Deanna Munoz says she is once again running for another open spot in April’s election if she wins, she would be the first Latina/Chicana on the school district’s Board of Education.
Deanna Munoz says it’s equally important that community members, teachers, and staff members feel like part of a team in helping students grow.
BY JOE ARCE AND COREY CRABLE
Deanna Munoz says she’s always wanted to help young people advocate for themselves. She’s done it in her work as the Director for Strategic Alliances at the Latinx Education Collaborative, and now she wants to do it as the next member of the Park Hill School District’s Board of Education.
“I never really planned on running for any type of school board. I actually started by just trying to understand the process. You know, who gets to make a decision about our kids, how they get there, and how regular people like us could have a seat at the table,” says Munoz, also the founder and CEO of the Chicano Center for the Arts. “At the Latinx Education Collaborative, we’re always advocating for our young people and making sure that they know how to advocate for themselves. So running for any type of anything, such as a school board, is important.”
This isn’t her first attempt to nab a spot on the board. Some time ago, Munoz saw that there was an opening, and she decided to apply 25 applicants in all put their hats in the proverbial ring, and of those, four were selected to interview. Munoz was one of them. She says she was disheartened when she wasn’t selected, but, never one to quit, Munoz says she is once again running for another open spot in April’s election if she wins, she would be the first Latina/Chicana on the school district’s BOE. At the encouragement of her friends and family, she says she’s going into the race more determined than ever.
“I’m a parent. I was a student. I know what it’s like to be in schools. I know what it feels like to sometimes feel alone feel like you’re not being heard, and I really want to represent that community as well as our Latino/Chicano community up here in Park Hill because it has grown so much since i moved here 12 years ago,” Munoz says. “The dynamic here at Park Hill has been phenomenal. It’s very diverse. It’s very inclusive. The teachers and educators have always been (working for students first). And I don’t think I’ve had an educator in this school district that I felt didn’t work for our kids.”
Munoz, a native Kansas Citian who grew up going to a Catholic school, says that the public school system offers so many more resources than she had growing up. But she says that when she and her family moved back to the Kansas City area more than a decade ago, they initially felt out of place – they felt like outsiders. As someone who had grown up here, Munoz says the shift felt noticeable.
“There wasn’t at the time, especially in our neighborhood a lot of Latino or diverse families, and so we were hit with a lot of uncertainty and racism being here. And my kids felt a little bit of that at schools as well,” she recalls. “It also was something I talked to the principal about at their schools, because I wanted my kids to feel like they belonged and that they had someone they could reach out to if there ever was an issue. We got involved in things like Girl Scouts, which was huge opening for helping us.”
Through such involvements, Munoz’s kids made friends, and Munoz herself made even more connections.
“That’s my personal story and our personal experience. But that doesn’t mean that that experience doesn’t belong in a Caucasian family or an African-American family. This is something that’s universal. Some students and parents are feeling like they’re left out or their voice isn’t heard or maybe their kids don’t want to go to college, but they’re trying to find a trade school, an entrepreneurship. I just want to ensure all our students are feeling seen and supported, included, informed, and respected.”
Munoz says her job and participation in multiple local organizations have prepared her for this position, and that one commitment will help her grow in another.
“What I take from my nine-to-five job, the organizations I work with, goes into the work that I would be doing at the school board and vice versa,” Munoz says. “And it’s going to help me grow and learn and hopefully be more educated and have more empathy for the communities I serve.”
In the immediate future, however, Munoz says she knows she has to meet the district’s voters and help them get to know her and her vision.
“I’m so proud to be a Northlander and excited for everything that’s about to come up here as well. I’m a Chicana and there’s a high population of Mexican-Americans here up in the Northland. A lot of us aren’t always out and about at the school board meetings or seeing each other out in the open,” Munoz says, reciting what she would tell voters as she introduces herself to them. “But I want that to change. I want all of us to feel like we can go to things and be included and feel like we belong. And that’s something that’s there for us, whether it’s mathematics or band or theater.”
Munoz says it’s equally important that community members, teachers, and staff members feel like part of a team in helping students grow.
“I want to bring in those perspectives when we sign off on whether we’re going to do a new building or whether we’re going to cut DEI or there’s a new chance for a stadium. We should always bring in the voices of a community that lives this experience on a day-to-day. It’s not just a nine-to-five school board. It is actually a lived experience that you wake up to, you go to bed to, and then you dream about it, and it just is with you all the time,” Munoz says. “So, our schools deserve leadership that reflects and understands that families show up every day across cultures, identities, abilities, and circumstances. Every student deserves to feel seen and supported.”
Munoz continues: “Every teacher deserves to feel valued and get paid as a valued teacher. And every parent deserves to be included, informed, and respected. So that is why I deeply care about this district. I want to ensure that we’re not just talking about the logistics, but we are talking about the actual human beings that are living within this district.”
But for all of her readiness to promote her agenda and her experience to the voting public, Munoz says she always tries to remember simply to be herself. It’s advice she’d give to any student she encounters in the Park Hill School District.
“I’m just me. And I think for a lot of people in our community and outside our community, I think it’s just a breath of fresh air to just talk to a normal human being,” Munoz says, “and I don’t want to be anybody else but myself when I talk to them. Showing up is super easy when I’m just who I am.”
To reach Deanna Munoz for more information go to: deannamunoz4phsd.com
