Melanie Flake is good at a lot of things.
While she’s quite good at being a wife and mother, she’s also pretty good at running, cooking and writing. Plus she’s fun and funny and she cares about all kids.
That’s why we hired her at Idaho Education News.
Our mission is to make more Idahoans aware of what’s happening in schools and how the actions of political leaders and educators affect our children and their future.
We’re great at covering education policy creation and implementation and writing about successes in teaching and learning. We talk to lawmakers, superintendents, teachers and trustees. We’re reaching thousands of Idahoans a day and our traffic and social engagement grow every month.
But we’re not reaching enough parents. That’s where Melanie can help us.
What Melanie will bring is a personality and lifestyle parents can relate to. She’ll write about the issues from a mom’s perspective.
Melanie met and married her true love at age 21. They share the dream of having a large family. They have seven kids — the youngest is in kindergarten and the oldest started college this year.
Their home is loud and busy and awesome, she says.
Melanie loves to run marathons — she completed one after all seven of her births. She doesn’t like being cold, but loves to snow ski. And she likes to make people laugh.
“I can meet you at 10 in the morning in sweats or 11 if you want me to shower,” she said to me last week.
Now that all of the little Flakes are in school, Melanie has found a few hours in her day and she wants to use that time to make a difference.
She’s going to study and learn about the hot topics in Idaho education and write about how they affect parents and their kids. She’s going to write about the challenges parents face trying to ensure their children get the best possible education so they can pursue the future of their dreams.
“I told my son if he wants to be a doctor “Great!” … if he wants to start a pest control business “Great!” … whatever it is, let’s get started down the path that’s going to make you happy,” she said.
“I’m not the greatest mom, but I love my kids, and that’s all that really matters.”
Melanie’s been a regular blogger on “One Mother’s Journey To Become Authentic.”
She starts a blog today for Idaho Education News and we’re calling it “I Hate Doing My Kid’s Homework — A Mom’s Blog.”
Tell us what you think. Share your ideas. Join our conversation.
Jennifer Swindell, managing editor, Idaho Education News
