MEET HEATHER
Hello and welcome! I am Heather Zoromski, and I am running for re-election to the Nixa Board of Education, and I would like to take this opportunity to tell you a little about myself.
Most importantly, I am a wife and a mom to three Nixa Eagles at Century, Summit, and one that will hopefully start at the Early Learning Center next year. I am a lifelong resident of Southwest Missouri and graduated from Missouri State University with a B.S. in Child and Family Development and a Masters in Public Health. I have called Nixa home for the last 20 years. We, like many of you, live in Nixa because of the school district.
In my professional life, I have spent the entirety of it working in nonprofit administration at organizations including Children's Miracle Network of CoxHealth and Skaggs Foundation. I currently run the Darr Family Foundation, a private family foundation located in Springfield. I work as a funding partner to local nonprofits working primarily to serve under-resourced youth in the fields of education, health, and basic needs. Through this work, I have had the privilege of working with several surrounding school districts along with Christian County-based organizations including Care to Learn Nixa, Children’s Smile Center, and Least of These.
However, my favorite project I have gotten to be a part of is the AgAcademy at the William H. Darr College of Agriculture. This is a 4th, 5th, and 6th-grade school, teaching 150 Springfield Public School students Missouri Curriculum Standards through the lens of Agriculture Science in partnership with Missouri State University.
I also have the privilege of teaching adjunct for Evangel University in the College of Business and College of Online Learning. Along with my service on the Nixa Board of Education, I currently serve on the boards of Elevate Branson, the Kyle Bruton Foundation, and on the advisory council of Healthy Living Alliance.
Why I Want to Continue to Serve:
I became involved with the district initially due to my oldest son. When he was two, he was diagnosed with sensory processing disorder, and we had a strong suspicion that he was gifted as well. He is a brilliant, hilarious, complex kid and I knew that we needed to get him into the early childhood program so that we could begin to advocate for him. I needed to build a strong support system within the district to ensure that he began his educational journey set up for success. I built relationships with the staff and teachers, and by the time my middle son was old enough to attend, I jumped into helping with PTA and served as the President of the early childhood PTA for two years.
During my time as PTA President, my team and I brought the Boosterthon fundraising model to the district and increased the early childhood program’s fundraising efforts from $600 to $13,000 in the first year. I am so proud of that! We now use the Boosterthon platform for many elementary-level PTA fundraisers and it has been very successful in all buildings.
As my oldest two aged out of the early childhood program and moved on to Century, I have continuously been impressed at how much our teachers want each and every student to succeed. As a parent of a neurodivergent student, I was worried that he might be labeled as difficult or misunderstood. I was prepared that we might need to get an IEP or a 504 plan in place for him to ensure his needs were being met. We have had a great experience as his principals and teachers have always been willing to work with us as a team to do what is best for him by meeting his academic as well as social-emotional needs, and differentiating instruction for him to ensure his success.
I truly believe this is the 'Nixa' difference. Professionally, I work with school districts all over southwest Missouri and participate in state-wide public education advocacy efforts, and I can truly say that Nixa is incredible. My children’s teachers truly do care so deeply about my children personally, academically and emotionally, and I. AM. GRATEFUL. I am sure that I am not alone in my sentiment.
Ultimately, that is why I want to serve. I am grateful and want to pour my time, energy, and expertise back into this district and the community that I love. That is why in 2020 when I saw that there was a vacant seat on the Board of Education, I threw my hat in the ring for consideration. Since then, I have continued to be a member of Century and Summit PTA's, serve on the Parents as Teachers Advisory Council, and serve as the district's delegate to the Missouri School Board Association. I have enjoyed my time serving on the board immensely and if re-elected, look forward to continuing my service over the next three years.
