Good morning Kossacks...I want to share this great news with you. I have decided to run for a local seat in my community. On January 5, 2009, I will submit my name for candidacy for an open school board seat in Charlotte, NC.
In the recent national election, a local school board candidate ran for and won a county commission seat. There has been a lot of criticism for this particular school board and the media has accused them of serious partisanship when it comes to making decisions that affect the area's children.
Local news story
But I have decided to run because (gratuitous talking points to follow)
* I would work daily to ensure that our students are prepared to succeed in society, functioning as leaders in their communities.
I believe that we can ensure their futures by providing creative outlets of expression and providing positive examples of leaders for them to look up to.
Current initiatives at CMS are working, but with keen oversight, we can be more successful. I believe that my role on the board would be to foster teamwork and set aside partisan ideology to work specifically for the students.
* I bring a level of diversity to the board that is desired from the Mecklenburg community. The county's make-up consists of Democrats, Republicans and Independents; White, Black, Hispanic and Asians; native Mecklenburgers and recent relocatees. I am proud to say that I could fully represent those who have not felt that they have had a voice in the past and I would be proud to do so if approved.
and finally,
* I believe that a key to our success as a district will be to hold our superintendent accountable, but that we must give him goals to account for. We can easily measure success with clearly defined goals that are based in research, not emotion.
As a candidate, I have to complete an application and present my reasons for wanting to be on the board (in 3 minutes!) and hope for the best. If you would like to help me and my candidacy, you can do so by emailing the current school board members as they will be making their decision on Jan 7, 2009. Now of course, you cannot speak to my professionalism and you don't know me personally, but you do know is that we share common principles because we are Kossacks.
You can learn more about my candidacy at Jenifer Daniels for CMS - click on the apple!
---updated, based on a question about specifics enclosed----
Oh, and being a Kossaack doesn't mean that you all think alike but that YOU THINK! :-)
An initial initiative of mine stems around the lack of diversity in teachers.
The average teacher in CLT is a white female, age 42. With the student population consisting of 68% AfAm, CMS students often do not have a leader reflective of their community teaching them. I wish to work the superintendent to develop a recruitment program to enlist diverse teachers to assist the growing populations of CMS (AfAm, Latino, Asian).
Also, the CMS board just passed regulation stating that students only need 24 credits to graduate, effectively eliminating the foreign language requirement for high school graduates. Now a student can stick around and take these extra classes...but let's get real - who will? I wish to work vigorously to see if this can't be overturned or devise a workable plan to ensure that all students who wish to enroll in college are aware of the requirements that colleges require.
The school board for CMS serves as a governing body for the schools and votes on the budget, hires the superintendent and holds them accountable.
I believe that the school board also serves as a champion for the students and that if they believe in students first, all partisanship will subside. That hasn't always been the case and I believe that a fresh voice should be added to the board. Some board members have served for over 10 years while the achievement gap for students has grown.