Allison Karman

CANDIDATE For PETOSKEY SCHOOL BOARD

Healthy kids, thoughtful technology, and support for the teachers who make it all work.

I'm running for the Petoskey Public Schools Board of Education because I believe our schools can lead the way in raising kids who are healthy, curious, and ready for the world they're growing up in. I'm also a Lincoln Elementary parent (go Polecats!), so these decisions feel very personal to me. I bring years of experience in school administration and organizational leadership, and I'd be glad to put that experience to work for our students, families, and teachers.

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Priorities

Fresh, healthy food for every student. Kids learn better when they're well fed. Northern Michigan is surrounded by farms and orchards, and I want to find practical ways to bring more fresh, local food into our school meals and make healthy options easy for every student to access.Smarter use of screens. Technology is changing fast, especially with the rise of AI, and our approach should be thoughtful rather than automatic. I believe our youngest students, kindergarten through fifth grade, learn best without screens in the classroom. For middle and high schoolers, I want to make sure we're teaching them how to use the internet and AI tools safely, critically, and well, so they graduate as confident, discerning users rather than passive ones. As the parent of a young student, I see every day how much kids gain from hands-on learning, play, and real conversation.More time outdoors. We live in one of the most beautiful places in the country. Time outside supports focus, physical health, and emotional well-being, and I want to see more of it built into the school day, in every season.Supporting our teachers. Petoskey has remarkable teachers. Before deciding what they need, I want to ask them, listen to the answers, and work to give them the resources, respect, and support to keep doing this important work, and to keep great teachers here.

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About

I lead People and Culture at American Spoon here in Petoskey, where I oversee hiring, benefits, payroll, and compliance for a team spread across our stores and kitchen. Before moving to northern Michigan in 2021, I spent seven years as Director of Student Affairs at the Atlantic Acting School in New York, supporting students and helping run a busy conservatory, and later served as Chief of Staff for a company in Los Angeles. I trained as an actor at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, and I still believe the arts teach kids how to think, collaborate, and speak up for themselves. My work has always come back to the same question: what do people need to do their best? That's the question I want to ask on behalf of Petoskey's schools.

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