Editorial: The Editorial Board's report cards for the Board of Education candidates
After interviewing all of the candidates for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education, we were blown away by the quality, values and experience that each candidate brought to the table. There are four seats available, so we encourage you to vote based upon whose values align most-closely with your own. Overall, we believe that any of these five would make excellent members of the School Board.
Rani Dasi: A
Achievement gap: A
To address the achievement gap, Dasi plans on increasing the number of teachers of color to create a more welcoming space for students of color. Her understanding of the importance of mental health, as well as the importance of partnering with community organizations to make life outside of school better for students, would benefit the district.
Accessibility: A
Dasi plans to hold office hours and increase direct engagement with the community through public forums. She believes the community needs a better sense of connection to the Board. In the past, she held a listening forum where she heard concerns from the community, and they engaged in a conversation. She also attends events and activities with various interest groups.
New initiatives: A-
Dasi plans to prioritize recruiting and retaining quality teachers and teachers of color through advocating for increased funding. She will also focus on addressing the discipline disparity to keep students in the classroom. Dasi advocated for these changes during this term and will continue to do so if re-elected.
Experience: A
Dasi is the only candidate running who currently is on the board. While on the board, she has served as vice-chairperson and chairperson. She also brings hands-on experience as a mentor for the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative and member of the School Improvement Teams for CHCCS.
Effectiveness in role: A
As a current board member, Dasi has a good understanding of the role and the ability of the board. She is intimately familiar with the problems facing the district and provides realistic solutions that benefit all students and the community. Dasi believes we need to have more open conversations about how race impacts our schools and create spaces for community partnership. With this effort she wants to place emphasis on the importance of our willingness to have these conversations while holding ourselves accountable to these values.
Ashton Powell: A
Achievement gap: A-
In order to close the achievement gap, Powell believes that we need to change how we measure success. Specifically, he doesn’t believe standardized tests offer the best metric of success, but acknowledges that the district needs to remain competitive. His solution for closing the gap centers around on shared governance and better responding to the needs of the community in a way that is relevant and culturally competent.
Accessibility: A
Through his proposed plan of shared governance, Powell would make the Board extremely accessible and will put infrastructure in place so culturally diverse groups, teachers and staff will have a seat at the table. His experience interacting with the Board of Governors as a member of the Faculty Assembly Executive Committee informs his perspective on how he wants to increase transparency and facilitate meaningful interactions between community members and the Board of Education.
New initiatives: A
Powell plans on increasing counselors in school to address mental health issues for students. He also will advocate for shared governance that puts infrastructure in place so culturally-diverse groups will have a voice. Powell also plans to utilize data from the superintendent’s office and improve the Board’s relationship with the state legislature and County Commissioners.
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Powell has taught at NCSSM for 10 years where he was Faculty Senate President and member of the Board of Trustees. He is currently a board member of the UNC Faculty Assembly. His background as a teacher and a leader will provide an important perspective for the Board.
Effectiveness in role: A-
Powell believes the biggest challenges facing the district are a lack of funding, a lack of attention to the staff and mental health. To address this, he plans to build upon the Board’s relationship with the County Commissioners and with lawmakers in Raleigh to better allocate funds for schools. His plans are comprehensive and realistic.
Jillian La Serna: A
Achievement gap: A
To address the achievement gap, La Serna plans on creating structural systems to tackle the gap. By focusing on culturally-relevant education, social justice standards and extended learning opportunities, La Serna wants to use these as systemic ways to close the achievement gap. She also supports programs that offer all students access to challenging curricula.
Accessibility: A
With her past experience as a teacher and principal at Carrboro Elementary, La Serna has important perspective on the interface between the School Board and the schools. She wants to re-institute school visits from the Board and establish a Board liaison with the schools. For parents, La Serna wants to create office hours or online chats for parents. More broadly, she is thinking creatively on how the community can have greater input on the Board.
New initiatives: A
La Serna has new initiative ideas that she thinks will best benefit the local schools. By adding social justice standards and extended learning opportunities, she hopes that achievement gap will begin to close. As well, she wants to institute more diverse education and curriculum in classrooms to represent the diverse student bodies that this school district serves.
Experience: A-
La Serna has worked in the Carrboro Schools system for several years, which provides her with important perspective if she was elected to the School Board. While some other candidates have had experience on the Board, her view as a former educator and principal could add to the Board and its approach moving forward. Additionally, she has had success in the past implementing programs at Carrboro Elementary School. She has also completed a plethora of trainings that inform her cultural competency.
Effectiveness in role: A-
La Serna has not served on the Board of Education before, unlike some of the other candidates running in this election. However, her role as an educator and principal in the district could provide valuable insight. Coming from the school side, she knows how the Board can affect schools and how to better facilitate relationships between the Board and schools in the district.
Andrew Davidson: A
Achievement gap: A-
Davidson plans on closing the achievement gap by intentionally addressing the discipline gap. He also wants to target the outdated data collection practices of CHCCS schools. Davidson wants to end suspensions for all infractions, except bringing guns to school. He recognizes the disparities in achievement based on race and disability and wants to make a concerted effort to resolve them.
Accessibility: B+
Davidson wants to rebuild the trust that used to exist between the School Board and parents. As well, he wants to foster relationships between school faculty and the Board. One way he plans to do this is by creating a faculty congress. He believes the Board has not done the best job in the past to conduct themselves in a transparent manner and wants to remedy that.
New initiatives: A-
Davidson’s focus is primarily on furthering the successful programs laid out by the former School Boards. Having served on the Board from 2013 to 2017, he understands that changing programs instead of focusing on continuity hurts this district. He says that his values and goals align with those already on the current School Board.
Experience: A
Davidson has served in this position before and has a lot of experience in how this Board operates. He wants to continue the success of the current Board and focus on gaining more funds for the district. His previous knowledge gives him insight on who to contact, how to connect with them and what resources are needed to support the Board and its goals.
Effectiveness in role: A
Again, having served in this role before, Davidson has a good understanding of what the position requires. He wants to facilitate relationships with the County Commissioners to receive better funding for the CHCCS system. We believe that his goals are tangible, and that they will further the mission of the Board as a whole.
Deon Temne: A
Achievement gap: A
Temne believes that the achievement gap is, in part, “a function of not having a cultural curriculum to engage our students.” In addressing the achievement gap, Temne plans to use implicit bias training to equalize discipline rates between Black and white students, recruit and retain quality teachers and gather metrics to identify and address deficiencies in the school system. His three-pronged, action-oriented plan earns him high marks.
Accessibility: A-
Temne believes that board members should approach their position with “cultural humility.” He intends to talk with parents from all walks of life, and he has interacted with students across the socioeconomic spectrum. His intentions are clear and genuine, but we dinged a little off this grade because his plans to increase accessibility aren’t necessarily as innovative as other candidates.
New initiatives: A
He coaches Math Olympiad, which has given Temne a peek inside the education system. His biggest goal is to tackle the current curriculum’s lack of global significance. Beyond this, Temne wants to expose all kids to a rigorous curriculum so that everyone can achieve excellence. He also believes in educating students in skills like statistics and data analysis that will serve them throughout their lives.
Experience: A-
Temne has been incredibly active in the school system, serving on numerous councils, commissions, teams and committees. In addition, he is a tutor/coach for Math Olympiad, and previously served on the University of the District of Columbia Board of Trustees. He’s qualified — the only thing keeping him from receiving full marks is that he is not incumbent.
Effectiveness in role: A
Temne has a great understanding of what the Board of Education can meaningfully accomplish. His promise to “advocate, represent and build trust” will allow him to connect with the most underserved students and families in the community. Temne recognizes that the greatest challenge over the next few years is going to be redistricting. Overall, he has the intent and capabilities to make this school district one of the best in the country.
