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As an educator I have experienced the impact School Boards have on students, teachers and the school community overall. This provides me with a unique viewpoint on the role the School Board should play. As a School Board member I will prioritize retaining and recruiting quality staff, developing safe and welcoming school environments for all, and increasing the awareness and accessibility of career and college pathways for all students.
Our greatest need in our county’s public education system is retaining and recruiting quality teachers and staff. Under-staffing greatly impacts a school's ability to meet the needs of all students. Whether it be not having improper student to teacher ratios or an inadequate number of bus drivers it all impacts how our students show up and experience our school environments. It is vital that we increase pay and non-monetary supports to keep and attract quality staff.
All students deserve to have school communities where they feel welcomed and safe. We can achieve this together with continuous reassessment of safety protocols and consistent conflict resolution procedures. In order to foster safe school communities, we must also provide necessary mental health services for all students.
Mental health support for both students and staff is critical. Student success is greatly impacted by their ability to navigate education and life. Providing them the support to grow as a student and a person is incomparable. Working in education often requires someone whether directly or indirectly to fill many roles often leading to burnout or compassion fatigue. Mental health resources will help students and staff balance the demands that may make thriving in work or school impossible.
Fair pay and benefits are a big factor in attracting and retaining quality staff. However, in order to support staff retention, I will seek to reduce teacher to student ratios and provide a more flexible leave policy.
As a Board member my focus will be teacher retention, mental health support for students and staff, as well as, increasing the awareness and access to student career and college readiness pathways. My priorities are aligned with the Blueprint for Education. It is important to consistently and annually evaluate our effectiveness including our budget to make sure that resources are best supporting students.
Campaign Mailing Address
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As of March 14, 2024, I have suspended my campaign for this office. Thank you.
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Having a background in economics I bring a unique perspective to the board. I understand local control of schools by the parents is the most effective way of governing. I bring a holistic view of education. Not only are falling academics harming our children. Poor education is ruining communities, bringing in crime, lowering property values, and not preparing students for the future. I believe every graduate of Anne Arundel Schools should be able to read, write, and get a job upon graduation.
The greatest area of need is academics. We need proficiency in math and sciences. Every student who graduates should be able to effectively read and write. This is unfortunately not the case, nor the expectation laid out in the Blueprint for Education. We need to set our expectations higher. Every child who graduates from Anne Arundel Schools should be ready to work or go to college. We need to expand vocational training so students can get a high paying job out of high school.
Violence is becoming increasingly problematic in Anne Arundel Schools. Every school should have a resource officer to ensure violence and criminal activity within schools is not tolerated. An unsafe environment is not conducive with learning or teaching. These disruptions are not fair to those who are putting in effort. This problem spills over in to our communities and has a negative effect on innocent people. Additionally our schools need to be fortified to protect from outside threats.
The mental health of students has become such an important issue because we are seeing record rates of suicide, depression, and anxiety among school aged kids. In addition to bringing in mental health resources we need to set expectations. Through accomplishment we can build up the self esteem of students who are struggling.
There is a statewide shortage of teachers and this problem is only worsened by Maryland's Blueprint for Education. We need to expand hiring paths by finding talented people from various backgrounds and professions and help them attain a teaching certificate.
The Blueprint for Education creates both present and future fiscal challenges for Anne Arundel Schools. Due to new rules we will have to hire significantly more teachers at a higher salary. As it stands 80% of our operating budget pays teachers and administrators. Years into the future we will see ballooning pension liabilities. The state has tied the boards hands with regards to how money is spent, which is why I am fighting to reclaim local control of schools and our budget.
