Indian River School Board - District #4 Choose 1
In Delaware, school board service is an unpaid elected position with a term of 4 years (5 years for board members elected prior to Dec 2021). School board elections are nonpartisan, and are held on the second Tuesday in May each year.The Indian River School District is located in Southeastern Sussex County, serving the towns of Selbyville, Gumboro, Frankford, Dagsboro, Fenwick Island, Bethany Beach, South Bethany, Ocean View, Millville, Clarksville, Millsboro and Georgetown. A 10-member Board of Education is elected on a rotating basis, so that normally multiple seats are open each year.Candidates run for a particular seat within the geographical district that they live in and voters only vote for the candidates living in their own geographic district, as shown on this Indian River School Board Election Districts map.This race is for election district 4 (south side of the inlet, Ocean View, Millville, Clarksville, Millsboro, Frankford, eastern parts of Dagsboro, Fenwick Island, Bethany Beach and South Bethany).
Biographical Information
What is your background and how do those experiences and skills allow you to be an effective school board member?
Candidate has not yet responded.
What is the single most important issue facing your school district and how would you address it?
Candidate has not yet responded.
How should school boards respond to community calls for removing any curriculum topics, subjects, books and programs?
Candidate has not yet responded.
What kind of mental health supports do you favor in schools and how would you go about advocating for them?
Candidate has not yet responded.
How would you ensure the district provides equitable access and meets the needs of all students, including traditionally underserved student populations such as students of color, low-income students, English-language learners and students receiving special education services?
Candidate has not yet responded.
Delaware needs more resource officers in the schools. Scale of strongly agree to strongly disagree.
Candidate has not yet responded.
16 and 17-year-olds should be allowed to vote in school board elections. Yes or no
The candidate chose not to mark a box
Biographical Information
Neighborhood/area of residence
DISTRICT 4/IRSD
Are you currently a school board member? (Y/N)
N
How many school board meetings did you attend last year?
2
What is your background and how do those experiences and skills allow you to be an effective school board member?
First and foremost, I am a parent of 2 school-aged children. As a parent I have observed and tried to combat what our children, teachers, and administrators are faced with. These challenges span a wide range but mostly focus on Educational failures/Curriculum issues, Safety/Security/Discipline, Recruiting/Retention, and Failures in Leadership.
Other than being a parent that is very engaged, I have served for 25 years in the USAF and have achieved the rank of Colonel. As a military officer I have exemplified both leadership and followership rolls. Both sides are equally as important. During this time, I had the honor of serving as a Squadron Commander. In that roll, I learned the importance of leading, problem solving, and compromise.
What is the single most important issue facing your school district and how would you address it?
Our single most important issue is figuring out how to properly educate our students. Educationally, we have been falling behind in the world stage for a very long time. COVID accelerated the pace at which this was happening. I believe that our Achillies heal has been expanding our educational focus too wide too early. I believe our focus needs back to the basics. In life, we typically learn to crawl, walk, then run. In education, if we don't focus on getting our students to crawl or walk first, then they will never run. In education, "running" involves mastering the basics - Reading, Writing, and Mathematics. If you haven't mastered them by the "walk" faze, then you can't move forward to expand into STEM & other vital areas = FAILURE
How should school boards respond to community calls for removing any curriculum topics, subjects, books and programs?
One of the biggest concerns that I hear from educators & administrators are that too many parents aren't involved/engaged in their children's education. School Boards need to listen to the concerns of parents/communities and look into them whether it be in curriculum issues, books, programs, etc. No individual or group is all knowing in any area. To exclude our parents from voicing concerns in these areas means that we are alienating them. How can we expect parents to be/stay engaged if we don't value their voice when it comes to educating their children? It's very hypocritical to say, "we want you as parents involved here, but not here". It simply doesn't make sense. We must listen to their concerns or risk losing their engagement.
What kind of mental health supports do you favor in schools and how would you go about advocating for them?
Mental health issues are an epidemic that aren't addressed early or often enough in society. We must have more mental health professionals available for both our children and our staff in schools. If we don't make this a priority, then issues such as bullying, harassment, and even school shootings will continue to increase. Knowledge is power. Pulling data to determine the need must be the starting line. Data such as how many individuals requested or were referred to a mental health professional that were not able to see one in the school? How long did the individual wait for mental health assistance if there was a professional available? Then programs such as peer/educational groups to address support common concerns identified.
How would you ensure the district provides equitable access and meets the needs of all students, including traditionally underserved student populations such as students of color, low-income students, English-language learners and students receiving special education services?
As I said in the beginning, focusing on the basics i.e. reading, writing, and math for all students will give each and every student the best opportunity to succeed in school and life. Keeping parents involved also provides opportunities for success and growth. Finally, addressing mental health concerns can also help with this by opening up the mind to learning, rather than the issues of mental health.
Delaware needs more resource officers in the schools. Scale of strongly agree to strongly disagree.
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Neither agree nor disagree
Agree
Strongly agree
16 and 17-year-olds should be allowed to vote in school board elections. Yes or no
Oppose