Biographical Information
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BACKGROUND AND GOALS: How do your educational background and experience prepare you for the duties of this office and what do you hope to accomplish if elected?
During a 36-year career with AACPS, I have gained a unique perspective on the operations of the school system. I was a teacher & coach before moving into administration. There, I assisted in the opening of the Investigations Office, Planning Office where I was responsible for projected enrollments, redistricting and assisting with the Capital Budget. Following, I returned to the Dept. of Instruction and assisted in the development of the STEM Magnet Programs & instituted the Partnership Office.
AREA OF NEED: What do you consider the area of greatest need in our county's public education system and how would you propose to address it?
Our greatest area of need is returning to the foundations of educational excellence. We need to get back to the DRAWINGboard, focusing on Discipline, Reading, Arithmetic, Writing, Innovation, Nurturing taking us to Greatness. Also, a focus on ACCOUNTABILITY, on all parties, students, staff & parents. We are in this together. Finally, we must focus on teacher retention. One way is through New Teacher Housing via a public-private partnership, a project I once had support from all but AACPS Admin.
SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT: How would you prioritize initiatives to ensure school environments that are safe, supportive and conducive to learning and teaching?
Every student deserves a learning environment that is “warm, safe & dry.” This starts with discipline and accountability in our classrooms and carries through the learning environment in which all opinions are valued and welcome. Students should feel welcome and free from stresses inside the school that detract from learning. As a teacher, it was my job to teach my students “how” to think and “not” what to think. My opinions never entered the classroom.
MENTAL HEALTH: Do you believe the district should provide mental health resources for students and staff? Please explain why or why not.
Though the school system does provide a level of mental care, especially for staff through the Employee Assistance Program, it does not do as much for our students. The sheer number of students, coupled with the increase in life traumas at home, is not conducive to providing services for all. We must develop public-private partnerships to assist our students in receiving mental health care. Staff should also be trained in de-escalation techniques, to help lower high-emotion situations.
EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION: In addition to fair pay and benefits, what initiatives would you support to attract and retain high-caliber teachers and staff in all district schools?
Teachers, like all others, want to feel valued. Working with new teachers, I heard many speak of the high cost of housing in our area. Again, I would recommend the redevelopment of the New Teacher Housing Initiative, a program for which I had, during my career, gained county government support and developer support but did not receive the support of AACPS. This project would provide new teachers with low-cost housing for up to two years after coming to AACPS.
FISCAL OVERSIGHT: What are your budgetary priorities and how will you balance them with implementation of the Blueprint for Education mandates?
Personally, I would like to see how the state and county will balance the funding of the implementation of the Blueprint for Education mandate. County Executives of the surrounding jurisdictions have expressed concern about how they are expected to fund Blueprint and not much in way of information has come from the State. As a multi-billion-dollar unfunded mandate, it should not be up to the Board of Education, a body which has no taxing authority, to decide how to fund it.