Lauren Jewett

Lauren is a National Board Certified special education teacher, union member, advocate, community volunteer, and lifelong learner running for Jefferson Parish School Board in Metairie, Louisiana. She is the proud product of a K-12 public education and has taught in public and charter schools in Louisiana for the past 13 years. Lauren believes that the employees, students, families, and community members of the Jefferson Parish School District deserve to have a public school teacher’s voice on the board in real time to highlight the wonderful accomplishments and very real concerns currently happening in public schools, especially in the midst of COVID-19 and Hurricane Ida.

The issues that Lauren is prioritizing on the campaign trail include improving mental health supports for students and educators; protecting democracy through community input; addressing staff shortages; ensuring safe and sustainable school buildings and facilities; and strengthening the district’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. As a school board member, Lauren commits to making decisions using a whole-child, whole-teacher, and whole-leader approach. This means shifting our "conversation about education from a focus on narrowly defined academic achievement to one that promotes the long term development and success of children" as well as the adults that support them (ASCD). Lauren will advocate for the schools our students deserve by ensuring that students, teachers, and support staff in each school and each community feel healthy, safe, affirmed, valued, engaged, supported, and challenged.