Candidates for three open seats on the Montgomery County Board of Education spoke during a virtual forum Thursday night about everything from the teen mental health crisis and the racial achievement gap to school safety and the role of parent input in schools. We discussed various issues.
Thirteen of the 14 candidates running for three school board seats in the May 14 primary election attended the forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Montgomery County.
Tania Bui, co-founder of Asian American Mobilization, Organizing, Voting, and Empowerment (AAMOVE), moderated Thursday night’s discussion. AAMOVE is a Maryland-based organization that promotes civic engagement and diversity. The candidate had 30 seconds to answer each question and one minute for a final statement.
Teen mental health crisis
When asked how they would address the impact of the teen mental health crisis on students in Montgomery County Public Schools, many candidates cited the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and isolation. They said teens need to feel connected to their communities through after-school programs and school partnerships with local nonprofits that provide counseling and empowerment opportunities.
Zimmerman, who is running for the District 2 seat, said the mental health crisis is largely due to MCPS not meeting state-recommended ratios for school counselors, psychologists and social workers. .
“Not only are we understaffed, but our staffing rates are not meeting nationally recommended standards,” she said.
Zimmerman also said he is interested in creating mental health waiver days and increasing peer-to-peer support groups for students. MCPS students are currently allowed to take sick leave from school for mental health reasons, and their absences are excused.
Kim, who is running for at-large office, said the school board will “ensure that the board of education creates educational programs and [teens] got engaged.
“Students need to feel like they belong and that they matter in our school system,” Kim said. “They need to feel known not only by adults and students, but also by other teachers.”
Mandel, who is running for the District 4 seat, said he disagrees with other candidates who point to COVID-19 as a major factor in the teen mental health crisis. Mandel said the pandemic was not the problem, but the district’s response to the pandemic, which resulted in virtual learning for much of the 2020-2021 school year.
“We told our students that school is not essential, it’s not important. It’s time for them to be put last and for people in our district to start with families and students first,” she said. I did.
close the achievement gap
Candidates also focused on how to approach closing the ongoing achievement gap between white and Asian students and black and brown students.
“We need to make the most of the data and resources that are equitably distributed across the county for the benefit of the children who need it most,” said Scott, running for a fourth term as District 2 representative. said Smondrowski. We target support systems and regularly assess children’s needs as the county continues to evolve. ”
Stewart, who is running for the District 4 seat, said a key approach is to expand preschool, a key component of Maryland’s future education reform bill passed in 2018. That’s the goal.
Universal kindergarten “needs to be funded by the state as well,” she said.
Stewart also said the district must begin “building early warning systems and intervention teams” for parents of students who are falling behind and “partner with nonprofit organizations to close the tutoring gap.” He said there is.
Harris, an incumbent at-large councilor running for a second term, emphasized the importance of providing advanced programming and career opportunities throughout the county’s schools.
“I strongly believe that we need to completely rethink how we deliver opportunities and programs within our system, and that all of the great opportunities that MCPS offers are truly geographically accessible to all students. “It has to be,” she said. “So no matter where you live, you can get there without having to take an hour-plus bus ride and it won’t be a barrier.”
Mui echoed Harris’ sentiments and said career and technical education facilities and programs would be spread out across the county so students wouldn’t have to travel far to participate.
school safety
School safety has been at the forefront of community and school board conversations in recent months. When candidates were asked how they would work to ensure the safety of all MCPS schools and their position on having police officers in schools, many spoke about the current Community Engagement Officer program. Students and police expressed a desire for more data and called for stronger relationships between schools and administrators.
Starting with the 2021-2022 school year, MCPS will eliminate School Resource Officers (SROs), which are police officers who were stationed at county high schools, and will allow officers to patrol schools in clusters but not remain on campus.・Introduced an engagement officer program. School building.
“What I think needs to happen is the community engagement director needs to have a dialogue with the principal and the security teams that are currently in the schools,” said Evans, the District 4 incumbent running for a second term. ” he said. “We make sure that we have a relationship where families and students know they are in school and feel safe coming to school.”
Hidayat, who has more than 20 years of experience as a county police officer, expressed support for bringing back SROs in schools.
“We should start by being honest about the SRO program,” said Hidayat, who is running for the at-large seat. “The SROs saw the students and cared about the students. That’s the reality of the program. They were great and built great relationships.”
Diaz, who is running for the District 2 seat, echoed Hidayat’s sentiments, saying he was “very disappointed when the board decided to ignore the proposal.” [Montgomery County Association of Administrators and Principals (MCAAP)] It was recommended that SROs remain in school buildings. ”
“When I taught at Gaithersburg High School, I saw how SROs built relationships with students and teachers and kept the building safe. I would love to see SROs back.” she said.
The role of parent input
Another hotly debated topic was parental opinion and whether parents could opt out of their children from instruction or materials they disagreed with or deemed inappropriate. Families protested last summer after the school board strengthened its position that parents should not be allowed to opt their children out of LGBTQ+-inclusive curriculum, and nearly every school board meeting since the decision was made. has submitted testimony opposing the policy.
Incumbents Harris, Smondrowski and Evans supported the board’s position on the no-opt-out policy. Evans said she believes there is an opportunity to talk more with parents and families who support opt-out policies to “find out where our interests align and find better ways to disagree.” Ta.
Hidayat, who disagrees with the policy, said the school board chose to “take an aggressive approach towards people of faith” in its decision.
“If we really value diversity and inclusion, that includes people of faith, and I think the school board should respect that,” he said.
Tioe, who is running for the District 2 seat, said she hopes the school board will adopt an opt-out policy. “I object to the fact that MCPS is stripping parents of their rights and forcing them to teach their children things that are against their religion and conscience,” she said.
Mofo, who is running for the at-large seat, also “strongly” supports parents having the right to opt their children out of instruction and materials that go against their beliefs. However, he did not support removing the inclusive curriculum and suggested it be added to the health curriculum.
“Parents are subsidizing the education system,” Mofo said. “It is tyrannical to require parents to fund the education system and not allow them to have any influence within the curriculum.”
Watch the League of Women Voters’ complete virtual forum on YouTube.
