Campaign Phone
2023162528
My years as a businesswoman in Montgomery County have given me firsthand insight into the challenges and opportunities facing our schools. As an affinity group facilitator at my child’s school and a parent of two children who graduated from MCPS elementary schools, I understand our community well. My experience in business administration and parent advocacy prepares me to support strong academics, fiscal responsibility, and safe, inclusive learning environments.
I would support integrating AI-powered media literacy tools in classrooms to help students analyze sources, detect bias, and identify misinformation. Students can compare claims with verified databases, evaluate credibility indicators, and recognize deepfakes. These tools should be paired with lessons on how AI works, its limits, and ethical use so students learn to question and verify information.
I support expanding early literacy and numeracy programs, targeted tutoring for struggling students, and enrichment opportunities for advanced learners. Investing in high-quality teachers through professional development, using responsible AI and technology, and strengthening after-school and summer learning can help close achievement gaps. Data-driven instruction and strong partnerships with families will help ensure every student succeeds.
I support clear behavior expectations, restorative practices, and strong anti-bullying programs so every student feels safe and respected. Expanding mental health services, training staff in conflict resolution, and encouraging student leadership will strengthen school culture. Partnerships with families and community organizations will help promote accountability, respect, and well-being for all students.
The biggest challenge facing Montgomery County Public Schools is closing persistent achievement gaps while maintaining high standards for every student. I support targeted tutoring, stronger early literacy programs, and responsible use of AI tools to personalize learning. Strengthening support for teachers, using data to guide instruction, and partnering with families will help ensure all students have the opportunity to succeed.
Campaign Twitter
@BrettDiResta
Campaign Phone
3017675610
Campaign Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/brettdirestamd/
As a 3-time MCPS parent, an educator, a small businessman, and a political professional, I am prepared for the Board of Education.
I've spent decades in my community as a PTA member, a Little League baseball coach, and a member of the Nominating Committee for Montgomery College Board of Trustees.
For 16 years, I've been an adjunct professor, lecturing at GW and the University of San Francisco.
In politics, I've spent 3 decades working on campaigns opposing strongman figures.
Keeping our children ahead of the digital curve is a cornerstone of my campaign. AI isn’t coming; it is already here. We need to prepare our kids for the future. I will push for a modern curriculum that helps familiarize students with AI without making them overly reliant on it.
Digital literacy also means protecting our kids from the current online landscape. We must help kids identify and use trustworthy sources while removing harmful technology, such as phones, from the classroom.
I believe we need to demand both equity and excellence.
To that end, I support the regionality study, which provides equal access to key programs to all students, regardless of their zip code.
We need to make midterms and finals standard again across the county. Too many of our kids are entering college at a disadvantage.
Lastly, we need to enhance current pathways for students who won't be attending college. MCPS needs to provide options for every student, not just those attending college.
There has been an unfortunate rise in bias, especially antisemitism, in MCPS. It is incumbent on the Board to work to eradicate these issues.
I want to pass a county-level bill like Maryland's Stop the Hate Act, which seeks to dismantle antisemitism through education.
I would also work to improve antibias training, making it part of continuing education, so teachers can spot trouble early, ending it before it metastasizes.
MCPS faces several challenges - from overcrowded classrooms to disappointing test results to the rising tide of hate and antisemitism. In my view, our biggest sin is the over $1 billion backlog in repairs to fix our crumbling schools.
Montgomery County schoolchildren should not be attending class in portables or dilapidated buildings. If elected, I will work to increase bonding to help pay for needed repairs. In addition, I will also look for efficiencies of scale for construction.
Campaign Phone
2405415550
I attended and recently graduated from MCPS schools after 11 years. I’ve lived through the gap between what Board policy says and what students actually experience. Perspective like that is rare in a Board member, and it’s exactly what this county needs. Similarly, I have been reflecting on what my education prepared me for, and my goal is to help shape the education of current and future generations based on my recent experience in MCPS.
A new programme is not the answer. Evaluating sources, reasoning with evidence, and differentiating argument from fact are all life skills that MCPS already teaches or reinforces in every English, history, and science class.
If MCPS is teaching these subjects well, students are building that capacity. My focus would be on ensuring they are.
Optimising achievement is a laudable goal, though it means executing the basics well: safer classrooms, empowering our wonderful teachers, and reporting performance correctly. Not necessarily a new programme.
Gaps exist; I want to understand why before proposing solutions. Historically, the Board has pushed for new initiatives over best practices before honestly addressing that.
I support transparency that makes underperformance visible and accountable.
Safe and respectful learning environments are critical to learning. Recently, MCPS has become inconsistent in expectations and consequences, and students have lost faith in the system. Teachers need to know that the administration has their back, and students need to understand that in MCPS, disrupting a classroom has consequences.
I support clear and consistent enforcement of the Code of Conduct.
The biggest challenge is a Board that has simply lost focus. Whilst the MCPS budget has been steadily growing, standards have slipped, classroom order is declining, and families struggle to get honest answers about how their child is performing. That doesn’t sound right.
Addressing that starts with the Board being willing to ask hard questions, demand honest answers, and govern with conviction. That’s what I will be doing.
Campaign Phone
3019066144
Campaign Instagram
@sally4boe
I'm a lifelong resident & committed to public education. I'm the daughter of MCPS teachers; Wootton grad; married to MCPS graduate; mom of MCPS graduates. My professional & volunteer career is in education. I have a PhD in Ed Policy from UMD, worked in state government relations & higher ed policy research, adjunct UMD faculty. I spent 14 years working w/ Montgomery County Council of PTAs in board roles. Created & lead joint MCPS -community work groups for facilities, safety & school climate.
Schools should challenge and transform students’ passive data use into active, critical use by infusing skills into daily instruction, including the ability to scrutinize content for misinformation, misuse & potential harm. I support digital safety, guardrails on classroom tech use, AI & research-based best practices. I would require an annual public review of the recently adopted BOE Ed Tech Policy in order to align w/ current research & adapt to meet changes in technology & curriculum.
Addressing the opportunity/achievement gap requires a comprehensive focus on early learning. I support budgets w/ strategic approaches in grades Pk-3 like reducing class size, adding Special Ed Resource & Math content professionals. MCPS must fully implement new reading curriculum at all levels & allot teacher prep time for upcoming new math mandates. Secondary students must receive accessible supports & timely information about transitioning to the massive, new MCPS Regional Programs Model.
School climate & physical building safety requires a layered approach. Safe & respectful class climates begin w/ full implementation of hate/bias professional learning & curriculum content changes, with ongoing data review by BOE w/stakeholder input. Physical safety requires budget investments in building maintenance, training & support for security & school staff, annual school security reviews & following the required data reviews of the Superintendent's agreement w/ local law enforcement.
MCPS’s primary challenge is prioritizing & budgeting for schools with unrelenting fiscal constraints & safety issues. I am not deterred; I am fully committed to the work. My approach is a shift in oversight, collaborating while asking questions, demanding ongoing, data based assessment, sticking to timelines, willingness to scale up successful programs & sunset the unsuccessful, seeking inclusive input, work w/ County to craft solutions & make difficult decisions that don't hold us back.
Campaign Phone
8633255410
Campaign Instagram
@Vote4Cassi
My background in legal marketing has prepared me well for the Board of Education, I specialize in breaking down silos, making data accessible, and aligning diverse stakeholders around shared goals. I bring that same collaborative, data-driven approach to education leadership. As a neurodivergent mom of two with a daughter just entering kindergarten, I have both the professional skills and deep personal investment to ensure Montgomery County schools work for every child.
Digital literacy means teaching students to question not just what information says, but why it's being presented that way - critical thinking skills essential for life. Rather than reinventing the wheel, I'll champion proven models like Finland's disinformation education curriculum and advocate for embedding media literacy across all subjects, helping students confidently distinguish reliable sources from mis- and disinformation.
Promoting safe, respectful learning environments means focusing on the positive. I'll support School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS), strengthen home-school communication and partnership, and deepen the cultural competency our educators already bring - building on their commitment to ensure every student and family feels truly seen, celebrated, and supported. When schools reflect their communities, everyone thrives.
Promoting safe, respectful learning environments means focusing on the positive. I'll support School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS), strengthen home-school communication and partnership, and deepen the cultural competency our educators already bring - building on their commitment to ensure every student and family feels truly seen, celebrated, and supported. When schools reflect their communities, everyone thrives.
The biggest challenge is rebuilding our post-COVID community, children's socialization and families' support systems were fractured in ways we're still feeling. I'll address this by strengthening wraparound supports: free after-school intervention, feeding programs, and parent workshops that equip families as partners in learning. I'll also champion responsible AI guardrails, evidence-based literacy support, and social-emotional learning that builds ethics, empathy, and community.
