Basic Information
Email JG@jayguan4boe.com
Website jayguan4boe.com
Facebook facebook.com/JG4boe
Twitter @jayguan4boe
Questions & Responses (All Candidates)
1 – What lessons learned do you have since the start of the pandemic?
The importance of safe, effective, and sustainable MCPS operations, and transparency in decision making.
2 – If you could go back and do one thing differently from what was done in the last two years in Montgomery County, what would you change?
Given what we now know about the impact of learning disruptions, one do-over I
would do is to restart full in-person education sooner.
3 – What do you think are the 3 biggest and most pressing issues facing our county in the next 4 years? Why?
MCPS is our county’s brand. If I were elected to Board of Education, I will work with the Superintendent to make MCPS operations more resilient against labor shortages and future public health events. We need to make our schools safer and more climate friendly by implement much needed facility upgrades (i.e. HVAC and air filter).
I will also work to increase transparency decision-making process and community engagement. We need to consistently and succinctly communicate our intent, criteria and information, and how these criteria and information are used in the process.
Lastly, I will work to make it easier to access academic performance, operational, and demographic data. The community should not have to go through a MPIA/FOIA request, or try to extract data from a simplified dashboard with a difficult-to-use tool to receive this data. Our community is full of people with the skills to analyze and visualize these data sets in ways we have neve thought of before. To keep these data tucked away is a great loss to MCPS.
4 – What specifically do you plan to do in the 3 most pressing areas from Question 3?
To make data easier to access and usable, we need to move away from simply publishing/dumping data in PDFs. We need the ability to download these data in some workable/process-able format as a starting point.
To make the decision process more transparent, I would work with MCPS and the board to consistently and succinctly communicate intent, criteria and information, and how these criteria and information are used in the process.
I will work with the Superintendent to make MCPS operations upgrade some of our aging infrastructure/school buildings. Improvements such as lead-free water filling stations, HVAC, and school buildings are long overdue.
5 – Would you consider supporting changes to the electoral process such as open primaries or non-partisan elections in Montgomery County to allow 155,000+ registered Unaffiliated/Independents in Montgomery County to vote locally when it counts?
While I would have no power over how local elections and primaries are conducted if I were to be elected as a Board of Education member, as an individual, I am interested in reforms that will increase participation in our local elections.
Questions & Responses (BOE)
1 – What will you do to ensure MCPS is accountable to the BOE for decisions, contracts, and spending?
I think that transparency is key. To that end, periodic audits should be conducted and its results published.
2 – Would you ever consider going fully virtual again given the costs seen in hindsight (increased mental health issues, lowered test scores, and increased violence)?
I would go back to fully virtual only if we no longer have adequate staff to sustain effective MCPS operations.
3 – Do you support the shift from balanced literacy to structured literacy/science of reading?
Yes.
4 – What is your plan for continued recovery from learning loss and proficiency issues related to covid and virtual?
Many strategies, such as extended school, are being evaluated and implemented. While we implement these strategies, I think it’s important that we can accurately capture student performance and progress. Thus, I think we need to revisit our grading policy to make sure that it indeed captures the real picture.
5 – What do you think MCPS should do to deal with staffing issues, subs, and make MCPS a place that people seek out for employment again?
Traditionally, many MCPS positions required professional licensure and/or certification. One thing we should do is to review if these requirements are blocking out qualified potential applicants with relevant working experience. Furthermore, we should establish internship programs for teachers and mental
health professionals, and recruit the recently graduated/about-to-graduate professionals to them. For example, many mental professional licensures require accumulation of clinical hours under a supervised environment. MCPS can set up a program and recruit those who are working toward their full licensure, and retain them when they are fully licensed.