Anna America, an active community volunteer and executive director of the environmental non-profit Up With Trees, has filed for the District 4 Tulsa Public Schools School Board seat.

America, 46, and her husband, Michael Patton, have two children who both attend Tulsa Public Schools’ Eisenhower International School.

A former journalist and an aide to Mayor Kathy Taylor, America has been at Up With Trees for nearly three years. “I think the school board is one of the most important boards in Tulsa, and it is crucial that we have people who are willing to look at new ideas and help the district move forward,” she said. “I believe we have strong, progressive leadership with Dr. Keith Ballard as superintendent, and I want to make sure we have a school board that will be just as effective.”

America said she believes the school board needs more people who have children in Tulsa Public Schools. “Those of us with kids in the system right now can see first-hand what is working and what isn’t, and what impact the board’s decisions have,” she said.  America noted that she has been an active community volunteer for decades, focusing both on youth – serving as a soccer coach, a Girl Scouts leader, church parenting group chair and many PTA committees – as well as the broader community issues. “I was a neighborhood association president for many years, am a member of the PlaniTulsa planning team, have been active in programs like Meals on Wheels and Habitat for Humanity, and many other causes,” she said.

America said if elected, her priorities will include focusing on narrowing the achievement  gap between the district’s best-  and worst-performing schools,  reducing the dropout rate, getting parents more involved in schools, and strengthening the ties between public schools and the community. Other issues are outlined at her website, www.America4Schools.com.

“And clearly, with the threat of more state budget cuts coming, a huge priority will be figuring out how to use our resources more wisely while also looking for new funding sources or partnerships that can bolster what’s happening in the classroom,” she said.

Noting that Eisenhower, a language immersion magnet elementary, is continually a top performing school, America said that her children are getting an excellent education. “We have had fabulous teachers and a great principal and we couldn’t be happier,” she said. “But I talk to a lot of other parents, and not everybody feels the same way. I want to make sure that every child in Tulsa has as much  opportunity for an excellent education as our kids have.”

America has been at the helm of Up with Trees for nearly three years, overseeing a period of success and growth for the urban forestry organization, which plants trees around the community and promotes urban forestry awareness and education.  She helped develop and administers the ReGreen Tulsa effort to replant trees after the 2007 ice storm. During her tenure, Up With Trees purchased a new facility, more than doubled the number of trees planted annually, distributed close to 20,000 trees to area non-profits and government agencies, and educated hundreds of Tulsans on the importance of a healthy urban forest.