Victoria Sterling filed Tuesday to be a candidate for Jefferson City Public School's Board of Education.
In a news release, Sterling said she has worked in higher education for five years and is now an abuse and neglect investigator for the Missouri Department of Mental Health.
She said her experience on the job qualifies her for the position because, "When something goes wrong, I talk to people involved and get supporting documents to put together a fact-based narrative as to what happened. This allows me to give systemic considerations to agencies and give suggestions for how to prevent issues from arising in the future."
One of her focal points as a board member would be to "see a vast improvement in JCPS's accreditation score," especially among groups of minority or low-income students and those who have disabilities.
"It is important to make this a school district where any student has the opportunity to achieve," she said.
She would also like to see two public high schools but doesn't believe this is the right time to pursue them.
Sterling joins six other candidates who have already filed - incumbent board Vice President Steve Bruce and Paul Graham, Josh Harmon, Scott Hovis, Lori Massman and Don Salcedo.
Current President John Ruth and Treasurer Ken Theroff are also up for re-election but have decided not to run.
Filing for the JCPS school board election is open until 5 p.m. Jan. 17 at the JCPS Central Office, 315 E. Dunklin St.
Sterling is currently engaged to be married and said, once married, her and her husband "plan to adopt a child who will attend JCPS."