Health coach and homeschooling mom, Sarah Lindblom, is running for a Grass Valley School District seat in an effort to fill educational “holes,” reduce truancy, improve the nutrition of school-provided meals, and alter what she believes to be a morally declining social landscape.

Before becoming a homeschool mom post-COVID, Lindblom was “extremely active (PTA President, P.E. Coach, and Classroom mother) at the local public school [her] boys previously attended.”

When COVID shut down schools, Lindblom was able to see first-hand where her sons were lacking in their education.

Lindblom makes a point not to blame teachers, acknowledging that they “were already overwhelmed” during COVID.

“However, these holes gave insight into a disconnect in public education- the ability for the parents (or other mentor) to come alongside their student for support.  Our district, like many others, are showing state testing scores that reflect a disservice to the children and families in our community.  Some of them do not have the means or time to attend a private school or homeschool.  When we talk about an equitable education, that should also reflect the scale of where our public school students place in regards to other students in their community- they deserve better,” says Lindblom.

Although she cannot be sure, Lindblom believes the COVID protocols or “the disconnect of the family/mentor of the student with the school and its administration” has also led to a rampant truancy problem.

“I believe that the value of having the student in the seat of the classroom has declined – or the trust of the value has been cancelled entire,” Lindblom explains.

The nutritional options, or the lack thereof, provided by public schools may be part of the problem, according to Lindblom, who points out how “many students rely on the food served at school, and if the proper nutrition is not there, then we run into sickness (causing truancy).”

“If food is fuel, how do we expect the kids to perform their best at school on anything less than premium grade?” she emphasizes.

Lindblom has further goals to attract more parent involvement in school board meetings by making the agendas more publicized.

“From what I have witnessed as part of a school staff, and also a parent, is a lack of transparency,” she says.

Lindblom is a fervent believer that parents should, and can, have a significant impact on their children’s education but are often “not aware of how much of an impact they can have” because of this lack of transparency.

“For our board meetings I would find and publicize the agenda items that may appeal to the family, community, and/or school for an open discussion and involvement,” she says.

Lindblom has also observed “a moral decay growing in the public schools.”

“Bullying, suspensions, and expulsions are a rising issue,” and Lindblom wonders if we have “created a vacuum by losing the kids with educational, emotional, and mental flourishing to homeschool and/or private school? Or perhaps we have veered too far from continually teaching solid foundations of good morals and spirit: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”

If elected to the Grass Valley School District board, Lindblom intends “to change the projection of this social landscape.”

She hopes to reinvigorate the public education’s role, which she says is “to allow a child to have limitless opportunity in the world around them.”

Lindblom believes schools should provide students “with a strength in academics, a love for learning, and [to] reinforce a solid moral foundation.”

If these things can be accomplished, Lindblom believes “our future will be bright.’

Lindlbom faces two opponents, Trisha Dellis and Debbie Lindh.

Schools within the Grass Valley School District include: Bell Hill Academy, Grass Valley Charter School, Grass Valley Preschools, Lyman Gilmore Middle School, and Margaret G. Scotten School.

The Nevada County, CA General Election will take place November 5, 2024.