Are there only three candidates?
Miranda and Erin are interchangeable. I don't like either of them at first glance. More of the same. The child looks better and better. I don't care if he's not an APS parent. I care if he understands the system. |
I just wish it didn't happen. I agree that it brought them down more than a few pegs. Any of them are more qualified than who's running now, no matter how you feel about them. |
This is obviously a plant from his campaign. |
All these conspiracy theories... No. I'm not a plant. I don't know him. I don't know the others either. And that's concerning given that a school board member plays a very important role in a community. I should know their names. But I don't. I should have worked with them volunteer-wise for years and know exactly where they stand. But I don't. I'm not voting for Miranda. Too divisive. Erin is inexperienced too. The only qualification I see is that she is actually an APS parent. But so are all of us. So it leaves Antonio. I hope he's got some chops. |
LOL. Okay, Angelo. |
OK, if you are a real person I think you are being ridiculous. Arlington isn't huge, but it's big enough that it's unreasonable to expect to know everyone. And if you think he is qualified based on his tweet, I thought it was pretty pathetic. (I'm the one who looked up the actual staffing numbers.) I don't know any of them directly, though I've met Miranda and I know people who know her, so that's the closest I have to a connection. I do know she's spent a lot of time the last few years paying close attention and asking good questions. Which, IMO, is basically what you want a school board member to do. Establishment candiates, like this 22 year old, will not do that. They are party line all the way. This kid clearly just wants to be in politics. That does not get my vote. |
I hope some independents run. I can't vote for any of them. ACDC is such a disappointment. They couldn't find one qualified person. |
DP. Arlington is small. I agree that you should be able to know your candidates, at least by name because they have been in the system for years. I had actually heard of Mary was before she was on the ballot. Even Bethany Sutton. They have real experience not just with their school communities but with Syphax. We should demand qualified candidates and ACDC should vet them carefully. None of these stock meet the bar. Sad. |
I used to be on the Early Childhood Development committee and that wasn't really the way it worked when we were there. For a while we were trying to slow APS's roll on iPad use with young children, get the administration to track time usage for parents, examine the effectiveness of the reading program, etc. There was pushback from the administration against some of the things we were recommending but we still recommended them. It didn't feel like syphax puppet mechanism but ymmv. Not sure if that's still the way things work. |
ok but then you made a critical comment bemoaning the fact that no one raised this on AEM. You can't have it both ways. |
I'm an adult and I don't think saving a child's life is meaningless at all. I'm sad that you do. So you think that SACs save lives and he does not. How do you know you are right? Where is the data to show their efficacy? I guess you don't see that there are other ways to address the issues that are probably more effective. I don't know this kid but he seems to know more about this stuff than you do. |
Erin was the Board President at my child's Montessori preschool, which was set us as a parent co-operative. In March/April 2019, the assistant teachers raised concerns with the Board and school administration about one of the classroom teachers, including that the teacher routinely screamed at children and used demeaning language when speaking to them. The allegations came up as part of a 360 review of the school that was undertaken by the Board. Neither the existence of the review or its results were shared with parents, even though in a message to staff Erin referred to the results as shocking. The excuse of the Board (specifically, Erin) was that they conducted an internal investigation and were advised by HR professionals and an employment lawyer. They decided that the allegations were just the actions of one disgruntled employee and so they didn't notify families in the classroom that there were allegations of aggressive and abusive behavior by the teacher. We continued to send our child to this school for months in ignorance of this situation. Six months later, the teaching assistants notified parents directly by sending a letter to us in the mail. In response to parents' concerns, Erin dismissed the allegations as fabrications. A week later, Virginia DSS did an investigation and spoke to current and former staff, and found the allegations were corroborated by four staff members. Specifically, the DSS investigation report states: "Based on multiple staff interviews, the center failed to ensure that staff were not making verbal remarks, which were demeaning to the children. Evidence: Staff member #1 routinely yelled and made demeaning remarks to the children. Staff member #1 was observed and overheard speaking inappropriately to children. Screaming that "we speak English here," to a visibly upset child. Staff members #2, #4, #7 and #8 reported this behavior to Staff member #3." At this point, the school dismissed the teacher. They continued to act as though this was a sad thing that was happening to the school and the Board (Erin) offered no apology or acknowledgment of shortcomings to parents. Erin's own children were in the other teacher's classroom and so her family was not directly affected by the aggressive teacher's actions. Based on recent safety incidents at various APS schools, parents and the community have asked for greater transparency as incidents occur and clearer action plans to address threats. That was not what we received when Erin was the leader of our preschool. I would never support Erin for the APS School Board. |
hahaha, love that you call him a child in one sentence and then imply that he understands "the system." |
To paraphrase Joe Biden, don't compare him to the almighty, compare him to his opponent(s). By that measure, Angelo looks very good! |
' it wasn't my post but i think my children understand the system better than many adults and would be better school board members too! |