Five Candidates Running For Four Seats on D49 Board

By Todd Marver

tmarver@nashnews.net

Amanda Engele, Devin Haertling, Tanner Pries, Josh Snead and Kourtney Engele are running for four spots on the District 49 School Board in the April 4 election.

Amanda Engele

 

Amanda Engele is a family nurse practitioner at Premise Health – Walgreens Healthy Living Center. She practices as a nurse practitioner and has also served as the health center manager of the medical office since 2017.

“I manage the office budget, oversee interviews and performance reviews/trainings, manage multiple schedules and collaborate with many vendors and individuals within my role. Under my direction our office is consistently in the Top 10 out of over 800 offices within our company due to consistently being a top performer and reaching set goals. While I serve as a health center manager in my current role, at the heart of my decisions are the patients I serve. Similarly, if elected to the school board, no matter what decisions may be needed, the kids will be at the heart of those decisions,” she said.

Amanda Engele said she is running for this position to be more involved in the community and to assist in helping to maintain the “excellent” school district. She is the mother of two daughters who attend the school and moved to Nashville in 2011.

“I have young children in the school, family and friends whose children attend, and I will strive to help make a positive impact and be an active member of the school board. I am passionate about the education and future success of the children. I am a medical professional and truly enjoy helping others within the community. I am dependable, highly motivated and driven towards overall success. I admire this wonderful community. We are fortunate to have a fantastic school district. I hope my outside perspective, combined with the love for our community can work synergistically for a great future,” she said.

Amanda Engele said her goals are to maintain the school values and positive reputation while helping to navigate the needs and challenges that will arise in the future.

Devin Haertling

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Devin Haertling is a physician assistant at the Orthopaedic Center of Southern Illinois. He received a master of medical science degree in physician assistant studies.  He is currently in his sixth year serving on the Board of Elders at his church.

“I am very easy to work with and I can empathize with others to see their point of view which is critical when serving on a board with a group of other individuals.  My current occupation has given me experience with high stress situations that require critical decisions that need to be made quickly and with conviction,” he said.

Haertling has two children currently at Nashville District 49 in fourth grade and sixth grade. He was born and raised in Nashville and attended the middle school himself.

“I want to be involved in ensuring our school continues the long tradition and standards of excellent education for our children. I hope to continue to help to provide a positive learning environment and experience for all our children by upholding the standards Nashville District 49 has established.  I hope to continue to ensure Nashville Grade School and Middle School continue to provide a quality education for the children of our community,” he said.

Kourtney Engele

Kourtney Engele is a clinical pharmacy specialist – critical care at HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital. She received a doctor of pharmacy at St. Louis College of Pharmacy.

Kourtney Engele said that during her time at St. Louis College of Pharmacy, she encountered many students who attended prestigious private schools from all over the country and learned quickly how well Nashville schools prepared her to be a successful learner and a competitive student.

“Since graduation, I have spent a large portion of my career precepting a variety of learners and working on the improvement of patient care processes. Especially as a mom of two little boys who will soon be starting school in the district, I am now ready to devote my time to supporting our educators and promoting high learning expectations for our students,” she said.

In 2017, Kourtney Engele completed her teaching certificate and served one year as an Adjunct Clinical Instructor at Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville School of Pharmacy.

“I also routinely precept pharmacy students, pharmacy residents and medical residents. My time in these roles demonstrates how passionate I am about learning and how much I enjoy promoting the growth of our students. I additionally serve on several in-hospital and system wide committees and have extensive practice presenting problems and solutions in a team-based approach,” she said.

Kourtney Engele said she was taught from a very young age that family is one of the most important values in life. She said the community of Nashville is one big tight-knit family and being on the Board of Education means that she can support that family by encouraging advances in education, inclusion and extracurricular activities.

Kourtney Engele said she would like to continue to uphold the high standards of education in the Nashville School District and continue to foster a progressive and competitive learning environment and extracurricular programs for students.

Josh Snead and Tanner Pries were unavailable for comment.