[Ed. Note: Servrina Prim has authorized the Times & Free Press to publish the following announcement of her candidacy for Kingfisher Board of Education Office No. 5, subject to the Feb. 11 school primary election.]

“Children are the world’s most valuable resource and its best hope for the future.” – John F. Kennedy.

This is exactly the way that I feel. I am Servrina Marie Prim and it is my desire to be the school board representative who is concerned for our very precious resources, our children and our teachers who mold our children.

Research shows that 90% of negative activity happens from the time a child is let out of school until mom and dad get off work and come home. We need activities to keep our children focused and interacting in a positive way.

As your school board representative, I want to make sure that our students and our teachers have: a reliable, healthy environment; opportunities to grow; connectivity to learn; consistent encouragement and problem solving skills.

I was born in Flint, Mich., and raised in Northern and Southern California. We moved to Edmond in 1982 and I attended Edmond Memorial High School and Oral Roberts University, pursuing a degree in music.

When we moved to Kingfisher, I researched and learned that Kingfisher Public School was a very good district. I was grateful to be in a school where I could be involved with my children from pre-K to high school.

My children were very involved in a lot of activities. I learned the importance of parent involvement, even in a small town.

I had the opportunity to teach in Oklahoma City schools. I saw the struggles teachers had with discipline, bullying, poverty and low self-esteem. After coming to Kingfisher I realized those same things are a struggle at most schools.

We need to care for all students and not just those that come from good families. It is unfortunate that too many children fall through the cracks because they don’t feel they are wanted at school.

Our school district is small, however our students have some of the same problems as any school: bullying, fear of guns, poor self-esteem, drugs and students with different learning styles. Too many students are not being served because teachers may need to have extended training in cultural proficiency and different learning styles.

All of our children are important and they deserve the best. I would like to develop a Kingfisher Youth Board that will identify the needs of their schools. This board will be able to attend city council meetings and meet with the city manager to share their thoughts and needs for their schools.

We need activities that will give all students the opportunity to expand their ability to learn and grow. I believe that the Kingfisher Youth Board will play a major role in developing ways to assist all children with the ability to thrive.

I believe that I have some innovative, creative ideas to help Kingfisher grow to be an educational beacon.

I am married to my husband of 27 years, Wendell Prim. We have three children, Jacqueline, Ashlie and Wendell Jr., and three grandchildren, Tylar, Ashton and Ace.