Mrs. Dankel moved to McKinney in 1997 and has served as a public school educator for 22 years, the last 10 of which were in McKinney Independent School District serving at Finch Elementary School and Eddins Elementary School.

She and her husband Roger have been married for 25 years and are active members of Stonebridge United Methodist Church. Roger works in McKinney at Simpson Strong-Tie. Their two children were educated in McKinney Independent School District. Nick graduated from McKinney North High School in 2008 and currently attends the University of Colorado, majoring in Astrophysics. Stephanie graduated from McKinney Boyd in 2010 and currently attends Clemson University, majoring in International Health and Spanish.

Mrs. Dankel earned a Master of Education majoring in Curriculum and Instruction from Virginia Tech and a Bachelor of Science in Education from Millsaps College.

She cites a deep feeling of responsibility to give back to a school system and community that has given so much to her and to her family as her major motivation for serving on the McKinney ISD Board of Trustees.

As a Board member, Ms. Dankel would like to “explore options for meeting the needs of students who are dropping out of school.” She is interested in finding ways for those students to graduate, lead more fulfilling lives and become even more productive citizens. She also plans to focus on thoughtful spending that puts instruction first and contributes to academic excellence.