Basic Information
Email ANewDawn4BOE@gmail.com
Website ANewDawn4BOE.com
Facebook A-New-Dawn_for-Board-Of-Education
Twitter Dawn_LCPC
Questions & Responses (All Candidates)
1 – What lessons learned do you have since the start of the pandemic?
The biggest lesson learned is that we should never close school buildings or switch to virtual learning again. The impact that school closures and virtual learning had on students, staff, and families is profound. Students’ mental health needs were already present, but now they are at an all-time high. Social and emotional learning and development was stunted. Student achievement is at an all- time low and needs urgent attention.
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?
I would have kept the school buildings open for in-person education and ensured that at-risk students and staff had access to a virtual option if needed.
3 – What do you think are the 3 biggest and most pressing issues facing our county in the next 4 years? Why?
- Learning loss, both academic and social/emotional, because of the extended time school buildings were closed and students had to learn on a screen separated from their peers and teachers.
- Mental health needs of students and the MCPS community at large, which includes teachers and staff. Relatedly, the rise in violence and crime in schools, and the county as a whole.
- Transparency, accountability, and better communication from and between MCPS, County Council, and Department of Health and Human Services. Our infrastructure needs to work together and not against each other.
4 – What specifically do you plan to do in the 3 most pressing areas from Question 3?
These are the main reasons I am running for Board of education. We need better and more comprehensive mental health services in the schools. This will help address social/emotional learning loss, confidence to persevere in the face of academic learning loss, and address underlying issues that contribute to increased crime and violence within the school community. We must talk and listen to the stakeholders, the students, staff, and families of MCPS, so we can fully meet their needs. We are responsible for and to them, and we must work together with County officials to properly get things done.
5 – Would you consider supporting changes to 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?
Absolutely. This is a must so that the voices of all Montgomery County residents are truly represented.
Questions & Responses (MOCO BOE)
1 – What will you do to ensure MCPS is accountable to the BOE for decisions, contracts, and spending?
We need Board members who are willing to ask tough questions and demand the answers to those questions. We need people who aren’t afraid to be the only dissenting voices and who aren’t afraid to vote against the status quo. This means going through everything, particularly the budget, with a fine-toothed comb to ensure that all spending is justified and accounted for, there are no duplications or unnecessary “filler” services, and streamline processes for easier understanding for the community at large.
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)?
Absolutely not.
3 – Do you support the shift from balanced literacy to structured literacy/science of reading?
I support the efforts to ensure that all children receive instruction from teachers trained in the science of reading. To support the shift with reading and literacy, we must also incorporate better and more in-depth screening tools at the younger grades. All students in MCPS should be screened for dyslexia. Early identification and early intervention(s) are the keys to success. Far too many students slip through the cracks. Students may never get diagnosed with dyslexia or may not get diagnosed until a later age when it becomes harder to address, which makes both learning to read and reading to learn a major struggle. If we want to create a lifelong love of reading, we must meet kids where they are and give them the assistance or the challenges that they need.
4 – What is your plan for continued recovery from learning loss and proficiency issues related to covid and virtual?
MCPS needs to offer intensive, in-person tutoring services after school and on weekends. Trying to recover from learning loss due to virtual school with virtual tutoring services is ludicrous. MCPS needs to offer summer school programming to all students at every grade level. MCPS needs to get rid of the “50% rule” and related policies that lead to grade inflation, so that our students are better prepared to deal with life after graduation. MCPS needs to offer more vocational programs in all area high schools to help focus more on and normalize “career readiness” for those that may choose paths other than college.
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?
We need an increase in sub pay and to increase pay for support staff including paraprofessionals, bus drivers, and others. We need to create incentive programs to attract and keep quality teachers. We need to commit to letting teachers teach and bring back the creativity and joy in teaching and learning and move away from constant testing and data collection. We need to change the salary and hiring guidelines so that we aren’t closing the door to highly qualified and experienced staff members.