How much access do you believe parents should have to their children's curriculum? classroom? teacher? online?
A parent should have complete access to all content. They are the sole authority over their child and when requesting information on content of instruction should be provided with ALL content. Not just “curriculum.” What many don’t know, is that the items in question are generally not under curriculum. when a parent asks to see the curriculum, the school only releases, and by law is required to release, the curriculum unless other components are specifically requested. That is a sly way of not complying and still legally responding.
Do you support allowing all students to use bathrooms, showers and locker rooms, as well as participate in sports, based on the gender with which they identify, not the sex they are assigned to at birth?
No, I believe God created us in His image male and female and we should stick to bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports associated with that assignment at birth.
Will you work to remove harmful materials as defined in Texas penal code 43.24 from all school property? Additionally, do you support removing the “educational exemption” from this law?
ABSOLUTELY, this is one of the reasons I ran in the first place. I don’t only want changes in CISD, but statewide. I also spoke on this issue at the Capital in front of the Committee for education.
Should the SBOE have total & final authority on what teaching materials are used in the classroom? Please explain fully.
I do think it is important to have a framework of content standards, however, we are an independent school district. We are tasked with the role of governing our education by the standards and values held by our community. We shouldn’t be forced to teach material that say, Austin ISD wants to teach their students that doesn’t align with Montgomery County and CISD.
Please give your opinion of each of the following programs and the reasoning supporting your opinion: Common Core, Critical Race Theory, Social Emotional Learning, International Bacculaureate.
All of these mention programs are just that! “Programs” to indoctrinate our children. One is a terrible curriculum. One is divisive and promotes hate. One is alters the mindset of our children, and the other is a globalist curriculum. None of these align with the value of CISD and its community.
The SBOE has been charged by Governor Abbott with developing standards for books found in school libraries to prevent pornography from getting into the hands of our schoolchildren. What is your position on the development of these important standards?
It is very simple. If it doesn’t comply with the penal code of Texas, our tax dollars and campuses should not have them. Therefore, our SBOE needs to strictly adhere to this standard and I will continue to speak out on this and address the SBOE about this standard as a citizen and Board member of the 9th largest school district in the state.
Would you pledge to vote against any attempt to authorize any CISD employee salary that would be more than 50% above that of the Texas Governors salary?
Salaries are to be determined according to experience, performance, and success. I am not opposed implementing a policy of a base salary with certain benchmark ratings that are clearly stated with bonus amounts attached to each.
Briefly explain how American history should be taught to our students.
Briefly, the good, the bad, and the ugly. We learn from our mistakes and successes. We need to teach America and Texas exceptionalism and not waiver.
What is the State of Texas school system ranked in literacy and what would your plan be to make it No. 1 in the country?
Last I looked we were 42!!!! That is appalling. I have already stated we were the 9th largest school district in the state and that is out of 1200. With that comes power. We need to do the following.
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We must start taking a stand in Austin at the education committee hearings, and working in Austin communicating with our state Representatives and Senators about what we expect from them for our schools. To my knowledge, this isn’t happening currently.
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Stand against content that isn’t necessary, accurate, or pertinent and teach basic content. All else is just fluff.
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We must ditch the way we teach our students to read. We are working towards that, but we still have the “tools in the toolbox” and they need to go. When we learn that teaching our littles to read the 48 sounds associated with the letters in our 26 letter alphabet will assist and revolutionize learning to read for ALL children before many are even identified as having learning challenges, that will impact our rankings dramatically.
When we tackle these areas, we will see change come. However, it will take time. Therefore, I am committed to two terms and helping make any changes necessary to the Board and administration to make these changes.
What is your position about parental choice and charter schools?
I am not opposed to parental choice or charter schools. I am against strings being attached to money following the children. I also think the money should follow qualified high performing teachers. I often hear people state that what will be left is a pit of poor children with no hope in our public schools. But many are already facing that and competition has proven to raise standards and performance. We should consider these thoughts when making our decisions.
In your opinion, what are the three most important roles of the school board and if elected, how would you contribute to those important roles??
Our school board must support and understand parents must be in control of their child’s education. It is not up to anyone else what exposure my children or grandchildren have other than that of the parent. This must be clear to our administration and down the line to our schools.
Board members must stop rubber stamping their votes and delve deeper into the decisions. I realize this is a volunteer position and all have full time jobs, but we must truly understand what we are voting on, the ramifications of those votes, and the effects it will have on our community.
We must be engaged beyond our district. We have a duty as large as we are to impact the communities around us and statewide. What I mean by that is, we can protect our children and improve our education by being active with other boards across the district and making trips and communicating with Austin representation (all areas). By doing this, we can help improve our district.
Would you be in favor of returning prayer to every classroom in the state?
As a Christian, of course I would love to see prayer returned to the classroom as with its removal we created a vacuum, a hole that was filled with other junk. But we are a nation of freedom of religion. We cannot impose our Christianity on others. We could provide a moment of prayer/silence for students to pray each day.
What are three reasons why you think you are the best candidate running for this Board position?
Experiences – I am a former educator with multiple areas of experience under that title. I have been a business owner in my community since 1996. I am a Christian that will use my faith to help guide me in decisions I make.
Passion – I have a passion for education. I desire to restore the relationship between teachers and parents and strengthen the bond in the education of our children (grandchildren). Quality education and teachers, and a collaborative effort for working together should be what our district is about.
Willingness to work hard and take the hits – My positions will not be popular on all fronts. This will take a lot of work and time. I will need to prioritize where I direct my attention first and last. All these reasons will make for unhappy people. I am certain to hear it from community members, administration, teachers, and board members. But I have been praying for God to prepare my heart and provide me strength to do this the way He wants it done. With grace, mercy, understanding, patience, and shining His light the whole way. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll flip tables in the temple if needed, but I want to reflect Him in all I say and do.
Would you support a district policy that requires all staff members and students to be vaccinated against COVID-19?
~Not Answered Yet~
Are standardized tests good or bad? Please explain fully.
I am not a fan of standardized tests for any other reason than to have something “standardized” for parents to look back on year after year for “growth”. I loved how our private school handled standardized tests. We taught all year long curriculum content that was rigorous and meaningful. And then, on the week of standardized testing, we stopped, administered the test, and went back to teaching. No mention to test taking, the importance of the test, etc. The parents received the results and the school had them as well.
Standardized tests aren’t a real measure of learning or knowledge. Some of us, are just not good test takers. We all learn and express learning in a variety of ways. A paper pencil test, a computerized test, a standardized test, doesn’t reflect equally for all students on any given day.
How much influence does the board have on the actual classroom curriculum used? What is your plan to achieve that?
We have all influence over this based on what I have read. However, we haven’t exercised it because TASB requires the board to turn over all their power to the superintendent. I have answered this above in other areas, but we must take action to inform the superintendent and administration they work for us, and we were elected by the community. The community wants change, and we must dig deep and make changes. I will be but one board member. I will be limited on my power, but not the power of my voice. I will work respectfully with the administration and my other board members to evaluate and remove any content that isn’t deemed necessary quality education. If I am unsuccessful there and I need take it publicly so they community can speak up and encourage change, I will.
