About Me

I grew up in the Ashwaubenon School District, attending Valley View, Parkview Middle School and finally Ashwaubenon High School where I graduated in 1990. It was a pretty modest district in the late 70s and 80s, back when Lambeau was a plain oval and the only bit of heat was found in the restroom. I was the last of nine kids and since technology wasn't really a thing, you'd find me at a baseball diamond every day in summer or shoveling the driveway in winter so I could shoot a game of hoops with the Gillis Park crew.

In the 4th grade I was introduced to wrestling by Ashwaubenon star Kip Miller in a gym class. It's amazing how much influence a sport can have, especially one I wasn't very good at in my younger years. Fast forward to high school, where I had the honor of being coached by Carl Schwendler, who was also my math teacher. Not only did he mold me into a State qualifying wrestler, but he taught me that quiet, modest people can be leaders, too. I received the Coaches Award my junior and senior years, which are probably my most proud achievements as a wrestler.

During my college years, I spent some time at UWGB and then transferred to UW-Stout, where I juggled wrestling, numerous side jobs and a heavy course load in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science. Yet I felt something was missing that could tie up loose ends, so in the Fall of ’93 I enlisted in the US Army Reserves. I'll expand upon my military career in another post, but it was one of the best decisions of my life. It helped bridge the financial gap and in the Fall of ’97 I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics with both Computer Science and Business Finance concentrations, not to mention immeasurable experiences to last a lifetime. In true-to-myself form, where I just can’t help but delve as deep as possible, I earned my Masters in Computer Information Systems in 2005.

I enjoy being a Database Administrator so much that I still haven't left the technological trenches. I work with data and metrics on a regular basis, where trend and performance analysis are part of my regular routine. In March of '20, my analytical skills met an unexpected challenge that to this day still continues: understanding the mountains of data that are related to the pandemic. On one hand I was trying to put the data in context for my own understanding. On the other I was perplexed and troubled by much of what was going on in response to the virus.

The disparity that exists between the pandemic analytics and the responses to it are what brought me here today. I have presented data to our school board that suggests many of the policies were not supported by data. When our children were in "virtual learning", many parents had to adjust their careers, businesses had to adjust their models, and so on. Another product of virtual learning has been social fragility, community divisions, learning loss, and much more. All considered, the cure has been worse than the disease, in the context of our children.

Now is the time to start mending some of those wounds. We have to build a foundation on which every member of our community communicates together rather than dividing. Upon that foundation we then craft a strategy to make up for lost learning and mend mental health. We set expectations such that we can quantify our successes and failures with data, not arbitrary thoughts, headlines or surveys. That's why I'm here, and I hope you're ready to join me.

If you made it here, thanks for taking the time!

Allen

The Start of the Journey

Friends, neighbors, fellow parents and residents of the Howard-Suamico School District - our Community:

I encourage you to join me in my journey to run for the Howard-Suamico School Board. I've spent roughly 25 years as a Database Engineer & Administrator, which is to say I provide the foundation upon which computer systems are reliable and predictable.

Interestingly enough, that concept applies to almost everything. We want our School District to be built upon a solid foundation and for it to be reliable and predictable. We want our children to be learning with their teachers and peers in-person, unless there is compelling data that indicates otherwise.

As an example, you may recall when the quarantine policy was adjusted in October. What I did in that case was analyze the efficacy of the policy in September, finding that just 4.5% of our children sent home subsequently tested positive, many with mild to no symptoms. For the children that were healthy all along, the quarantines amounted to roughly 25,000 hours of in-person learning lost in a single month.

The result of that policy adjustment was - absent symptoms - parents can choose whether to send their children to school. Parents need to be made aware of this data in order to make an informed decision. That takes considerable stress off both the district and the parents, especially our working parents.

The close contact quarantine policy is just one case where data analysis and transparency can help parents make informed decisions. We all want our children in a healthy classroom environment!

I look forward to this journey with you. Don't hesitate to reach out to me!