Flourishing kids, schools, community
Why I’m running.
Hi! I’m Sara and I’m a parent and proud member of the Hopkins Public School District. I’m running for the Hopkins School Board because I am not only a supporter, but a proud product of public education! As a kid who was raised below the poverty line, I had the amazing fortune of being raised in economically diverse districts with educators who invested in me and made my life possible. So now, as an adult, I want to give back and support our schools so that every kid might likewise have a flourishing future!
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My family moved to the Hopkins School District last year in large part because we want our 3.5-year-old to be formed in schools and a community that has long centered and celebrated its diverse students and families. As a longtime leader in higher education and non-profit circles, with experience in educational board leadership, I believe that I have not only the heart but also the background and experience that will aid me in serving our community and ensuring the strength of our schools.
We are in a moment in our country where public education is under attack and needs to be defended. So many of our students and their families are being maligned and their very rights and dignity are under assault. But it doesn’t have to be this way! I’m hopeful that in Hopkins Public Schools we can be a model and reminder to one another and beyond that when we invest and say yes to each other and our kids--remembering we all belong to one another--that we can protect and preserve our democracy. For indeed, when we have flourishing kids and schools, we will have flourishing communities and democracy.
Fundamentally, I said YES to running for the Hopkins School Board because our community, our kids, and our country needs those of us who believe in the best of our values to do what we can to keep on dreaming the dreams of the world we believe in and want for ourselves and our children. I also said YES to running as a part of a slate with current school board member Rachel Hartland and long-time Hopkins resident and community connector Tim Molespke because while we are all different people (which is a good thing!), we share a common commitment to caring for our schools and community. I would be so grateful if you would join with us in saying YES to our public schools this fall, and should you say YES to voting for me, I commit to doing all I can to listening and leaning in with you to support this amazing district and to continue to strengthen it together.
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I believe in public education. I’m a product of public schools. They are vital if our community and country is to flourish and I’m committed to ensuring our district is strong. Yes, there are things we can and will improve upon and I hope to help with that… and we will do so by committing to our schools and to one another in these efforts.
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Flourishing schools and kids make for flourishing community and democracy. As a kid who grew up below the poverty line in diverse income districts, I’m fundamentally committed to ensuring that Hopkins Schools helps every kid from every kind of family and economic background, ensuring they have a shot at a flourishing life.
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Our diversity makes us strong. We moved to this district because of its legacy. Long known as a district that grounds our educational excellence in the rich diversity of our kids and community, I believe we can continue to build a district that supports every kid and every family.
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I believe leadership listens and leans in together. I love the community listening process that made for Vision 2031 and we have to keep evaluating how we are doing in view of our values and commitments. I’m not running because I have all of the answers to the challenges facing our district or alone hold the solutions to real concerns…rather, I’m running because I believe that through partnership and listening to one another and leaning in together that as students, teachers, parents, and the whole of our community that we can continue to make this a district we can all be proud to support!
My Commitments
Background & Education
Sara Wilhelm Garbers, Ph.D. has more than 20 years of leadership experience in non-profits and higher education. Currently serving as the Executive Director of the Westminster Town Hall Forum, she was deeply impacted by the time she spent working at St. David’s Center, which shaped Sara’s perspective on mental health and early intervention support for students. She’s passionate about ensuring holistic supports for all students, grounded in equity and belonging. Her family moved to the district last year because of her belief in Hopkins Public Schools and is committed to listening and learning together ways to continue to help our students and schools flourish.
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I am a parent, partner, friend, and community member. I am an ethicist and non-profit leader.
Professional career in higher education and non-profit leadership.
Board experience, including current President of the board for Kid Zone Early Childhood Center in Hopkins
Former Chair and Member of the Human Rights Commission for St. Louis Park, amongst other board service..
Lifelong advocate for the safety of kids and vulnerable persons, including being involved in national efforts combating sexual abuse of children.
I hold a Ph.D. in Ethics. My dissertation focused on resisting Christian nationalism and safeguarding human rights and democracy.
I have lectured in a local Ed.D. program on formation and educational leadership for the past nine years.
Worked at St David’s Center, which deeply impacts my perspective on mental health, plus support and early intervention for all students and their needs.
A few other interesting notes:
One of my chosen family members is one of the authors in the case that was just before the Supreme Court related to book bans, and I am deeply committed to the inclusion and safety of all students of diverse genders and sexualities.
I was raised as a religious fundamentalist and am now a progressive Christian who works intentionally to build bridges and also interact with the way religion shapes how people engage with or what they expect from public schools.
I grew up below the poverty line in public schools, which has made my flourishing life possible!
Also, we love it here and I can’t wait for my 3 1/2 year-old to one day be a graduate of Hopkins public schools!
My Approach / Philosophy
a.k.a. “why I don’t have a Platform”
Endorsements & Support
Kendra Thiry, Hopkins Schools Parent and Sara’s Neighbor (and the reason Sara is running)
I’m supporting my neighbor, Sara Wilhelm Garbers, for Hopkins School Board. She moved in just over a year ago, and it’s been an honor to get to know her. Over this past year, I’ve seen firsthand how deeply she listens, shows up for others, and engages with honesty and heart. She doesn’t shy away from hard conversations, but approaches them with humility and care... always keeping kids at the center.
I trust that Sara will bring fresh energy and accountability, asking the hard questions that need to be asked. She has the compassion, thoughtfulness, and determination to push for real solutions rather than settling for easy answers.
Sara understands the challenges our schools are facing and is committed to working in partnership with families, teachers, and the community. I trust her to be a principled, responsive leader who will keep equity and student needs front and center.
I’m so grateful she’s running, and I’m proud to cast my vote for her.
Other Helpful Information
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How / Where to Vote
MN Secretary of State “What’s On My Ballot”: Click here to find out what/who is on your ballot & find your polling place so that you can VOTE on (or before) Nov. 4th! Every Vote Counts!
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Candidate Summaries
There are 5 candidates for 3 seats. Are you wanting to compare us side by side? See:
1. The League of Women Voters Forum: You can hear from all of the candidates by watching it here or read a thoughtful summary from the Sun Sailor.
2. Sun Sailor Summary of 5 Candidates: Read more about how we each responded here.
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Vote YES for Hopkins Schools!
Please join me in voting YES (2x) for Hopkins Schools! It’s for the kids, y’all!
Learn more here.
Some collective commitments…
Will you join me as we strengthen our district together?
Let’s seek to:
Be a good human.
One of my favorite t-shirts reads: “Be a Good Human.” It’s hard to be a human in the world, and trying to be a good one is even harder, so we do what we can to do our own work, take responsibility and choose to show up seeking the good of one another.
Choose kindness & curiosity.
It’s easy to jump to conclusions about one another. So how can we choose to remember we are all humans, not just ideologies, and try to get curious with one another and honor one another in our interactions?
Take a breath.
Feeling anxious? It’s real and it’s hard to keep breathing. BUT doing so matters both for staying alive and for being community with one another. So let’s breathe together so we can be our better selves and reason with one another.
Look for the good.
There are real problems in our district, in our community, and in our world. And we have to face them with clairvoyant honesty. As we do so, how do we look for and remember to seek and celebrate the good with one another too?
Work for the world we believe in.
What do you dream for the world? For yourself? For our schools? For our kids? Let’s live and act in view of these ideals as we build up our schools.
Remember we’re all in this together.
In view of the ongoing impacts of COVID on all of us, to dehumanizing politics that have made allowable and normative attacking our educators and their sheer exhaustion on account of it all, to brutal funding cuts, to overworked and over-tapped administrators, to contentious community relationships… how can we build and model a way of being together where we uplift and support our kids, our educators, and one another in making our schools better together? Let’s be FOR the good with one another!
Let’s remember that we’re in this TOGETHER.
Why Flourishing?
In the ethical tradition, the “good life” is understood or spoken of in terms of “human flourishing.” So when I was thinking about why I’m running and what I believe I can bring to this work, it became clear to me that its fundamentally this: flourishing. Flourishing is the idea of deep breath, goodness, life, well-being. And flourishing isn’t something we can achieve on our own or making sure we alone have what we need. No, flourishing demands community. There is no I without us, there is no good life lived without goodness for everybody. Thus I am campaigning for wanting us remember that we all belong to one another and every kid–whether we have our own or not–every kid and teacher and administrator is a part of us as we are a part of them, so let’s continue to build together a district that is committed to flourishing of every kid, every school, for all of us, for our communities, and for our country!
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
—Margaret Mead