Public School Parent

July 26, 2026 - Dan Kessler - Meet Dan

One of the reasons Michelle and I love raising our family in Carver County is pretty simple:

Our public schools are excellent.

Our children have grown up in Eastern Carver County Schools, and over the years I have had the opportunity to see what a strong public school system means; not just for individual students, but for families and an entire community.

It is easy to talk about schools in terms of budgets, test scores, buildings, or politics.

As a parent, you experience them very differently.

You experience them through the teacher who takes extra time with your child. The coach who helps them become part of a team. The activity that gives them a place to belong. The class that introduces them to something they did not know they loved. The staff member who notices when something seems wrong.

You experience schools through your kids.

And our family has been incredibly fortunate to raise ours here.

More Than a Classroom

Eastern Carver County Schools are part of a larger community that gives kids an extraordinary range of opportunities.

Our kids have grown up with school activities, athletics, the community center, CC United soccer, CCFA football, dance, bike paths, walking paths, and all sorts of ways to participate, learn, compete, and find their people.

That matters.

Kids need academics, obviously. But they also need relationships. They need adults who believe in them. They need opportunities to try something new, fail at something, get better at something, and discover who they are.

A great school system helps provide that.

It gives kids more chances to find the thing that makes them want to show up.

I know something about how important that can be.

I Was Not the Model Student

I barely graduated from high school.

My academic GPA was 1.94. I skipped class. I sat in the back of the room reading instead of paying attention. At one point, I needed a 94 or better on a final exam just to pass the class and graduate.

I got a 96.

What made the difference in my life were teachers who saw more in me than my transcript suggested.

A few took time with me when I was going through a rebellious period and was not particularly interested in school. One wrote the recommendation that helped me get into college.

Eventually, I found psychology, became a much better student, went to graduate school, became a psychologist, and later became a college professor myself.

So when I look at our schools, I think about the kid I was.

The best schools do not simply serve the students who already know how to succeed.

They create enough opportunities, relationships, and pathways that more students can discover where they fit.

Great Teachers Matter

There are programs and policies that matter in education, but ultimately schools work because people make them work.

Teachers know their students. Paraprofessionals provide support that can make the difference between a child struggling and succeeding. Counselors, psychologists, coaches, administrators, food-service workers, bus drivers, custodians, and countless others create the environment children experience every day.

Those relationships can change lives.

Mine certainly did.

That is why supporting our educators is not an abstract political position for me. It is about preserving one of the greatest strengths our community already has.

When something is working, our job should be to protect it, strengthen it, and make sure the people responsible for its success can continue doing their jobs well.

Different Kids Need Different Opportunities

One of the things strong school systems understand is that success does not look exactly the same for every student.

Some kids know very early that they want to attend a four-year college.

Others may discover a skilled trade, technical education, an apprenticeship, the military, healthcare, entrepreneurship, or another career path.

Some students find their direction at 15.

Others take longer.

I certainly did.

What matters is giving young people enough opportunities to discover what they are capable of doing.

That is one reason I want us to continue strengthening career and technical education, workforce partnerships, advanced coursework, arts, athletics, extracurricular activities, and the many different ways students can learn and succeed.

The goal should not be to produce one kind of graduate.

It should be to help each student leave school prepared for the life they want to build.

Strong Schools Make Strong Communities

Even if you do not currently have children in Eastern Carver County Schools, their success matters to you.

Excellent schools make this a place where families want to live. They help protect property values. They help local employers attract workers. They prepare the next generation of nurses, electricians, teachers, engineers, business owners, builders, healthcare professionals, and community leaders.

They are part of the reason this community feels like a good place to raise a family.

I have said many times that I really love raising kids here.

Our children have had good schools, activities, safe places to spend time, and a community that has given them room to grow.

That is something worth protecting.

Protect What Works. Improve What Doesn't.

Saying Eastern Carver County Schools are excellent does not mean saying everything is perfect.

No school system is.

There will always be challenges: funding, special education, mental health, staffing, school safety, changing enrollment, and the growing pressures our children face.

Being proud of our schools should never mean refusing to ask how they can become better.

In fact, I think the opposite is true.

When something matters to you, you invest in it. You pay attention to it. You hold it accountable. You listen to the people doing the work and the families relying on it.

And you do not allow political theater to overshadow the real work happening inside classrooms every day.