Roberts
Keeps Busy
Our VSBA Director Profiles series continues with our
own “Queen of the Long Commute”, VSBA 1st Vice President Kalee Roberts. Living in Vermont while working in Rhode
Island: it can be done (with enough time to spare for multiple school boards!).
Roberts
was born and raised in Providence, Rhode Island, the second of six
children. Her father sold insurance, and
eventually also began a real estate business to support his growing
family. Her mother taught elementary
school for several years before choosing to stay home with the children and
assist Robert’s father in his work.
Although
Roberts admits that she was not a particularly motivated student, she earned
good marks, first at local public schools and then while attending the Emma
Willard school near Albany, New York. While she was at Willard, Roberts’s roommate
introduced her to her future husband, Mark.
Mark Roberts was attending the Stowe School (class of ’78), and after
they both graduated, Kalee and Mark stayed in Vermont while he built houses in
the Essex area.
In
1980, the couple moved to Providence. By
1992, the Roberts were raising their two children and, among other reasons,
chose to move back to Vermont for the high quality public schools. They bought a house in Hyde Park Village that
remains their home today. Their
daughter, Cynthia, and son, Sam, both graduated from Lamoille Union High School
and are now attending colleges in upstate New York.
Meanwhile,
after Roberts mother died in 1993, she went down to
Providence and planned on helping out her father with the family businesses
short-term. She still works for him today. Thanks to an accommodating employer, Roberts
is able to spend several days a week at home in Hyde Park, and then make a
commute to Providence to attend to business matters. It’s an arrangement that would appear
daunting to many, but Roberts has made it work.
Somehow,
she also makes available significant time for her local school districts. Roberts has served on the boards of Hyde Park
Elementary, Lamoille Union High School, and her supervisory union board. Naturally, VSBA Associate Director Winton
Goodrich found her and convinced Roberts to run for the VSBA Board as well, and
she has served as one of our directors since 2003.
As
a school board veteran, Roberts knows the most important quality for any board
member is to believe in the value of quality public education. When asked what issues she believes are
important for boards today, Roberts replied that school directors must be
prepared to define what curriculum should be taught in his or her district. In a rapidly changing global economy, it is
essential that our schools teach curriculum that will adequately prepare
students for the world they will inherit, especially with regard to math and
science.
When
she isn’t working, driving, or attending a board meeting, Roberts can
frequently be found refurbishing her Hyde Park home, or devouring a
“junk-fiction” novel.