By Paula Fierros & Samantha Thurston
This past January, Ms. Rachael Sedgwick became TUSD’s newest member after a very narrow victory in the November 2016 election. In early May 2017, Sedgwick spoke to journalism students about her first five months in office.
Sedgwick boasted about being an Arizona native. In fact, she was born in Nogales, AZ, although she completed her education in many different places. Sedgwick attended middle school in Pennsylvania, high school in Connecticut and attended four different colleges.
Sedgwick said she has always been passionate about education, and she knew early on that she wanted to make a difference in people’s lives, so she began teaching—and did so for 12 years.
On one occasion, one of her professors asked her class, “Why do you want to be a teacher?”
Sedgwick answered, “For the kids.”
The professor replied, “Then go home and have some.”
It was at this time that Sedgwick said that she wanted to make a change in the educational system. Her first endeavor was to apply for law school; she was accepted.
She also ran to become a member of the TUSD School Board in order to help change the negative perception of the district; Sedgwick was the victor in a very close election against Betts Putnam-Hidalgo in last November’s election.
“I’m here [on the School Board] to try to change the negative perception of the district by making the district and people realize that investing their time and money in education is investing in everyone’s future,” said Sedgwick.
Sedgwick admitted that it is difficult to keep one’s political views out of the dialogue among her other four school board members.
“Some people like to use these positions [being on school boards, etc.] to enhance their own career,” Sedgwick said. “We [on the TUSD School Board] need to stay focused on the issues affecting this district. A lot of people view TUSD negatively, and with more work, I know that we can change this negative perception.”
She added that Dr. Gabriel Trujillo, the interim TUSD Superintendent who superseded Dr. H. T. Sanchez after his resignation in March, is one of the candidates for the permanent superintendent position. Sedgwick and the other school board members have barely begun the process of evaluating candidates.
For now, Sedgwick said she wants to stay positive and hopeful—and to pass the Bar Exam this summer.