'“I believe schools shouldn’t be run like businesses. They should be more like a garden; a place that nurtures children so they can grow into the best versions of themselves without fear of performance being the only metric that is rewarded.”

Hi, I’m Tristan Yperman and I am running for school board in East Baton Rouge Parish District 6.

I believe schools shouldn’t be run like businesses. They should be more like a garden; a place that nurtures children so they can grow into the best versions of themselves without fear of performance being the only metric that is rewarded.

Our historically low test scores are proof that underserved schools need more resources not less. These are the schools where kids most need to feel that school is a place they want to be; not a cold institution and not a place where a screen does all the teaching. Low scores are a cry for help and they should be answered not punished. You can't punish something into becoming what you want it to be, you have to nurture it tend to it and guide it. That's what I believe our pillars as a school board should be. And our children will flourish the way this state naturally does.

This work will be a bit like learning to crochet a blanket for the first time. There will be mistakes and I'll own them. I'm willing to learn as I go and it may get messy but whose life doesn't in one way or another? Every bit of this effort comes from love and from wanting to do something that actually helps.