Like many of this publication’s readers, I care deeply about district issues that affect our kids and our schools. I want our school board to be filled with smart people who are passionate, hard-working, and tenacious, particularly when it comes to providing the absolute best possible educational experience for our children.

With that set of criteria in mind, I can wholeheartedly endorse My-Linh Thai for Bellevue School Board. Rarely have I met someone whose earnest good nature and strong advocacy for all students are as apparent as they are in My-Linh. She is filled with energy and compassion, understands and promotes advocacy and diversity, and sincerely drives towards the best possible outcomes for everyone around her. She’s not afraid to ask questions and find consensus, even in the most challenging situations.

My-Linh has repeatedly shown, through her months of campaigning, that she is a person of high integrity, and I greatly value that in someone running for a position as important to our children as this is. Her immense and innate good will, combined with her extensive skills and experience in a variety of positions in and around Bellevue schools, make her someone who has earned my trust, and my endorsement. I hope she’ll have the opportunity to earn yours, too.

Noelle Barnes, Bellevue