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?
| The top challenge facing ACPS is addressing parents and residents’ concerns. I will put parents and residents’ concerns before school administration concerns. I have been to school board meetings and watched parents leave without being heard because they ran out of babysitter time before their chance to speak came up. Community comments need to come first at school board meetings and the meetings need to be more accessible for parents. One parent concern is supporting teachers. I will support teachers so they can help our children succeed. I will speed the integration of useful technology into the classroom. Teachers are forced to spend too much time on administrative tasks when they want to be teaching. A concern of residents is the budget. I will make sure the budget is simpler and more specific. It is too hard to figure out what the school board spends tax dollars on. The budget will be indexed and summarized, similar to the city budget, to allow parents and the community to know where the dollars are going. |
2. What are your two top critiques of the system and how do you intend to address them?
| The top critique facing ACPS is addressing parents and residents’ concerns. I will put parents and residents’ concerns before school administration concerns. I have been to school board meetings and watched parents leave without being heard because they ran out of babysitter time before their chance to speak came up. Community comments need to come first at school board meetings. One parent concern is supporting teachers. I will support teachers so they can help our children succeed. I will speed the integration of useful technology into the classroom. Teachers are forced to spend too much time on administrative tasks when they want to be teaching. A concern of residents is the budget. I will make sure the budget is simpler and more specific. It is too hard to figure out what the school board spends tax dollars on. The budget will be indexed and summarized, similar to the city budget, to allow parents and the community to know where the dollars are going. |
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?
| Right now I believe there are too many specialized metrics for school performance. Parents and students are confused by the number of specialty tests that do not give a holistic assessment of a school. There are sufficient amounts of measuring available between the State of Virginia Standards of Learning test results, the Virginia School Report card and what is shown on the ACPS web site, however there needs to be an easy way to access those measures and review them for comparison. I do not favor the direct competition shown by putting all the ratings on one page, but parents and students need to be able to know how their school compares with just a few clicks. |
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?
| Mr. Sherman has been working hard to improve student learning and testing outcomes. With better supervision I believe he can improve by listening to parents and heeding their advice and concerns. I will work hard to help superintendent Sherman complete the work he came to Alexandria to do, improve the Alexandria school system and provide a supportive learning environment for our students. The school board and the superintendent need to be a team. However, unlike a traditional team, there are nine coaches and one athlete. The School board is responsible for planning the plays and deciding strategy, the superintendent is responsible for making the strategy work on the ground. All members need to communicate and work together in order to have a winning team. I think the Alexandria school board can be an effective coach for the superintendent. |
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 the administration a “C” on transparency and candor. Looking at the most recent Superintendent’s message, it appears that our students have scored better than ever on the SATs. He mentions that SAT scores have improved, but if you review the data, you will discover that the scores have only improved to be equal to what they were in 2010, and still lag behind the scores of 2006. While the superintendent’s statement is truthful and correct, it is not a clear picture of the testing trends. I believe problems exist and the administration needs to be forthright with the information. I think better school board oversight will lead to greater transparency. Greater transparency will lead to a realistic assessment of the current situation. Then plans can be developed and implemented to solve the problems. |
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?
| I believe the first step is to gather feedback from the parents and ask them what they would like to see happen. However, due to the reality of budgetary constraints, not all solutions may be viable. I would like to see an open discussion of those matters with parents so they can have input into the decisions that affect their children. |
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?
| It appears Alexandria is making progress in addressing achievement gaps. One example is Cora Kelly school. Cora Kelly has implemented a Science Technology, Engineering and Math system that is helping students across the economic spectrum succeed. This example proves this can be done. While it will be a challenge, this model could be used to address the gap at our remaining low performing schools. |
8. One of the board’s major responsibilities is budgeting. How do you restrain costs and still provide what students need?
| Thankfully, Alexandria is second highest in the Washington Area Boards of education spending per pupil. That means with careful management and sound budgeting, there should be money to improve the school system and increase capacity so that the students can progress and succeed. I will restrain costs by paying attention to basics first. If we cover the basics first, there will still be funds left over to provide for educational opportunities. |
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?
| From my discussions with parents, as well as a review of the enrollment data, it appears parents are satisfied enough with the Alexandria public schools until middle school when they feel the need to supplement their children’s education. Once they begin 7th grade the students require more than parents are able to contribute on their own and believe it is worth the expense to pay for alternate schooling. At this point parents are not confident that the Alexandria public schools will provide their children with the tools they need. By increasing the performance of schools and making the information easily accessible to parents these families may keep their children in the Alexandria public school system. |
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?
| I do not believe that student outcomes need to be determined by passing a year end test. For example, if a student is testing at math three years below grade level at the end of the previous year and the teacher, student and parent work to increase the student’s math level to almost grade level, I would call that success. The test at the end of the year may still show the student is behind, but the increase in performance is a success that should reflect in a teacher’s evaluation. |
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.
| The top challenge facing ACPS is addressing parents concerns. Parents of children in special education are no different. I will put parents concerns before school administration concerns. By addressing parents concerns they will be happier with the system. Additionally, if there is a problem that cannot be solved, they will know what the problem is and can participate in reducing or avoiding the problem. |
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?
| The top challenge facing ACPS is addressing parents and residents’ concerns. I will put parents and residents’ concerns before school administration concerns. I will work to involve parents and work to implement parental suggestions. The improved atmosphere will be apparent to parents of young children. With an improved atmosphere, parents of young children will be ready to trust their children to the Alexandria school system because they will know their children will get a great education. |
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?
| I disagree with the school board decision in September 2011 to extend the contract of the superintendent until June 2015. By extending the contract well beyond their own term of office they impinged on the ability of the incoming school board to motivate and work with the superintendent. If the school board thought the superintendent was effective they should have renewed his contract to the end of their term, not two thirds of the way through the incoming school board’s term. |
