by Bonnie Willison for Madison Area DSA’s Electoral Working Group

Madison Area DSA is proud to endorse Shepherd Janeway (who will appear as Shepherd Joyner on the ballot) for seat 3 on the Madison School Board.

Shepherd Janeway is a teaching artist with Whoopensocker, a UW-Madison program that uses creativity, expression, writing and collaboration to build self-empowered students. Through this work, Shepherd has gotten experience in Madison classrooms.

Unlike their opponent Laura Simkin, Shepherd does not support returning School Resource Officers (SROs) to Madison’s schools. “I don’t believe in bringing school resource officers or armed law enforcement individuals into schools,” said Shepherd. “I believe that restorative justice practices and trauma-informed methods for behavior management are the way to address the root causes of the problems.” 

“I don’t believe in bringing school resource officers or armed law enforcement individuals into schools,” said Shepherd. “I believe that restorative justice practices and trauma-informed methods for behavior management are the way to address the root causes of the problems.” 

As someone who is Black and albino and attended public schools, Shepherd said they are familiar with the realities of racial inequality in the classroom. “We know that racial inequality contributes directly to an inequality of opportunities and resources in regards to education,” said Shepherd. As a result, students of color’s education suffers. Shepherd supports creating explicitly anti-racist policy and a clear protocol of response to racism.

Shepherd’s other priorities are transparency, communication, staff retention, and COVID safety measures. They call for a more thoughtful and thorough approach to management of pandemic risks and better communication with parents.

The election is on April 5. To vote early in-person from March 22-April 2, see these early voting locations. If you need to register to vote, bring proof of residence with you (although there is no voter registration on April 2, per state law).

To vote early by mail, request an absentee ballot online by 5 pm Thursday, March 31, and return it via mail to the Clerk’s office before election day or in-person at your polling place on the day of the election.

Here are some links to make sure you’re registered to vote (or update your address), answer questions you might have about voter ID, preview your ballot, find your polling place or request an absentee ballot.

Follow Shepherd for School Board on Facebook

More info: 

Shepherd Janeway: Teacher, activist, educator

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