Issues & Concerns
District 5 is in need of a school board member who cares about parents, our children and their education and safety. We have so many amazing teachers who are passionate and dedicated to educating and caring for your child. Please join me in this endeavor...
Quality Education
Curriculum & Textbooks
Our children need to be educated, not indoctrinated. They need to be taught critical thinking skills, not told what to think. They need Math that makes sense. Teachers need curriculum and textbooks that enhance learning. Our library books should embrace the innocence of youth and reflect family values, not obscene pictures, that even I am embarrassed to look at. Parents should have the right to control what and when they teach their children about sexuality! Our children need to be protected and safe guarded from mature material.
In 15 years, NC public schools have plummeted from 12th to 38th in national ranking.
Since the 2014-2015 school year:
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3rd grade reading proficiency has declined by 8%
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3rd grade math proficiency has declined by 15%
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Math 1 proficiency has declined by 51%.
Last year, only 45 % of K-12 students passed their end-of-grade tests.
This is why families are leaving Wake County Public Schools and seeking a different education model.
Budgetary Responsibility
I have been studying the budget and am outraged at the blatant mismanagement of funds. There is too much money being spent in the administrative branch, while our teachers are in the trenches without assistants, we're in dire need of dedicated bus drivers and our cafeteria workers are shorthanded. We don't even have enough teachers for each classroom.
Parental Involvement
The present school board has alienated many parents with their apparent apathy.
We don't have enough subs and
teachers are exhausted because there is little support from the sidelines.
While at the school board meeting on June 7th, I was astounded to hear Jim Martin, the District 5 board member, rant that parents should not have any control over their child's education. Sadly, his rhetoric was not denounced by any other board member present.
As your representative, I will do my best to involve you, the parent, in your child's education. Due to the complexities of the issues we face, we may not always agree, but I will listen to your concerns. You, as a parent or guardian, should be a part of your child's educational journey. Children should NEVER be encouraged by their teachers to have secrets from their parents.
Transparency in all aspects...there should be no secrets or hidden agendas!
Learning Loss
My grandson lost an entire year of education. I know, because I was there, front and center! How many of you remember helping your little ones log on to the computer? I actually wrote a letter to Governor Cooper, describing the degree of difficulty required for our young children to simply log into class, especially the children who were just beginning to learn to read. They could not do it alone, forcing parents across Wake county to alter their schedules in order to accommodate remote learning.
Our amazing teachers worked diligently to educate our children, but the process was less than ideal.
June 2021, 40% of Wake County third grade students were not proficient in Reading, 48% were not proficient in Math.
How about our high school students?
What were they really doing with their cameras turned off...sleeping, texting their friends...? How many of our children failed a class or two during remote learning?
The statistics speak clearly of the learning loss our children experienced and are still struggling with. Sadly, many of our graduates are not proficient in English or Math and are having to take prerequisite classes when they get to college.
June 2021: 30% of students were NOT proficient in English II,
78% of students were not proficient in Math I. You can find these statistics on the WCPSS website.
We have to do better! As your school board representative my priorities must focus on teaching our children how to read, how to write, and how to comprehend the basic concepts of Math.