From rooting on middle school mountain bikers to making statewide decisions, she’s “all in” when it comes to students.

As one of four mountain biking coaches for Draper Park Middle School, Erin Longacre spends hours surrounded by energy, passion and dirt trails, cheering middle schoolers as they take on nerve-wracking racecourses.

“It is so much fun,” she said. “These kids, I don't know how they line up and not just crumble at the starting line, because it is high energy, high intensity and man, the nerves would get me. But they're strong under pressure. I’m proud of them.”

Longacre’s coaching role, she laughs as she describes it: “I'm mostly a cheerleader. I love cheering on the kids, but I do need to know a little bit. As long as you can ride a bike, you can pretty much coach at the middle school level.”

That spirit of engagement is what defines her approach to everything she does — and Longacre admits, she does a lot.

Longacre is a substitute teacher of seven years; a crossing guard for Draper City; in charge of the middle school’s PTSA and the woman behind Teacher Appreciation Week. As a mother of three, with kids at Corner Canyon High, Draper Park Middle and Draper Elementary, her schedule is packed.

“My plate is full, but it's a really good plate,” she said. “I love to serve. It gives you purpose.”

Recently Longacre added another title: Utah State Board of Education member.

“I’ve had a passion for education for some time now,” she said. “When this opened up, I was prayerful about it and I thought, ‘OK, I'll put my name in and we'll see what happens.’ The governor was gracious enough to pick me. I'm excited. It's new territory. It's a huge responsibility, but I'm up for the task.”

Longacre is representing District 7 — Sandy, Draper, Cottonwood Heights and Alta — previously represented by Molly Hart, who was appointed in the spring as state superintendent of public instruction.

As per Utah Code, Longacre will serve on the Board the remainder of her predecessor’s term, through the next general election in 2026. This appointment comes three years after Longacre’s run for Canyons Board of Education ended in a loss.

“I remember when I lost, I was upset. I love education, and I want to improve it. But I feel when one door closes, another one opens. Now, three years later, this door opens, and I wouldn’t have been able to take it had I won the local school board. So, this is the door I’m walking through right now,” she said.

Longacre acknowledges the legacy of her predecessor with deep respect. 

“Molly is well respected. She's done so much in education. One of the first things I said to Molly was, ‘I’ve got big shoes to fill.’ And she said, ‘You be you. You are going to do great.’ I love that about Molly and people on the board have great respect for one another,” she said.

Far from a distant policymaker, Longacre plans to stay rooted in classrooms and community conversations.

“Oftentimes the people who make critical decisions in education, they’re not in the classrooms. I plan on being that state board member you will see in faculty meetings, in the hallways, volunteering in the classroom — so I can see firsthand what we need to change,” she said.

Longacre knows the job will require navigating the legislative process.

“I’m only a month into this position; I’m still learning the ropes. As a parent, I thought I could go in and start making changes right away, but I’m realizing now there’s a process. A lot of what we do comes from legislation. So parents, teachers and board members need to have relationships with legislators. We can go to them and say, ‘Here’s our issues. What bill can we pass to help this?’” she said.

One thing, Longacre knows is schools need more support in classrooms.

“Our teachers have a hard job. Their plates are overflowing. I hear them saying, ‘We need help in the classroom,’ and I agree,” she said. “I plan to continue doing what I’m doing because I love what I’m doing,” she said. “I think it’s important to see what’s going on at the ground level to address it at the state level.”