My favorite Souvenir from Portugal

Shelly has been my yoga student and friend for almost ten years and I have the utmost respect for her dedication to serve our community. I remember with fondness the morning she arrived in class and announced with contagious enthusiasm that she was running for a seat on the Newport News School Board. It was such a courageous decision and she has since then worked tirelessly for our public schools, teachers and students. Her desire to serve is selfless and authentic. She truly cares and I truly admire her hard work and commitment to actually go into the trenches and put herself out there. This is how we change the world. One school at a time. One child at a time. Thank you Shelly!

I joined the Newport News School Board in 2012 and becoming an elected official in my city has added a new dimension to my travels. Now I am more curious about how other cities operate and how they do things for better, or for worse, compared to back home. Every time I travel I try to gather information that could help my school district or my city.  Good ideas from other countries are now my favorite souvenirs.

This summer I traveled to Portugal with my husband. We spent five days in Lisbon and then traveled south to the Algarve region to visit a region famous for their seafood as well as ochre and white striped beaches.  

While in the coastal city of Albufiera I spotted an interesting van in the parking lot of our resort.  It was a medical van with staff available for health screening and check ups for employees.  I loved the concept of the doctor’s appointment coming to you at work. It gave me an idea.

Why couldn’t our school system lease such a van and staff it with a nurse practitioner to visit schools to offer check-ups to our Newport News Public School Employees?  We already have a wellness program in which we offer incentives and lower rates to employees who monitor their health.  A van like this would be so convenient for our teachers and staff.  It could visit a different school every day to offer screenings as well as check in on employees with high blood pressure and other chronic health conditions.

This is an idea I’m bringing back to my district and the Human Resources committee on which I sit.  There may be reasons it won’t work for us, but they will know I’m always thinking of them, and trying to find ways we can improve our practices to better serve the children, and adults, who work for our district. Whatever your passions are make sure to take them with you when you travel. Be open and learn from others.  This way you will bring back more than just photos and souvenirs: you will have ideas to share and discuss back home.

Shelly Simonds 

Newport News School Board member