Brett Phillips, of Linn, who is seeking election to the R-2 school board, said student mental health needs to be addressed.

“I basically think we do a good job of educating kids in the R-2 district, so my suggestions are those for the primary improvements any successful school district would make to stay strong,” he said. “We always need to focus on hiring the best possible teachers we can. We always need to modernize our curriculum and implement current educational paradigms. These two things have to happen in any successful district.

“More specifically, I think a major theme of the next couple of years is student mental health,” he continued. “We as R-2 educators need to get out in front of the mental health needs of our student body, as all statistics point to a deterioration in that regard over the past decade. Of course, the pandemic, shut down, and response only made things worse. I praise the R-2 district for remaining in-seat through the 2200-21 school year but the initial shutdown, economic downturn, and constant adjustments have still done their damage. The percentage of students medicated for anxiety, depression, or bipolar disorder has increasingly gone up and will continue to do so. This was affecting education prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. Our teachers need to be trained to be able to cope with a student body that will have an increasingly higher percentage of kids who have real-world struggles. I have seen this phenomenon first-hand. Student absenteeism is down across the board in the wake of the pandemic. We need to be able to give our students the support they need to acquire skills and cope with mental illness. Our teachers need to be kept up with the current research in the mental health field so our kids can develop and be successful.”

To make such improvements, Phillips said teachers should be trained in new strategies for teaching children with mental health issues. “We should explore new professional development opportunities along these lines,” he added. “We should continue to contract with Compass Health and have them continue to send integrated health specialists to Linn to do check-ins and work with kids. But getting the newest teacher training in working with kids with mental health issues is the most important thing going forward.”

Linn R-2 has several strengths. “I have always thought that we mostly have good teachers who have the students’ best interests in mind,” Phillips said. “I think that mostly over the years our administration and board of education have put forth a positive vision for the district. We have a concerned public that has high standards for their kids in the classroom and extracurricular activities. Being a small school, there is a familiarity with staff and students and community members along with relatively small class sizes.”

Phillips has lived in Linn for 30 years and was a middle school English teacher, cross country, and track and field coach for 10 years at R-2, where he also coached basketball and was the athletic director for three years.

He taught high school English at Jefferson City High School for 13 years and junior and senior English at Jefferson City Academic Center, an alternative school, for seven years. Phillips has been an assistant track and field coach at Jeff City for 20 years, was an assistant cross country coach for eight years, and has served for 12 years as head cross country coach at Jefferson City High School.  

“I think I have the experience necessary to make good decisions educationally for our kids in this community,” said Phillips, who is retiring from teaching and coaching this spring. “I can use my experience as an educator to make thoughtful, prudent decisions regarding the education of our kids. I will be a retired educator and therefore will be able to commit the time it takes to research and make decisions with my colleagues on the board. I not only have a lifetime of experience as a classroom teacher and coach, but I can translate those experiences to a positive vision for the Linn R-2 School District.”

Phillips said he has a vested interest in seeing the R-2 district be successful. “All of my kids graduated from Linn and had a good educational experience here,” he said. “I have the passion to ensure that the district continues to provide a quality learning experience for the students.”  

Brett and Sally Phillips have been married for 22 years and they have three children, James Ashby, Vada Phillips, and Hayden Phillips, along with one grandchild, Duke Phillips. His parents and brother were also teachers and coaches.