As a lawyer turned high school English teacher, my professional life focuses on students. I love what I do each day and look forward to using my varied experience to serve my Berkeley County community as a nonpartisan School Board member.

 

My educational philosophy centers on two concepts. First, schools exist to enhance each student’s opportunity to prepare for life beyond school, so that the student can seek the goal that the students, with their parents, have set for themselves. With high expectations and scaffolded, targeted support, challenges in classrooms today can provide the foundation for later success. Second, the ideal team for a student’s success includes the parent, the teacher and the student. When all three work together, the student can achieve more. I see our school’s parents as partners in helping their child meet whatever challenges the year brings. 

 

In my Leadership class and in Student Council , we focus on two questions:       

1. What legacy will you leave? 

2. How can we improve the School’s culture? 

Their answers become their passions. Their passions became our projects. I have focused on teaching them to reflect honestly and to think critically as well as on facilitating their ideas and teaching them the skills they need to execute their vision. Student leadership should be the ultimate tool in giving students both voice and choice. Every student should have the opportunity to ask big questions and seek new answers. Giving them this opportunity is my focus each day. 

 

As a school board member, I hope to seek ways to support students, parents, and teachers in our quest to have highly effective and impactful schools. To recruit and retain the highest caliber of teachers, we must pay them in line with our fellow Lowcountry counties. We must also ensure that the facilities meet the needs of our students. Overcrowded classrooms and schools make the challenges to keep students safe and focused nearly impossible. My number one priority is to advocate for policies that enhance the educational experiences of our students. Promoting a competitive wage for our teachers and increased safety measures in our hallways are a couple of examples of the kinds of policies that will result in a better learning environment in the classroom, and subsequently, a higher rate of success for our students.