1. What are your top two priorities for the school board and what skills do you bring to the
board to help you achieve them?
board to help you achieve them?
| Early childhood learning is one of my biggest goals. Every child should attend preschool we have ct work harder on creating more preschool options for our kids. Also working harder with k-2 grades to encourage there learning by more after school structured activities. Another priority is to address overcrowding for this we can get real creative. There are so many different ideas would love to be apart of this discussion to fix this. |
2. What are your two top critiques of the system and how do you intend to address them?
| Parent and community engagement. We have to engage everyone it takes a village to raise a child. |
3. Parents want to understand how Alexandria measures the success of its schools. They also want to know if they are sending their child to a good school. What measures of achievement are now being used? Are they adequate or are additional metrics needed?
| We have way to many test I honestly need to learn more about them and how they benefit both the child and teacher. |
4. One of the school board’s major responsibilities is overseeing and managing the superintendent. What do you believe is the right relationship between the school board and the superintendent?
| It is very important that we all work as a team. We must ask questions and understand before we make decessions. |
5. Superintendent Sherman stated that, “Our community and students deserve candor and a complete picture when it comes to looking at school and division performance.” On a scale of A to F, how would you grade the school administration on communication, transparency, and candor? If you give a grade less than A, what changes to improve the situation would you recommend?
| I would give admin a C also an A for effort with the launch of face centers. They are trying it however is going to take all of us to get the message out. |
6. Because of big enrollment increases in recent years, Alexandria’s elementary schools are bursting at the seams. But these enrollment increases appear to be limiting elementary school choice. How would you address the capacity challenges facing the schools and their effects on parental choice?
| We need to work with city council to get funding and land for new schools. Modulars are also a great addition to our schools. |
7. Superintendent Sherman said in October 2011that “eliminating academic achievement differences among race, income, disability and language subgroups must be the highest priority.” This, he said, is “an educational and moral imperative.” Schools across America are struggling to close this achievement gap. Do you believe that Alexandria has been making progress in closing its achievement gaps? If so, what are the best examples? Where and in what areas do we need to do more?
| I sit on the student achievement advisory committee and listening to the conversations there is one reason I wanted to run. Our committee made some wonderful recommendations to the current school board and if elected I would make sure the current board will be aware of our recommendations so webcan work on implementing and or improving our recommendations. |
8. One of the board’s major responsibilities is budgeting. How do you restrain costs and still provide what students need?
| This question is very hard for me to answer cutting funds to one program no matter how many children it effects trickles into the budget some way to raise cost. I am glad I have been on a board so my understanding of the budget in and outs I have experience with. |
9. Despite increasing enrollment, there is a perception that some parents continue to question the quality of Alexandria’s public schools and send their children to private school or to a public school elsewhere. Is this perception accurate, and if so, what can and should the school system do, if anything, to convince these families to stay in Alexandria schools?
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10. There is pressure on school systems to develop rigorous teacher evaluation systems. Virginia requires that 40% of a teacher’s evaluation be based on student outcomes. Because the state allows districts some flexibility in determining those outcomes, what makes sense for Alexandria?
| Teachers evalutaion at 40% for student outcome is low to me. Job performance shows in the growth of every child. |
11. Despite much effort, many parents of special needs children do not feel satisfied with the services being provided to their children. Indeed, this is evidenced by the fact that parents are often seeking redress in the courts. What do you think the school board can do to address the issues with the system’s efforts to help children with special needs.
| First they need to educate themselves on special needs children by looking at policies around the country. Its very hard to believe the difference in tag classrooms and learning disabled classes. Learning disabled services are mandatory yet teachers have to share rooms with other teachers in different grades that is causing a big disadvantage for those kids. |
12. Despite the increase in enrollment, there are families of young children who still have doubts about ACPS and plan on sending their children to private schools or move out of the city. How can ACPS improve its communication to families of younger children?
| ACPS needs a better PR team. We need a team to shout about the great accomplishments and growths we have made. Included in that we need to be more proactive of meeting the community where they are which is as simple as going out to the markets, parades, and fairs. |
13. What is the one decision made by the board in the last six years that you disagreed with and how would you have voted differently?
| The cuts made to our year round program is a decision I have disagreed with. The year round program worked at helping our grades improve cutting a program that works and the whole school community believes strongly in should not be cut. Test scores at Tucker went down after the reduction in intersession that alone showed how much 1 week makes and instead of adding that week back they choose to cut it another week. |
