Candidate Name: Kandice Kapinos, Carroll ISD School Board Trustee Candidate, Place 7
Occupation: Economist & Professor
How long have you lived in Southlake?
"I am from the Dallas area originally but left Texas for graduate school. My husband and I moved to Southlake in 2016 primarily for the schools but also because of the bucolic feel of the town."
What inspired you to run for this position?
"I have three kids in the district. I have been thinking about serving the community in this way for a few years. I do policy evaluation and research for a living and believe these skills can be used to help the district."
What prepared you for this responsibility?
"I am a first-generation college student completing my undergrad at UTD, my Ph.D. in applied economics at the UIUC, a visiting scholar position at Harvard where I studied decision-making and a postdoctoral fellowship in health economics and policy at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center and the University of Minnesota. Since then, I have worked in a variety of academic, government and private sector settings. My research includes work in the area of child and adolescent health and policy evaluation.
I have extensive experience in education as well, teaching economics and statistics at the collegiate level, math in the Upward Bound program for disadvantaged youth and Sunday school at my church. I have also volunteered in my children’s classrooms, led math club, coached rec volleyball and am currently serving on the School Health Advisory Council for the district."
What do you hope to bring to this role?
"I will advocate for an evidence-based approach to improving outcomes for students in the district. I will prioritize improving the culture in our district and efforts to develop students into well-adjusted global citizens who can work with others and contribute meaningfully to our world."
What makes you different from other candidates?
"My background and skills are unique from most of the current Trustees. I believe most current Trustees and candidates have older children. I am the only one with elementary-aged children."
What do you hope to accomplish if you are elected?
"In general, I will advocate for evidence-based decision-making that is made transparent to taxpayers and members of the CISD community. Two areas of greatest concern for me are: 1) prioritizing mental health and fostering a culture of inclusion and 2) integration of technology.
Our district is competitive with an intense focus on academic success and with that comes intense pressure. Our students are not immune to the nationwide increases in child and adolescent anxiety, depression and self-harm. Moreover, we, like other districts, face sobering statistics on the prevalence of bullying in our schools. This is both in person and online. We need to make sure that we do not lose sight of the importance of developing these children into empathic, well-adjusted, productive adults who can have meaningful relationships and lives. I would like us to look at the scientific evidence base and find ways to integrate social and emotional learning and mental health education comprehensively from kindergarten through 12th grade. These approaches can be applied at the level of instruction, in school-wide policies and practices, as well as in concert with the broader community.
Second, I would like consistent district-wide policies to guide the use of electronic devices in age-appropriate ways that enhance the classroom environment. This is critical, as we hand every seventh through 12th grader a laptop and deploy iPads in all kindergarten through fourth-grade classrooms. Seeing our children learn to program in elementary school, create movies, develop robots and use technology in new ways is exciting. We need to be aware of the research that has identified risks of excessive screen time and challenges from integrating technology into the classroom. I would like to see us implement evidence-based approaches to integrating the technology in ways that help teachers. We need a plan for preventing and monitoring the potential risks."
What else do you want people to know about you?
"I am passionate about serving the CISD community, bringing my expertise and knowledge in policy implementation, evaluation and cost-benefit analytics."