, you know, be grateful for the time that I have with loved ones. know, tomorrow is not promised for any of us. And then, you know, if elected as a school board member, be the best board member I can be.

As long as I know I'm doing the best that I can as a mother, a wife, daughters, is all I said, a role model and hold myself accountable, I'm gonna live life unapologetically.

get you elected don't you worry. Juanita what are you gonna do?

Thank you.

Yeah.

So I see myself taking care of myself in the process, know, taking time, doing photography, doing more artwork, roller skating. I want to get back to roller skating. That's like my, my guilty pleasure.

And so that's something that I kind of want to bring to this community.

It's just giving back and being a positive and hopeful spirit.

Well, Juanita Kerber, Jennifer Rivera, Kerry Sautner, and Anna Schurack, all running for lower Merion School Board, all endorsed by the local Democratic committee for a reason. For a reason. You all embody the values necessary to serve on a school board. And I cannot wait to vote for all of you.

May 20th and again on November 4th and to watch you all get sworn in again and for the first time. So thank you so much for coming on the Zekely podcast. I am so grateful that you're running and doing this important civic service. So thank you so much.

Thanks, C.

Thank you.

Zeke!

Thanks, Z.

Yes, we did it. This was a great experience. Thank you.

Thank you, thank you.

Thank you so much.

Well, everyone who's listening, thank you so much for joining me here on the Zekely Podcast. Stay hopeful and get involved. And until next time, let's keep building a stronger Pennsylvania together.