As a member of the Sippican Elementary School Council, Kristina Schmid Callina wants to move into a decision-making role and is running for a three-year term on the Marion School Committee.

Schmid Callina, a parent of a Sippican School student and member of community volunteer organization Volunteers At Sippican Elementary, said her background gives her “something to offer when it comes to creating common ground among a lot of different kinds of people.”

A research scientist that consults for youth-serving organizations, Schmid Callina said she practices “data-driven decision making.”

“That's a skill that I bring and also something I'll be looking for the committee, to support their decisions with whatever data are available or could possibly be collected, whatever issue they're concerned about,” she said.

Schmid Callina said she thinks the Marion School Committee can support and facilitate communication, which is “key,” between parents and the school “about what the policies are, what the existing policies are, how decisions get made.”

“I think just having that throughline from the committee to the community would be really beneficial,” she said.

Schmid Callina has lived in Marion for three years. She grew up in Mattapoisett and is an Old Rochester Regional School District alum.

“I love the school,” Schmid Callina said. “I love the community. I feel like I have some skills from my professional and my educational background to bring to the committee.”

Schmid Callina said she has a sense that everyone from teachers to the community to the superintendent’s office “really does want to work well together.”

“I really admire that and just want to be a part of that and kind of further that sense of we're all here to support the students,” she said.