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?
| My top two priorities are closing the achievement gap, while raising the bar for all students, and retaining and attracting the best educators. After spending more than a decade building effective educational programs across Virginia, I know what works in public education and what will work in Alexandria. Education is my chosen profession. For the past 10 years, I have worked with students, educators, and administrators from nearly every county in the Commonwealth and from all 50 states. I am currently the Director of Civic Education at the Center for the Constitution at James Madison's Montpelier and previously served as an educator leading civics and government classes for middle and high school students at the Close Up Foundation, a non-partisan organization headquartered in Alexandria. Through my work in civic education, I have reached two overarching conclusions: 1.Public school kids who learn in an engaging environment become the next generation of successful citizens, employees and leaders. 2. Public school educators and administrators with a clear, shared mission inspire each other and their students. |
2. What are your two top critiques of the system and how do you intend to address them?
| Issue - Achievement Gap: Alexandria has reduced the achievement gap in some areas like higher enrollment in advanced classes and increased graduation rates; however, the city has declined in others, namely performance in English, math, and science exams. We need to ask tough questions about scores and performance metrics so we can make sound decisions on policy and funding allocation. We will raise the bar for every student, from the top and the bottom. Action - to close the achievement gap: I will fight to close Alexandria’s achievement gap by providing more access to pre-K education, increasing enrollment in advanced classes, meeting special educations needs and goals by providing targeted services, and increasing on-time graduation rates. Issue - Retain and Attract Top Educators: Alexandria schools need motivated and inspired teachers, not teachers who are afraid to tell the truth if something is not working in their school. We need to create a culture of communication where teachers can provide feedback without fear of punishment. Action - to retain and attract the best educators: I want to give these professionals more ownership in education initiatives; improve communications among teachers, parents, school board, and administration; and provide teacher support for students’ individualized education plans (IEPs). |
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?
| There are a number of ways to measure the success of the school. First, a parent can evaluate the school’s test scores on the SOL exams. In Alexandria, our white students do very well on these exams, while our minority, low income, and special education students fall behind. However, this performance gap is improving among the schools in Alexandria. A parent can also look at the on-time graduation rate (the percentage of students who graduate within four years). Earlier this week, the state released results indicating that Alexandria has improved its on-time graduation rate. Finally, Alexandria is moving to a more data-driven evaluation system that measures student growth by measuring student learning throughout the year. This is a great way for a teacher to tailor lessons to individual students and ensure that students understand learning concepts. As a School Board member, I will push for more data-driven evaluations that can help us make the best decisions to improve student learning. |
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?
| Dr. Mort Sherman has big ideas and believes in closing the achievement gap in Alexandria. However, he has not effectively managed change in ACPS by doing too much too fast without the input of stakeholders, especially teachers and parents. Teachers need to have a voice in the decision-making process so that programs are done with them, not to them. We have talented teachers in ACPS who are on the front lines, and we should listen to their opinions. Otherwise, teacher morale and retention are impacted, which directly impacts our children. Likewise, parents need better communication from the schools, giving them a voice in the process of implementing new programs. The School Board must ensure the Superintendent’s programs are focused on quality, not quantity, with each program including a three to five year evaluation plan to assess the outcomes. Likewise, these programs need to be better communicated to the public. Finally, the School Board must insist on more transparency and accountability in the ACPS Central Office under Dr. Sherman’s leadership. |
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 communication, transparency, and candor. The school administration and School Board need to be more transparent and better at communicating its decisions. To accomplish this, I advocate more upfront community involvement about policy decisions before the board takes action. Likewise, the school administration needs to keep its website current with important information for students and families about upcoming events, dates, and school changes. I met a number of families on back-to-school nights who were new to ACPS and felt lost due to a lack of communication. As an informed candidate, I have found the ACPS Twitter feed more up-to-date on upcoming events and calendar items than the ACPS website. This is unacceptable. School websites and the ACPS website need to be updated to better serve the needs of our community. |
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?
| Enrollment in ACPS is growing, making capacity a real challenge facing the next School Board. Currently, Jefferson-Houston and Patrick Henry are funded for expansion. Based on projected enrollments, the city may need to build one to three more schools in the next three to six years, as well as expand existing schools to accommodate projected student growth. A long-term capacity needs study commissioned by the City Council and ACPS will be presented to the public this December. The results from this study will greatly inform the incoming School Board and the City Council about where best to allocate funds for new schools, school expansion, pre-K education, and school district lines. While these decisions will be important, keeping class sizes low and ensuring that families have access to their neighborhood school remains a top priority for me. |
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?
| Closing the achievement gap remains the top challenge for Alexandria. Alexandria should be a leader in education instead of falling behind local counties. Alexandria has reduced the achievement gap in some areas like higher enrollment in advanced classes and increased graduation rates; however, the city has declined in others, namely performance in English, math, and science exams. We need to ask tough questions about scores and performance metrics so we can make sound decisions about policy decisions and where to allocate funding. We will work to raise the bar for every student, from the top and the bottom. As a School Board member, I will keep our budget focused on programs that help to close the achievement gap while raising the bar for all students to succeed. Pre-K education is one of the best ways to close the achievement gap. Alexandria needs to expand its pre-K offering, and ensure access to Pre-K in Alexandria. Once students are in school, we know that summer school and after school tutoring can help close the achievement gap for some of our lowest performing students, but much of that funding has been cut. Programs like AVID that are college readiness programs for low performing students should be expanded. Finally, the Individual Achievement Plan (IAP) is another good example of an initiative that helps students take control of their own learning. |
8. One of the board’s major responsibilities is budgeting. How do you restrain costs and still provide what students need?
| The new School Board must set its priorities so it can make the best budget decisions. While many new programs were implemented in Alexandria in the last couple years, very little measurement data exist on whether these new programs are improving student achievement, making it difficult to make informed decisions about what programs are underfunded and necessary or what programs warrant expansion or elimination. As a School Board member, I will insist that the School Board inventory and evaluate all programs being funded by the school system so it can better allocate resources to programs that close the achievement gap and raise the standards for all students, while finding savings in programs that are not meeting the needs of our students. |
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?
| Enrollment in Alexandria schools is at its highest level this year throughout the schools, including the middle and high schools where we often see a significant drop off. The perception is that many families leave public schools for private schools before their children enter middle school. However, the increased enrollment demonstrates that many families are choosing to stick with the school system. Certainly, there will be some families who still choose private schools, or choose to leave Alexandria for a bigger and more affordable house in surrounding counties. Likewise, there will be families who are not convinced that Alexandria offers the best education. To address this perception, the school administration must improve community communication about the success of the schools, while remaining open and transparent about the areas that still need work. Likewise, the school administration should engage parents more in decision-making, since parents are the best spokespeople for Alexandria schools. |
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?
| Currently, Alexandria requires 20% of teacher’s evaluations be based on student outcomes unless a school is listed as a Persistently Lowest Achieving School (PLA), in which case teachers are evaluated at the 40% level. However, with the waiver Virginia received from No Child Left Behind this summer, Alexandria must raise that level to 40% next year. I support using high-stakes multiple choice tests as one measure for evaluating teacher performance, but not the only measure. Teachers should also be evaluated through classroom observation and peer-to-peer observation. Fellow educators and curriculum specialists are often the best judge of what works and what does not work in the classroom. All of these measures should be taken into account when evaluating a teacher. I am encouraged by Alexandria’s new teacher evaluation model that evaluates educators in seven categories based on their professional knowledge, instructional planning, instructional delivery, assessment of student learning, learning environment, professionalism, and student academic progress. This plan requires teachers to have a professional learning plan (PLP) that will target the growth of the individual teacher and student needs. |
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 School Board needs to work with the Superintendent and school principals to ensure that each school has the right resources to serve students with special needs. It is the responsibility of the school principal to know how many students need additional services and to communicate that need to the administration. If a school is not meeting the special education needs of the children, the Superintendent must act to provide additional services to meet the student needs. Likewise, I have heard that Alexandria does the state mandated minimum to meet the needs of children with special needs. If elected, I want to evaluate what Alexandria is doing to serve children with special needs and ensure that we are doing more than just the state mandated minimum. |
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?
| To improve communication to families of younger children, the school administration must focus on communicating the success of the schools, while remaining open and transparent about the areas that still need work. Likewise, the school administration should engage parents more in decision-making since parents are the best spokespeople for Alexandria schools. |
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 School Board needs to be more transparent and better at communicating its decisions. In particular, I would have been more transparent about the School Board’s unanimous support for the Superintendent after the management of capital improvement funds and adult learning programs were called into question. While personnel decisions must be confidential, the School Board could have been clearer as to why the mistakes were made, how mistakes like these will be avoided in the future, and what corrective actions the School Board is requiring the Superintendent to take. |
