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Watch Heidi Kader discuss her priorities for Wayzata during the League of Women Voters Candidate Forum (Click image below):

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What’s on the horizon? Here are the priorities that matter….

“In Wayzata Public Schools, we have great scaffolding to continue building on. As an organization committed to learning and growth, let’s keep making the next best step.”

– Heidi Kader, Wayzata School Board Vice Chair

Front and center priorities for Wayzata Public Schools

• Finding and hiring our next superintendent – we’ve had the most incredible and steady hand at the helm of WPS for 18 successful years. While we have Dr. Anderson until June 30, 2026, time will fly. There is the main board task of finding and hiring the next superintendent. There is also the important piece of creating the conditions for a smooth transition between Dr. Anderson, our new superintendent, & the Board. As one of the longest sitting board members, it will be critical to keep my steady hand, district experience, and systems expertise during this transition.
• Operational excellence – a district that offers your student the most engaging opportunities, smaller class sizes, neighborhood schools, updated facilities across the district, and academic success starts with intentional financial and strategic planning. WPS has always treated taxpayer dollars as an entrusted responsibility with the aim of serving the needs of the school community. That’s a big responsibility. A successful educational organization is one that plans for the long-term while always meeting the needs of the here and now. I believe it should remain that way.
• Continued focus on academic excellence for each and every – such a big target, but it comes down to this – each and every student deserves the resources and support needed to have high achievement that makes them stand tall with pride. To achieve this, I will continue to support work at every level (street to ariel data) to identify the complexities of how each student can thrive, identify their strengths, and eliminate barriers to success. This process will itself educate our students setting them up for success long beyond their educational journey in our schools. Our students should score well, and go on to live well, be continuous learners, and thrive as productive citizens. With all that is changing and shifting in our District, your Board needs me to keep a steady hand at the wheel so that our teachers can continuing guiding our students to focus on student academic and personal growth.

What I will continue to bring to the forefront

1. Comprehensive Safety in Our Schools – I’m not the only one who sends my kids off to school with kiss and a prayer for their safe return. Over the past four years, I’ve worked tirelessly to create partnerships across the District and State to keep student safety and mental health at the forefront of conversations. A comprehensive view doesn’t just mean better locks and cameras – it means coming together as a community to take preventative measures. This approach has been successful when dealing with alcohol and drugs, and can also be successful for comprehensive and preventative safety. There continue to be barriers in this work, but also headway. The past four years have helped me learn how to keep driving it forward.
2. Healthy Eating and Access to Quality Food – Food is not just food. Nutrition and access to it impacts how students learn, feel and behave at school. I aim to continue making healthy food access for all our students a priority. The free breakfast and lunch program has been wildly successful and could be at risk. I’ll continue working with the public health circles that made this a reality. I’ll continue to support and grow the work of Wayzata Cafes as they find ways to address the holistic nature of nutrition and eating, and how these things are integrated in a student’s day.
3. Creating a Unified Experience for Wayzata Students and Staff – I am committed to bringing the best of Wayzata’s academics and experience to every student regardless of which doors you walk through in the morning. This starts with unifying the teacher and staff experience so that successful ideas, processes, and learnings can be shared more easily across schools. Every Wayzata student should have confidence that they are valued and are receiving the best.

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Why Vote for Heidi?

“Serving my community is my Way of Life. Aside from my WPS volunteerism, I’ve been hard at work in the community for the past 22 Years.”

– Heidi Kader, Wayzata School Board Vice Chair

1. I’m the steady hand at the wheel. There is so much exciting change on the immediate horizon for our schools. If we want our teachers to continue guiding our students to focus on their academic & personal growth, your leadership needs to remain steady, intentional, and collaborative. You have that in me.
2. Leadership with a systems approach continues to be a priority in Wayzata. I graduated from the top Public Health Policy and Administration master’s program in the nation. I understand the critical intersection between the science, community health/well being, and how it impacts schools. I understand how policies get put it in action to reach the best outcomes for each student AND the community as a whole. And when that policy doesn’t work for us, I know how to call it out, think it through, and get it changed.
3. I will remain nonpartisan. Politics and various agendas have no place in our schools and that starts at the board table. Every solution should be evidence-based and the only motivation should be what is in the best interest of our students within our resources.
4. I have a track record of leadership through community service. Serving my community is my way of life. Aside from my WPS volunteerism, I’ve been hard at work in the community for the past 22 years. Here are just a handful of highlights …
   • Board member of The Neighborly Needs – Al Maa’uun in North Minneapolis for 12 years
   • Star Gala Committee member for the Children’s Hospital of Minnesota – 3 years
   • Former board member of the Institutional Review Board of Park Nicollet Hospital in St. Louis Park for 9 years
   • Former Co-initiator and organizer of a one-of-a-kind in the midwest summer day-camp at NWICC

Learn More About Heidi Kader… (click here)