Hello SMMUSD Voters!

My name is Stacy Rouse. My spouse, Steve, is a professor of Psychology at Seaver College at Pepperdine University. We have two young adult children, one in Detroit, MI, and one in Gunnison, CO. I’ve lived in Malibu since 2002.

 

I have a strong commitment to public education. I grew up attending public schools and my two children attended the Malibu Pathway in SMMUSD from Kindergarten to graduation. My kids are successful young adults; my oldest (MHS ‘17) is beginning his first career and my youngest (MHS ‘21) is beginning his first year in college full-time. 

 

I believe access to a high-quality and free education is the key for people to grow in opportunity and, ultimately, success for their families and their broader communities. I am committed to the power and potential of public education and I have found ways to volunteer, engage, and collaborate since my oldest entered Kindergarten in 2004. 

 

My pursuit and completion of my Master’s degree in Dispute Resolution was wholly informed by my work with our school system. While my interests and skills led me to love the idea of this line of study, it was through working with the people and systems of SMMUSD that I took the plunge. Over and over again, I observed a system of silos that operate independently. I also found a sincere desire on everyone’s part to be heard and their perspective and their work to be better be integrated as part of the whole. I took on graduate school with a full-time job after 20 years of being out of formal education. I did so because I saw the practical applications this type of work could provide me in the various roles I play in SMMUSD. Dispute Resolution skills can be used anywhere, but I see their particular strength in working within a school district. 

 

I am demonstrably committed to this district. In addition to participating at the local level in my children’s schools, I have been working closely with the larger district as a whole. I have worked with schools, paraschool organizations like the Malibu Boys and Girls Club, and parent leadership since 2012 when I served as Webster’s PTA President. That was a transitional year for our school, losing both a long-time principal and office manager, and undergoing a significant policy change. I did a lot of speaking to parents at our school to keep our community together and to bring them important information. I also spoke at many Board of Education meetings  to request that the district and the board take a different approach to the implementation of the needed changes.

 

Since that time I have had leadership and involvement with our broader communities. I have served in multiple capacities that support not just the schools my children attended, but the broader community where all SMMUSD students attend. 

 

I have leadership, service, and education experience in SMMUSD in the following ways: 

 

• SMMUSD Malibu Pathway Parent, 2004-present (children attended Webster Elementary, Malibu Middle School, and Malibu High School, now alumni)

• Malibu Schools Leadership Council (MSLC) president 2016-present

• Parent Classroom Volunteer, Webster School 2004-2010

• Webster PTA Board, VP of Administration 2010-2012

• Webster PTA Board, President 2012-2013

• Webster School Site Council, member 2011-2012

• Superintendent’s Advisory Council, member 2012-2015

• Malibu FDAC, member 2016-present

• Level One Restorative Justice Training, participant February 2018

• Superintendent’s Feasibility Committee, member March-July 2018

• Measure M Co-Chair July-November 2018

• Malibu Middle and High Steering Committee, member August 2018-present

• Malibu Middle and High Planning Committee, member August 2018-present

• Level Two Restorative Justice Training, participant February 2019

• Superintendent’s Budget Advisory Committee, member January 2020-2021

• Malibu Schools Leadership Council (MSLC) 2016

 

Until May of this year I served as a program manager for a service organization that provides a pre-literacy and socio-emotional curriculum for preschoolers in underfunded classrooms. For five years I developed relationships with preschool classrooms and their site directors across the LA area, including SMMUSD, LAUSD, and privately-funded preschools in Mar Vista and in Malibu. I directly worked for racial and educational justice through early childhood education to narrow the vocabulary gap between children who have access to well-funded schools and children who do not have the same access. 

My educational experiences demonstrate a life-long interest in and commitment to communication, education, and the power of collective/collaborative efforts in communities. My Bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism honed my communication skills including listening, making meaning from hearing different perspectives, verbal and writing skills, Additionally, with a minor in Public Service, I was exposed to how political systems are built, maintained, sustained, and changed.