In his book, “Silos, Politics and Turf Wars,” Patrick Lencioni describes how having a rallying cry for an organization can break down organizational silos and political divisions. He gives the example of an emergency room, where doctors, nurses and staff rally around taking care of the health emergencies. The focus isn’t on human resource concerns or leadership battles, but on caring for someone who is in the midst of a heart attack.

The reality of our environment in Jeffco Schools is that there are a number of political battles and divisive issues that pull at our collective team. People are constantly asking me where I stand on the issues and if I will join their communication network to inform other parents of what is happening in the district.

There are well-meaning people with concerns about our district on both sides of every issue.

But in our area of Jeffco Schools, we have a bigger issue. The challenges of poverty make it extremely hard for our students to succeed through school and into a great career.

Our enemy does not have a face. But our enemy affects the lives of children and families in our area every day. Our enemy is poverty.

It is essential that we rally around seeing every child succeed from cradle to career in our Jefferson Area. It will take everyone working together to see this vision become reality. We need everyone’s help whether they support Jeffco Students First or Support Jeffco Kids. And we especially need the support of our teachers and the Jefferson County Education Association (JCEA).

So this means that I am working very hard to build a broad coalition of community members to rally around our vision. In our communications and various meetings, we will stay away from discussing the issues in our district that divide and distract us from this vision.

There is a time and place to dialogue on the issues within our district like teacher contracts, new facilities and curriculum, but in our small space within Jeffco we are focused on all our children succeeding from cradle to career.

Poverty has a foothold in our community, but with your help, its stranglehold on our children and families can be weakened and destroyed.