Who has questions for Mr.G for district 3?

The National Organization for Women did and these were they answers. Then if you ever have any questions just let me know.

1. A comprehensive sex education curriculum for all K-12 students. Support, yes

Research shows us that students with a comprehensive sex education curriculum have fewer unwanted pregnancies and better health outcomes. I get it is a sensitive subject for some parents, but we need to educate them as well about why it is so important.

2. Programs to support and protect gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual students. Support, yes

I have to say I am outraged that Matt Schellenberg candidate district 7 has hired a campaign manager who has said among other grotesque things that gay people are suffering from a mental illness. It’s outrageous and disgusting.  I would do all I could to make sure our most vulnerable children were not just protected but valued as well.

3. Teachers carrying guns on school grounds. Oppose, yes

Teachers are not the police. Teachers already have so much going on and guns are a reactive and dangerous solution. We need to be proactive and invest in social workers and mental health counselors because quite often why a student acts up or does poorly in school has nothing to do with school. I would also want to expand anti-bullying programs. Kids can be cruel, but I am not always sure they mean to be.   

4. Taxpayer funded scholarships to private schools. Oppose, yes

I want to point out that voucher schools can pick who they take and keep, many exclude disabled and LGBTQ children, can teach whatever they want, including junk science and history, their teachers don't have to have degrees or certifications and they have so little accountability you might as well say they have none. If a private school offers a program that the public school doesn’t then getting a voucher for that school is a conversation, we can have but other than that public money and resources should only go to public schools.

5. The expansion of taxpayer funded charter schools. Oppose yes.

I hope people understand that for the most part charter schools are not here to educate children, instead they are here to make money for their owners. The original concept for them was a parent teacher driven laboratory where innovation could be explored that worked in tandem with districts. That is not what we have by a long shot. If a charter was nonprofit and innovative and worked with the district having them is a conversation we should have, but unfortunately that is not what we have. I support not just a moratorium on new charters but a roll back on charters that we have. Then going forward only opening charters that are nonprofit, innovative and can show a need.

6. A sales surtax to fund education. Support, yes

DCPS schools are some of the oldest and disrepaired (for a variety of reasons) in the state and we desperately need the surtax.  That being said we shouldn’t fool ourselves, a recent change to the law that requires districts to share sur tax money with charters based on a proportional basis is going to cost the district hundreds of millions of dollars.  The referendum must be supported, are needs are beyond great, but we also need to support pro education candidates that can rectify what happened and bring more money back to our schools.

7. Prayer in school and/or teaching the beliefs of one religion. Oppose, yes

Religious studies are fine and even valuable, but to put one religion above all others is antithetical to the values of our nation.

As for prayer, sure if a teacher or kid wants to pray that is fine with me, but it cannot be structured and must be private.

8. The use of Florida state and/or standardized testing to determine student promotion or school grades. Oppose, yes

Boiling education down to a test discounts everything else that has gone on. Furthermore, tests are supposed to help instruction not drive it and Florida uses its tests to punish kids, teachers, and schools. Florida’s tests as they do them are expensive, mean, and unnecessary.

https://jaxkidsmatter.blogspot.com/2017/01/there-is-no-reason-to-put-prayer-back.html

9. Programs to assist pregnant teens and/or teenage parents. Support, yes

I think for many of our children we need more social workers mental health counselors and wrap around services.

10. Teaching the history of Civil Rights and Race Relations in Jacksonville and North Florida. Support, yes

I would also support implicit bias training education for our students and staff. We have an open wound that society and Jacksonville have attempted to gloss over, pretend does not exist. It infuriates when people say changing the names of schools named after confederate era figure is erasing history, when so much history with civil rights, has been neglected and ignored except for that three-day unit during black history month. We teach western civ and European history and ignore what is happening in our backyards and neighborhoods.    

11. The enforcement of the federal civil rights law Title IX in all K-12 school settings. Support, yes

Absolutely, gender equality is long overdue, and discrimination should not be tolerated.

12. A K-12 curriculum that emphasizes understanding cultural diversity. Support, yes

We should embrace and learn from our differences. The United States was founded with the idea it could be a melting pot and it is time we stopped playing lip service to that notion and embraced it. Our differences make us stronger and should not be feared, marginalized, or reviled.  

13. Changing the names of schools named after a Confederate leader. Support, yes

Long overdue, and where I think we need to be creative with paying for it, we are beyond broke, it should be done with all due haste. I was proud to speak about this at the last school board meeting.

https://jaxkidsmatter.blogspot.com/2020/06/it-is-past-time-dcps-changed-names-of.html

14. Gender equity in pay and opportunities for all school jobs, including before/after supplemental and/or coaching positions. Support, yes

Is this not happening now in DCPS? If so ugh. That would be something I would seek to stop on day one. That being said, all our DCPS coaches are under stipend ed for what they do and I would seek to increase them all across the board.

15. The use of Student Resource Officers(SRO) on school campuses. Oppose, yes

I do not believe guns (at all) or the police should be regular figures on our campuses. If we do have officers on campus, they should be real officers not lightly trained safety assistants.

Please explain how you would: 1. Increase direct services/resources to students with disabilities.

I work at a center school and we code all the students as 254s or 255s top of the funding tree. A student with the same disability at a comprehensive school might be coded as a 251 or a 252 barely above the standard funding. How does that make any sense? It does not and we need to educate all our schools in how to properly advocate for funding.

2. Provide additional resources to under performing schools.

I am reminded of that meme with three kids of three different sizes each with a block standing by a fence. One towers over it, one barely makes it and one can’t see anything. Instead of punishing schools in poverty with high stakes tests we need to advocate for more funding and in Florida that means electing pro education candidates. Sadly, we are fooling ourselves if we think there is another way.

3. Increase student safety on school campuses.

Most of what we do is reactive. We need more guidance counselors, mental health counselors and social worked in our schools because quite often why a student acts up or does poorly has nothing to do with school.  Then wrap around service and helping families with social services can go a long way to making schools safer.

4. Support individual schools in your district.

If elected I plan to regularly do bus duty and meet with staff at all the schools to find out what their individual needs are. Then I plan to fight against new charter schools unless they demonstrate a need which will stop them from draining public schools of their precious resources. I plan to vigorously support the referendum and pro education candidates as well.

5. Attract and retain a diverse, highly qualified instructional and administrative staff.

We cannot just hope we can attract we also have to recruit so there is that. Here is the thing if we support our staff with resources and take into consideration their needs, if we don’t marginalize, overwork, discount and ignore our staff we will both attract and retain great teachers and staff.

Note I just wanted to say, above are not just answers on a questionnaire. I have for over a decade talked the talk and walked the walk when advocating for public ed, children of color and teachers through my blog www.jaxkidsmatter.blogspot.com ,various other publications and other forms of advocacy. I hope you will check them out as well.