Candidate for
Board Member; Norwood City School District

I have lived in Norwood most of my life, growing up there, and just over four years ago returned to the city with my husband and daughter. I attended Norwood Schools and graduated from Norwood High School in 1977. I received a Bachelor's degree in Biology from the University of Cincinnati in 1984 and received my teaching certificate in 1985. I have taught in the Northwest and Forest Hills School Districts as a long-term substitute teacher and have been a substitute teacher at Norwood High School. Since 1987 I have been employed by the Mariemont City School District, a state-rated "effective" school district. (Mariemont City School District was recently recognized by the State Superintendent of Schools as being one of only a handful of districts in the state of Ohio to maintain an "effective" rating for the past three years, since the state ratings were instituted.) I am licensed in the state of Ohio to teach biology, chemistry, earth sciences, and general/comprehensive science. I am currently completing work on my Master of Education (MEd in Secondary Education) degree and expect to graduate in Spring 2002. My parents, Bill and Merle Ripperger, were educators in the Norwood City School District. They instilled in me a need to serve my community and I have sought to do just that. Since returning to Norwood I have joined and become an officer in the Norwood Historical Society and have been appointed to the Norwood Tree Board. I have become interested in city issues and participated in forums and meetings regarding the Cintas Center, light rail transit, and the City Hall/ Walgreens controversy. This renewed interest in my hometown has also extended to the school district. I would like to make positive contributions, bringing what I have learned as a classroom teacher in a top-rated school district, to the success of the school district that served me so well when I was a child.