Challenger: Cindy McKenzie
Why do you want to serve on the school board, and what qualifications do you bring to the role?
I decided to run for school board for a couple of reasons. First, I want to be involved in policies that affect people’s lives. Second, I have been through the public education system myself in this country and have turned that into a high level engineering job. I want these kids in the school district to get a similar experience and the best way I can help achieve that is by running and implementing policies to achieve this goal.
I got my degree in chemical engineering from Drexel University in Philadelphia in 2019. I currently work as a quality systems engineer for Qnity(formerly DuPont) at their plant up in the Tralee Park/Newark area.
What specific changes would you want to bring to how the school board currently operates?
II want to try and get more kids involved with STEM programs by trying to get collaboration with the local universities/colleges in the area and trying to advance financial literacy education. I commend the work that Representative Hilolvsky has done via HB 203 to tackle this issue but I think we can push the agenda on this even more in our schools.
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)?
We need to adapt teaching styles to match with the individuals mentioned above in your question.
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 think moving to project based learning rather than having lectures teach to the curriculum would be the best way to address this issue.
I believe that project based learning will help increase student collaboration.
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?
I think I’d like to try to work on creating a positive and consistent two way communication system.
I would try to use communication not only for just disciplinary issues but also for positive feedback from teachers on how students are doing.
How do you plan to address chronic absenteeism and student retention, especially in early grades and high school?
I would try and do some type of personal outreach via counselors and mentors!
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?
I will try and ensure that we have regular audits to ensure that any unnecessary spending is not gone unnoticed.
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 believe that it is a limited tool in assessing student knowledge and does not tell the “full story” of their intellectual capabilities.
I personally believe that we need to tailor the curriculum around the learning standards, rather than standardized testing.
Additional Sources of Information About This Candidate
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