Kaye Schneider knew she wanted to work in education by the time she was eight years old. Now, as a candidate for the school board of the Coronado Unified School District, she wants to promote parent engagement, support fiscal responsibility and build programs to bolster student wellness.
You could say teaching runs in her family. Schneider’s father was a professor and coach at Montana State in Bozeman, Montana. She says she lived on a street with faculty families, and she grew up playing “school” in her free time.
“As the younger child, I played the student,” said Schneider. “Eventually, it was my time to teach. I remember being invited to teach a lesson in my middle school classroom. I realized how naturally sharing information came to me. There was never a doubt I would pursue a teaching career.”
Schneider earned her Bachelor of Education at Northern Arizona University, and went on to get a doctoral degree from Fuller Theological Seminary. She spent more than a decade as a middle school teacher in Arizona before moving to Coronado in 1992 with her four children. She says she also served as president of the Coronado Middle School PTO and volunteered in the classroom.
All four of her children attended Coronado schools. She now has a grandchild who is attending Village Elementary.
These days, Schneider works as a nationally certified marriage and family life professional, and owns her own businesses, the Lydia Company and Vital connections, which offer counseling, retreats and family life coaching. She says her work in this field has helped prepare her for a role as trustee.
“My life coaching work has strengthened my ability to listen, understand different perspectives, navigate disagreements, and find ways to collaborate,” said Schneider.
Parent engagement and communication with teachers is just one of the things Schneider would like to tackle.
“When my children attended Coronado schools, there were many excellent teachers, and I especially appreciated those who welcomed parents into their classrooms and made themselves accessible,” said Schneider.
She said evening conferences are a must for working parents. She said when she was teaching, her school offered an evening of conferences, with the PTO providing dinner so teachers could accommodate families throughout the evening.
“I would want to understand how conferences are handled today and whether there are enough opportunities for parents to connect with teachers, express concerns, and share appreciation,” said Schneider. “Strong parent-teacher relationships help align the goals and expectations students experience at school and at home.”
Fiscal responsibility is another hallmark of her campaign as the district approaches Basic Aid funding in 2027-2028.
She says the transition to Basic Aid marks an important opportunity, but also a challenge to rebuild reserves, protect programs and plan carefully for long-term financial health.
“We need to look closely at building needs, class sizes, and potential changes to the interdistrict transfer program while protecting the quality of education our students receive,” she said.
She said Basic Aid may also give the district greater capacity to address long-standing capital needs, including cooling and air-conditioning needs across campuses.
Student wellness is another big priority of hers. Schneider says she would like to champion a “Relationship Skills and Resilience Program” that continues the district’s goal of developing compassionate students who can thrive in challenging situations.
“The program would teach students how to understand themselves and others, navigate difficult social situations, and build healthy relationships,” said Schneider. “I believe this approach addresses the behaviors that lead to bullying.”
One possible component to this program could be debate clubs, in which students research issues, consider opposing viewpoints, and practice disagreeing without attacking, shaming, or blaming others, according to Schneider.
“Students would learn to listen, question assumptions, communicate respectfully, and collaborate with people who think differently,” she said. “The program would also teach resilience and help students distinguish between what they can and cannot control, while learning how to influence situations positively rather than trying to control others.”
This aligns with Schneider’s favorite value in the district’s “Portrait of a Graduate” project, which champions the idea of a “respectful collaborator.” She says her training and work align closely with this goal.
“Before students can positively impact their communities, they need to understand who they are, what they value, and how to treat others with compassion and kindness,” she said.
After Schneider announced her candidacy, some community members expressed concerns about since-deleted social media posts that a few have called racist.
One of them is a meme of a blonde woman in sunglasses, with the title “Know the Warning Signs of White Supremacy.” The meme listed traits including full-time employment, literacy, professional or technical degrees, and church attendance.
“The white supremacy meme is a lampooning/satirical post implying how loosely that term is used,” she said. “I re-posted as the satire it is.”
Another since-deleted post she had shared advocated for Bible study during school hours. The post referenced LifeWise Academy, a nationwide Christian organization that provides Bible instruction to participating public-school students during the school day. The voluntary program operates under a practice known as released time religious instruction, in which students leave school grounds for privately funded religious education with parental permission.
The Coronado Times asked Schneider what she meant by the post, and what role the Bible or Christianity should have in Coronado schools.
Schneider said sharing the post from the organization was not a statement of intent.
“Any search of the program will explain the details of the program,” she said. “It would not be on campus, nor is there any cost to the school.”
She went on to share that a child of any faith has the right to their religion and free speech, and there are situations where Jewish and Christian students are being harassed on campuses.
Schneider said the since-deleted social media posts were a few years old, before she decided to run for school board.
