Welcome! thank you for being here
My name is Mary Parizek, and I am running for Waukesha School Board in the Spring 2026 election. As a social worker and community member I believe that children are at the center of our community as they are our future, and the present impacts the future.
Public education is not just an essential part of American history, but also, Wisconsin history. The Founding Fathers of the United States of America believed that in order to preserve self- governance the population needed to be educated. They laid the groundwork for an education system that eventually led to the first public Kindergarten (in the US) opening in Watertown, Wisconsin. The education system has changed and grown as the needs of our country, state, and city have changed and grown, but one thing that remains the same; public education is essential to ensuring an equitable future for our children.
My commitment to you is that I will work to ensure that the children of the Waukesha School District have access to an education that we can all be proud of.
About the Canidate
Mary attended public schools throughout her childhood and graduated from Hastings High School in Hastings, Minnesota. To follow her dream of going to college she attended Mount Mary University where she received her bachelor's in social work. She then went on to the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee and graduated with a master’s degree in social work.
While studying for her bachelors, Mary worked with children on the Autism spectrum to enhance their communication and fine motor skills before they began school. Additionally, she worked as a personal caregiver for a child with a significant developmental disability and got to see first-hand the struggles families of children with disabilities face when trying to advocate for the rights and needs of their children.
After graduating and while studying for her Master’s, Mary worked as a case manager for a publicly funded long term care program in Milwaukee. There she learned about the frustrations of ineffective processes and how red tape can become a significant barrier to providing support to families who desperately needed them. That experience enhanced her critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills. From there she went on to work at the county level in a rural WI county, connecting older adults and their families to resources. She learned the value of honesty and transparency from government and public service officials; it didn’t matter how good her intentions were if the people who were most impacted by her decisions didn’t understand or stand behind them.
Once she graduated with her master’s she became a therapist and case manager at a residential treatment center. While working as a therapist she learned how to listen to understand, how harm that’s done in childhood impacts functioning as adults, and just how powerful compassion can be. She was recently called to work in higher education and is now a case manager for a university. She is looking forward to the opportunity to bring her expertise, energy, and creativity to the School District of Waukesha Board.
Mary is a social worker and a community member of Waukesha.
Ensuring an equitable public education system has been a part of her value system throughout her entire life. Her father is now a teacher, but was also a school bus driver, and her mother worked to ensure thousands of students across the country were able to receive their education online while the world was shut down during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Mary herself has worked as a social worker for ten years and is now a case manager working in higher education. She believes that trust and transparency are at the core of building a positive relationship with community members, and hopes to work with parents, teachers, administrators, community members, and board members to find creative solutions to the concerns the school district faces.
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