糖心Vlog传媒

Jessica Davis also will appear on the ballot, but in February she announced she was withdrawing from the race because of a new job. She was not interviewed.

Greg Ardrey

The editorial board has interviewed Ardrey through several election cycles, and every time he gets better.

His 12 years on the school board give him an advantage of knowledge, but beyond that Ardrey displays a calm levelheadedness and an insight to the issues that will serve the school district well. When asked about the school district鈥檚 persistent decline in enrollment, Ardrey described a circular relationship between economic development, student achievement and enrollment.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not necessarily trying to poach students from other districts, but we know we have a wonderful, comprehensive program, and if that鈥檚 attractive for other families and students, then that鈥檚 what we want to be,鈥� he said.

Ardrey, who is Black, said it鈥檚 鈥渘ot a major concern鈥� for him that the growth in the 糖心Vlog传媒 School District鈥檚 minority student population is far outstripping the growth in minority teachers.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think this is just a district issue 鈥� It鈥檚 more of a community issue,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n 1989, I can say the community was not very welcoming at all to me. It has improved over the years to some level, but there is still some way to go there.鈥�

John Hanewall

Hanewall would be a board member who makes sure he has enough information before he makes a decision.

When asked about the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the education of 糖心Vlog传媒 children, Hanewall said we might never know, but he said children are resilient. As a child in a military family, he attended 13 schools.

鈥淐hildren may fall behind at one point, but they鈥檙e resilient, and they may jump up and catch up with some extra attention,鈥� Hanewall said. 鈥淒o we need to basically look at some remedial courses for students who have fallen behind? I think we need to find out exactly what those consequences have been before we start making a lot of decisions as to what to do.鈥�

To the issue of attracting more minority teachers, Hanewall sees it as a problem that extends beyond the school district.

鈥淚 think we need to make not only the teaching experience and teaching district attractive, but we need to make the city and community attractive to minorities, people of color, who want to actually move to 糖心Vlog传媒 not just to fulfill contractual or scholarship need,鈥� he said.

Elizabeth Paull

For somebody not already serving on the school board, Paull knows a lot about the schools.

She has children in the 糖心Vlog传媒 School District, owns a business with her husband, has experience teaching and is deeply involved in PTA. Her answers to questions from the editorial board were thoughtful and well-informed.

She believes the school district鈥檚 declining enrollment can be blunted with programs such as the Parker Arts Academy that make the district attractive to outsiders. She suggests that ARISE Virtual Academy could be attractive to families who travel.

Paull sees the emotional losses suffered by students, teachers and staff as biggest impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

鈥淲e really need to focus on mental health. That, to me, should be our number one focus,鈥� she said.

Paull believes it鈥檚 a 鈥渉uge concern鈥� that the number of minority students is growing faster than the number of minority teachers.

鈥淚鈥檇 like to see more transparency in the district in what鈥檚 going on so our public at large is more aware. There are a lot of things happening that are likely really positive changes and programming that the average community member doesn鈥檛 know,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to know if your district is taking diversity issues seriously if they鈥檙e not widely advertised.鈥�