I submitted my name as an option to vote for a person who's focus is the parents, students and teachers of our Kent Community.  Education occurs in the classroom, not at the district office.  A board member's responsibility and loyalty is to be and remain with the community.  It is to hold the district accountable.  You should feel comfortable coming to a board meeting, addressing the board and feel that your and your student's voice matters.  You should feel that the board member is there to be your advocate.  There are a number of people running in District 4.  As long as you vote for a person who will be fiercely loyal to you, I am satisfied.  If you feel I am the best option, feel free to vote for me.  If elected, I will be singularly loyal to you and your student.

I am excited to announce my membership and volunteer  on the Kent School Board. I lived in Kent for 30 years. My passion is to help our youth in receiving quality education.

Job Career:

* Four years Air Force Active Duty; * 28 years Air Force Reserves - Flight Engineer & Safety Instructor; * King County Metro Transit  - Transit Operator, Public Safety Partnership Coordinator, Safety Committee Member ; * Real Estate, Mortgage and Insurance Agent; * Financial Services Consultant; * Home-Base Business Owner; * Local Youth Pilot Program - Our mission is to provide education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

I appreciate and thank you for your vote.

As a proud longtime resident of Kent, my goal for representing you as a board member is to listen to you, be transparent, represent you in my votes, advocate for our children, and hold our leadership accountable. My wife and I are raising our two daughters here in the Kent School District. My vote as a board member directly affects our children just as it does your kids and our community. We are all in this together.

I have no intention of voting with my emotions. My voting will be a direct reflection of the expectations of this community for all of our children. Your voices in this community will be represented to the best of my ability.

Parents do not have a union; we have a school board and they must reflect us all. Both of my parents were schoolteachers and I understand that we must be productive not destructive.

We need to hold our leaders accountable for the selection and evaluations of the superintendent. We need to be fiscally responsible with our budget. And most importantly; as a community it is our voices, strong beliefs and values that create what is possible for our kids.

My name is Awale Farah, and I am a long-time resident of Kent. My four children are graduates of the Kent School District.

The pandemic continues to engender challenges, as the school district emerges from this crisis, I will listen to families to develop successful pathways to learning. I am motivated to bring diverse communities together to share their experiences and expectations of the Kent School District.

Some of my community involvements are being the President of the Kent Kiwanis and a volunteer with Living Well Kent. I serve as a board member for Communities in Schools, Children’s Therapy Center, and Greater Kent Historical Society.

My engineering career, including twenty years at Boeing and AT&T, developed my leadership skills through managing teams of fifty employees and overseeing a $250 million budget. I will work on the goals and mission of the Kent School District and be mindful of the financial responsibilities. It will be exciting to create a “new normal” for our children’s education, and I look forward to working with other members of the Kent School Board I am a positive thinker who learns from the past in order to enhance the present and design a better future.