ABOUT ME
I'm a recently retired psychology professor and mother of three. My family and I have lived in Falmouth since 2001, and I've been volunteering in the schools since we arrived. I believe this combination of experiences--parent and teacher--gives me a unique understanding of the needs of Stafford's students and teachers.
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I was elected to the Falmouth seat for School Board in November of 2017. I have spent the past eight years working to promote quality education, teacher retention, and smart spending--things that benefit all Stafford residents, regardless of whether you have a child in the school system.
the issues
Student Achievement
My number one priority is to ensure SCPS students receive the education they need to fulfill their goals, whether that be higher education, the job market, military service, or homemaking. Students graduating from SCPS should have the skills necessary for the next step in their lives.
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Although every student is unique, I believe we can continue to make improvements to help ALL students: retaining good teachers, building and maintaining schools, maximizing in-person instruction, and identifying students with special needs and providing them with the supports they need.
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Teacher Retention
When I joined the School Board, SCPS was doing a great job of bringing in talented new teachers. However, we weren't doing such a good job of keeping them. We were hiring new teachers, training them, and then losing them to counties and states that offer higher pay and better benefits. I have been working diligently to provide more competitive compensation for our educators and staff. We have been making progress, but need to keep at it! In addition, I have supported policies that demonstrate how much we value the important contribution all our staff make in educating our next generation of citizens.
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Schools
Stafford County’s population is growing. The latest U.S. Census data showed a 21% increase between 2010 and 2020. Growth has continued over the past five years. We need more schools to address this growth, and we need to maintain the schools we have.
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To address this growth, the School Board has worked with the Board of Supervisors to build more schools. Currently High School 6, and Elementary Schools 18 and 19 are under construction scheduled to open in the Fall of 2026. I have also successfully advocated for the replacement of Drew Middle School. The new Drew Middle School is scheduled to open in August of 2028. In addition, the replacement of Hartwood Elementary School is scheduled to open in August of 2028.
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Education: Smartphones and Artificial Intelligence (AI)
As a cognitive neuropsychologist, I am well aware of the detrimental effects smartphones have on learning and mental health. I have worked to get smartphones out of the classroom since I was first elected in 2017. Finally, in the Fall of 2023, the Board adopted a policy to have phones off and put away during the school day in our middle schools. We successfully expanded the policy to our high schools this past year.
In the Fall of 2022, I attended the Virginia School Board Association Conference and learned about ChatGPT. In response to this, our Board asked the Superintendent and members of our Technology Advisory Committee to develop a policy related to AI. Stafford County was the first school division in the Commonwealth to develop an AI policy. As a professor, I have first hand experience with some of the positive and negative aspects of AI. We need to prepare our staff and students. Therefore, we asked the Superintendent to develop a comprehensive AI plan. We are working hard to stay on top of this quickly changing landscape.
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Educating Every Student
As a parent, I know what it's like to navigate both the 504/IEP maze and to fight for gifted education: exhausting. The process can be confusing and requires constant parent focus and effort.
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Over the past eight years we have increased the number of school diagnosticians, counselors and social workers in our schools. We have created a 504 coordinator at the county level and put special education coordinators in each of our schools.
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