Board of Ed candidate O'Holleran makes campaign stop in Sidney

Molly O'Holleran, the incumbent candidate for the State Board of Education, District 7 seat, was in Sidney on Thursday to discuss the upcoming election and her views on hot button issues.

O'Holleran, a Republican, will face Democrat challenger Robin R. Stevens in Tuesday's general election.

O'Holleran has previously served on the North Platte Public Schools Board of Education. She's also held multiple positions on it, such as director, secretary, vice president and president.

"Serving on a local board of education helped me learn how policies and rules from a state board of education play out in a school division," O'Holleran said. "Being on a local board helped me understand the importance of partnerships from my community, the parents and to develop a good working relationship with management."

O'Holleran knows that her experience the past four years on the state board will help her in her campaign and if she is re-elected.

"Taking that experience the last four years to the state board of education, I was able to keep partnerships with superintendents and administrators as well as local school board members," she said. "Being on that local board helped be more flexible and more attentive to problems as they've changed in response to the federal government as well."

O'Holleran has developed an accountability system to best suit the needs of today's student population. AquESTT – which stands for Accountability for a Quality System Today and Tomorrow – aligns regulatory requirements under the umbrella of quality, accountability and school improvement.

" AQuESTT is the framework used to annually classify schools into one of four performance areas: excellent, great, good, needs improvement/priority," O'Holleran said.

O'Holleran also touched on three issues she thinks need more attention by the public.

"Number one is early childhood education," she said. "It needs to be high quality and developmentally appropriate, plus it has to include support for the parent. This pertains to birth to age 8. Thats when that early literacy happens and that is a huge key in having that child be successful."

"The second hot button issue for me is educating the whole child," she said. "By that I mean not just focusing on cognitive or academic excellence, but also providing social and emotional support for students. I really believe with the changing structure in our society, some of our problems that arrive post-graduate are relative to the engagement in K-12."

"My third hot button issue would be expanded learning opportunities," O'Holleran said.

"Part of our situation in Western Nebraska is that the businesses and industries don't have a skilled workforce. They often times have to go outside their communities to get employees that can fill those jobs.

"Expanded learning opportunities includes career pathways. Everybody is not going to go to a four year college. I think when kids are in 11th grade they should be given the ACT, COMPASS or the ASVAB. I feel this expanded learning program really will graduate students who are ready to go to college or work in their preferred field."

With the election being just days away, O'Holleran is grateful for the opportunity to just run for the board of education.

"I serve at the will of the people and I'm honored to serve," said O'Holleran. "Every day I serve on the Nebraska Board of Education I try to bring my best to the issue at hand and I look for the best in the people in which I'm visiting. If I win Nov. 4th, it will serve as an opportunity to continue to be a servant leader. It's also an opportunity to keep learning myself so I can better represent Western Nebraska and advocate for equity and access for my students."

O'Holleran graduated with high distinction in 1976 from the University of Nebraska's College of Arts and Sciences as well as the Teacher's College. She has been a resident of North Platte for 32 years and is a mother of five.