MEET THE CANDIDATES
Hi, We're INSPIRING EXCELLENCE For CCSD SCHOOL BOARD
STEVE MCKENNA
Steve McKenna is a concerned parent running for a seat on the Cherry Creek School Board in District A. Steve and his wife Patricia have lived in the district since 2010 and two of their three children attended Cherry Creek Schools. Steve has a desire to serve on the School Board to elevate the math and reading proficiencies, prioritize school safety, and inspire excellence that the Cherry Creek School District is known for.
Steve believes many of us live in this community because of the reputation of Cherry Creek being a premier school district. All of us benefit from a school district that graduates the most successful students by listening to parents, teachers, students, and administrators in order to find common ground and common-sense solutions to the challenges our district is facing. The proposals by the current board to eliminate valedictorians and possibly AP classes are sending our kids in the wrong direction. Steve believes that the majority of parents, teachers, and students agree that partnerships, transparency, and strong academic focus are the keys to success.
Steve McKenna will bring unique experience and perspective to the board. Steve earned his degree in aerospace engineering at Georgia Tech, joined the Navy, attended Officer Candidate School, and learned to fly. He served as an E-2C Hawkeye pilot on Western Pacific deployments during the Cold War and Operation Desert Shield. Following fleet duty, he served for nearly three years as an instructor pilot at NAS Miramar.
Following the Navy, Steve attended the University of San Diego School of Law, graduating summa cum laude. He spent the next twenty-five years helping to raise his family and practicing law across the country and world at international law firm Gibson Dunn and the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Steve looks forward to turning his focus and experience toward improving our schools and our children’s education.
SCOTT GRAVES
Scott Graves is, first and foremost, a proud dad of five sons - three of whom have graduated from Cherry Creek Schools. (Yes, five sons…and yes, his wife is amazing!) He is a former public school teacher turned entrepreneur. He now is the co-founder and CEO of a financial planning firm.
Scott has a bachelor’s degree in music and a Master of Arts degree in education from the University of Denver. Scott taught middle school and high school band, orchestra, choir, and drama for six years in Colorado and Texas. He knows the challenge that teachers face in preparing the next generation for success and leadership as adults and recognizes the importance and value of the parent/teacher partnership. Scott used music as a tool to teach life skills such as teamwork, the importance of an individual’s contribution to the group and to take responsibility for one’s own part when others are counting on you.
When he was 19 years old Scott served a mission for his church in Santiago, Chile. While there, he came to love the Latino people, their culture, and their language. He speaks, reads, and writes Spanish fluently. Knowing Spanish helped Scott during his teaching career, where he worked in “majority-minority” schools. He worked with immigrant students to learn English as a second language.
Throughout his adult life, Scott has always worked with young people, whether as a teacher, as a leader in the Boy Scouts of America, in church assignments, and as a father to his own kids. His greatest joy comes from challenging youth to learn that they can do hard things to prepare them for massive success as adults!
