Challengers: Dawn Green
Website: Rasheeda for Colonial
Why do you want to serve on the school board, and what qualifications do you bring to the role?
I am an alum of the district, I have siblings and children that also graduated from the district and I currently have a grandson who is a student at Gunning Bedford. I have deep roots here and I’m eager to help contribute in a greater way to community that gave me such a great foundation. I can see all the exciting work that is happening here and believe the skills I’ve learned over the last 30 years leading, managing, driving large scale teams and programs can help ensure we continue to build on our very bright future!
What specific changes would you want to bring to how the school board currently operates?
I think our current board is well run, I would like to bring more energy and enthusiasm to the meetings to entice more individuals from the public to come out and engage with us. We also have some slight issues with audio/visual that I would tweak as well. We currently have a student “voice” helping on the board, I would also maybe suggest adding a parent or regular community voice to bring updates or focus areas to the board as well.
What specific action is required to address student achievement gaps and support underserved populations (students with disabilities, English language learners, and those from low-income families)?
It’s critical that we have very clear, measurable goals and targeted improvement plans to find and close gaps. We must ensure the board has good monitoring in place to support and hold our leaders accountable to achieve their goals or pivot if something is not working. We also need regular reporting publicly on progress to ensure we keep our parents, students and educators informed of our progress. Lastly, explore bold, new, or diverse ideas to solve problems in a collaborative way.
What specific changes should be made at schools to make the classroom a safer and more effective environment for maximizing learning and instruction (teaching)?
I recently attended a Colonial School Board meeting where our new strategic plan was rolled out. One of our priorities is to focus on student wellness, so students feel safe, supported and connected not just academically, but physically, emotionally, and socially. I think this is the right action step schools should adopt to make the classroom a safer and a more effective learning environment, we should support this work and help ensure it’s success.
Many educators say that not all parents are engaged enough with their children's education. How can the school board create policies that help forge a closer relationship and involvement among parents, their children and educators?
The board can set a clear vision and standards for engagement across the district, while making sure they are not a significant burden to families, make it easier and simpler to build these connections. They can also ensure regular forums are taking place and that district resources are aligned to support these efforts as much as possible.
How do you plan to address chronic absenteeism and student retention, especially in early grades and high school?
By reviewing current data against our established goals, start where we have the most significant gaps and create advisory groups or forums to better understand the problem and develop feasible solutions with clear actions, timelines and accountability. I would also like to research outside of our district or state to identify policies or practices that have worked for others and might give us fresh, new ideas to implement in our district.
School districts oversee multi-million dollar budgets, supported by taxpayers. What steps will you propose to ensure that the money is being spent wisely and efficiently on student instruction?
Detailed reviews of our financials to ensure there is clear transparency and understanding of how funds are being spent as well as the review our current spending guidelines to validate the effectiveness of our processes. Would also propose all board members be trained on interpreting the financial data to add greater input.
What is your stance on standardized testing, and how would you ensure that assessments support student learning rather than drive instruction (“teach to the test”)?
I think standardized testing is a valuable tool for holding schools accountable and a good check to see where the child stands based on their current grade level, but they have to be used properly. I would focus on ensuring we have policies in place to utilize the results of the tests as a tool while putting more emphasis on teaching to the curriculum and standards, so we are not requiring our educators to just focus on passing tests.