Jamie Turay

Jamie's Story

Jamie comes from a family firmly devoted to helping others and her country. The youngest of three children, Jamie's two brothers have served multiple tours over the years for the military. Pride in our nation and serving the community is deeply rooted in her values and motives. Since her children started school, she has regularly volunteered in the classroom and worked to help the administration provide the best for Niles Community Students. This has given her incredible insight into the school system. As a mother of two school-aged children, Jalyn, 17, and Braeden, 14, Jamie continually provides insight into the growing demands placed upon students today. Her oldest child, Merek, graduated from Niles schools two years ago. Having experienced the entire high school years with her son and his friends, she has seen where the school needs to improve to help future students succeed after graduation. First-hand experience on how the students transitioned from high school to the "real world" has shown where there is a gap that needs to be filled in Niles students before graduation. As the owner of a trades company, she believes firmly in the trades.

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Students that start their journey in the trades while in high school give them indispensable direction. A solid academic foundation is ultimately essential for whatever path they choose after graduation. It is also the foundation of a strong community. Unfortunately, Niles does not reflect as a solid academic school when you look deeper. According to SchoolDigger.com, Niles Community Schools' proficiency scores show that the academics are genuinely lacking. She knows we can do better for our students. If elected to the school board, Jamie's priorities with Niles Community schools are to increase the level of education provided, increase parental oversight and involvement in their children's education, and shift the educational focus away from anything that could be biased, politically or socially. Jamie wants Niles Community schools to be at the forefront of success in its academics and its standing in the community. She truly loves our community and the families that live in it.

Experience and skills that have enabled her to serve as a valuable member of the school board:
-A business administration degree from Purdue Global University. Graduated summa cum laude.  
-Twenty-four years of experience co-owning and running a successful business with a happy and long-standing employee base.
-Three terms as the first female president of a 21-year-long running business networking group.
-Girls on the Run Coach for Ballard Elementary chaperoned a Ring Lardner school dance and helped feed the Niles high school band members during summer band camp.
-She helped facilitate and bring new after-school activities for the students and parents of Ballard. (When Ballard decided to discontinue Spirit Day, she helped bring in a track and field day and helped organize and work at the annual Ballard Ball).
-Jamie and her husband provided the generators and fuel for the Ballard end-of-the-year celebration for several years.
-She helped raise money for project graduation by working at the Apple Festival and Culver's fundraising events.
-She served on the PTO for Ballard for several years and was the treasurer for three of those years.
-She is still an active volunteer for Niles Community Schools and will be helping project graduation raise funds at the Apple Festival this year.

Niles School Board Candidate 2022