Please list your occupation.
I’m a retired CMS elementary school teacher as of December 2023.
Please list your connections to or involvement with CMS (children in the district, PTO experience, etc.).
I’m a Charlotte native, former student of CMS, parent of 2 CMS graduates, and until December 2023, an elementary teacher. As a parent and teacher, I was a member of the related PTO’s and a classroom/school volunteer in a variety of capacities. As a teacher, I was a member of NCAE/CMAE; the American Montessori Society, grade level team lead at both schools; for several years, led or served on the school Faculty Advisory Committee, Area Faculty Advisory Committee and on the Superintendent/Teacher Advisory Council. I also led other school based initiatives, such as book clubs and professional development initiatives that supported continued staff development and family engagement efforts. I also served on the School Leadership Team and the PTO advisory board.
Please list your political experience and any education or political advocacy groups you’re affiliated with.
I have no political experience. I have recently engaged with Public Schools Strong, NC as well as updating my NCAE membership to reflect my retirement.
Please list any other relevant professional experience.
My corporate experience encompasses tech implementation, training, end-user design flow, and internal help desk management. Additionally, I have experience in staffing and recruitment, developing a trainee/intern program that included college relationship management, on- campus recruitment activities and intern/trainee program development; operations management, and business process re-engineering. I was also responsible for managing vendor contracts for service providers and capital equipment purchases. The skills and knowledge gained through these experiences combined with my classroom experience uniquely qualifies me to be an effective board member.
Why do you want to serve on the school board?
I re-entered the classroom because I know that education is the key to eliminating poverty and providing people with pathways to better lives. As a retired teacher who continues to be driven by social justice values, serving on the board provides a meaningful and impactful way to improve the lives of students in my home town.
Name one thing you feel CMS currently does well and one thing you would push the district to improve.
The board has successfully stabilized superintendent leadership, addressing a persistent issue that previously caused numerous problems. Their critical work in establishing and implementing the CMS strategic plan has laid a strong foundation for student success. My focus would be on developing more innovative strategies to narrow the student achievement gap across students and schools. Recognizing that socio-economic challenges are not the sole factor, I would explore additional data and information to inform the creation and execution of methods that positively impact student achievement.
In your opinion, what is the CMS school board’s most important function?
The school board’s main function is a governance body that focuses on the hiring and oversight of the school superintendent. The board monitors the superintendent’s effectiveness in meeting the goals of the district and provides the superintendent with feedback and needed support to ensure student achievement goals are met.
What do you think should be CMS’ biggest funding priority? Where should that funding come from?
While teacher salaries are state-controlled and ongoing lobbying is essential to increase pay statewide, CMS should collaborate with County Commissioners to boost the district teacher supplement. CMS competes for teachers not only with neighboring North Carolina districts but also with those across the South Carolina state line, where salaries are considerably higher.
There has recently been uncertainty around school funding from both the state and federal levels. What actions, if any, should the school board take to navigate this uncertainty?
The recent CMS budget demonstrates that the superintendent and board have planned as best they can, for future shortfalls. As the ESSER funds are expiring, adjustments were made so that no teacher positions were lost. This demonstrates a proactive approach that supports the overall goal of providing a quality education to the students of CMS. I would seek community support as the district continues to lobby the state legislature for release of the LEANDRO funding.
How can the board support the closing of performance gaps between high- and low-performing students?
Test scores do not tell the complete story of student achievement and the board should review other factors that contribute to the gaps. For example, how are schools with high numbers of English second language learners meeting the needs of these students? How is student attendance impacting learning and what can be done to support families where attendance is a factor? A curriculum review should certainly be part of any evaluation of student achievement gaps to ascertain if the curriculum and interventions meet the learning needs of young learners as their academic foundation is established. Engaging parents and community members to support struggling students should be a key component of any initiative to close the achievement gaps so many CMS students experience.
The share of students enrolled in public schools is shrinking while private schools and charters have grown in recent years. How should CMS react?
The overarching goal is to make CMS the first choice for parents as they plan for their children’s education.
To do so, public trust in the district must be restored. CMS should increase their efforts to ensure parents and stakeholders are kept fully informed about the successes and the challenges our schools are facing. Parents and stakeholders should learn about significant policy changes (including high profile staff changes) directly from CMS rather than the news outlets. Through my recent public engagement, I’ve heard from many constituents that they don’t feel their concerns are heard when raised to the board. All board members have a responsibility to connect with their constituents to ensure their concerns are raised to the board. Teachers must respond to parent emails within 24 hours, a policy I will continue as a board member.
CMS should prioritize fostering strong community and family partnerships to enhance student education. This involves actively encouraging and facilitating parental engagement through various opportunities, including parental learning initiatives. It is crucial to extend these opportunities to families with non-traditional schedules, making it easier for them to participate. Ultimately, district-wide achievement improvements are irrelevant to families if their individual child's educational needs are not being met.