Arlington School Board candidates

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

ChenLing wrote:Hello everyone -- Chen Ling here.

For the person who asked, here is the link to the candidate forum hosted by APE and moderated by Jo DeVoe from ArlNow: https://vimeo.com/923302481?share=copy

I have an engineering/science/data background, with a focus on bringing visibility and understandability to complex data systems. I think that is a skill the current school board is sorely lacking.

For example, APS pays about 20% more per student than our neighboring locales, and *no one on the board knows why*. You can read the report from their Budget Advisory Council for the last several years where they call this out. We pay our teachers less -- we're on average 5th out of 8 in the area.

What they have done instead is to make small cuts uniformly across all of the schools, to the point where many schools are on a tipping point. I spoke with one principal who is losing yet another special ed teacher spot, after losing multiple teacher and staff positions in the last few years. Because of the rules, they have to get rid of their youngest teacher, who is apparently amazing. Right now they can barely provide enough special ed services to meet the needs of at need students in their school. They were down one at the beginning of the year, and the classroom teachers were not able to manage the classes because those students became too disruptive. With that extra special ed teacher, they were able to provide help for those kids and now everyone in those classes can focus on learning.

What the current board has been doing has not been enough. When you ask them questions you get a response, but often not a real answer, especially on the why. When I encountered this, I wondered whether they didn't want to give an answer or if they didn't know the answer, and it quickly because obvious that they didn't know the answer.

This is why I'm running. Like many of you, my wife and I moved to Arlington for the great schools and the great community. But our schools are in trouble, and what the board is currently doing is not enough. I think my unique skills will help provide clarity to the decision making process, and I will not stop asking questions or pushing until we start providing real answers. I think the current members of the school board care about the teachers and students. I think the other people running care as well, but caring is not enough -- you have to have a plan. I will do something different. I may fail, but it will not be for lack of trying.

Thank you if you've read to the end.
I'd be happy to respond to any questions.
You can see more about me and my platforms at: https://chen4arlington.org, or send me an email at [e-mail].

Wow, thanks for posting. Really helpful.

Appreciate the post; but disagree it is helpful.
Chen Ling, do you know the answer to why APS spends more per student? (There's some discussion and explanation on an AEM thread)
And what are your skills that you bring? What are your positions on various policies? What are your thoughts on instruction? How would you manage boundaries/enrollment across schools?

[Anonymous]

Chen Ling "I think the current members of the school board care about the teachers and students. I think the other people running care as well, but caring is not enough -- you have to have a plan."

This really rubs me the wrong way. Who is Chen Ling to think he is the only one with a plan who can save APS? What is that based on? It's so arrogant and more than a little Trumpian for a guy with literally zero experience in APS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Chen Ling "I think the current members of the school board care about the teachers and students. I think the other people running care as well, but caring is not enough -- you have to have a plan."

This really rubs me the wrong way. Who is Chen Ling to think he is the only one with a plan who can save APS? What is that based on? It's so arrogant and more than a little Trumpian for a guy with literally zero experience in APS.

Yet he doesn't say what his plan is.

[Anonymous]

Chen - how would you address the county and state drastically UNDERfunding APS?

Youngkin is cutting the budget in times when our COL costs are rising.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chen Ling "I think the current members of the school board care about the teachers and students. I think the other people running care as well, but caring is not enough -- you have to have a plan."

This really rubs me the wrong way. Who is Chen Ling to think he is the only one with a plan who can save APS? What is that based on? It's so arrogant and more than a little Trumpian for a guy with literally zero experience in APS.

Yet he doesn't say what his plan is.

Exactly.

[Anonymous]

I don't think Chen Ling even understands what a School Board member can and can't do. Pass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Chen Ling "I think the current members of the school board care about the teachers and students. I think the other people running care as well, but caring is not enough -- you have to have a plan."

This really rubs me the wrong way. Who is Chen Ling to think he is the only one with a plan who can save APS? What is that based on? It's so arrogant and more than a little Trumpian for a guy with literally zero experience in APS.

He says what it is based on--his private sector experience with data. Based on his website, he also sounds like someone who has a hammer and thinks APS is just another nail.

The board doesn't run the school system, it provides direction and oversight--we need people who listen to the public, have a broad overview of the issues, and can ask good questions during staff presentations--not people who look at everything through a single lens or come in with pre-determined solutions. (That goes for all the candidates, not just Ling.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Having kids in APS is a must in my book, and involvement very desired, but what the School Board needs is someone who brings relevant skills to the table!

Involvement should be a pre-requisite, no other city has as many advisory councils and commissions as APS and pretty much anyone who volunteers can get appointed. There's no reason to not get involved with one of those if you "care about the schools"--you don't have to start with the board. Plus, "the relevant skills" at the board level should include knowing how a school system works--having gone to public school for 12 years or having kids in the schools does not give you any special competency. It used to be pretty standard that candidates would have experience on the instruction, facilities, or budget committees and be active in a PTA or BLPC or something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having kids in APS is a must in my book, and involvement very desired, but what the School Board needs is someone who brings relevant skills to the table!

Involvement should be a pre-requisite, no other city has as many advisory councils and commissions as APS and pretty much anyone who volunteers can get appointed. There's no reason to not get involved with one of those if you "care about the schools"--you don't have to start with the board. Plus, "the relevant skills" at the board level should include knowing how a school system works--having gone to public school for 12 years or having kids in the schools does not give you any special competency. It used to be pretty standard that candidates would have experience on the instruction, facilities, or budget committees and be active in a PTA or BLPC or something.

I completely agree. The only two candidates who have this experience are Kathleen and Larry, but Larry's was a long time ago, and a lot has changed in APS since his time. I'm not counting Zuraya just having joined one committee yesterday in a calculated ploy so she could pretend she's actually involved. And Chen hasn't even done that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chen Ling "I think the current members of the school board care about the teachers and students. I think the other people running care as well, but caring is not enough -- you have to have a plan."

This really rubs me the wrong way. Who is Chen Ling to think he is the only one with a plan who can save APS? What is that based on? It's so arrogant and more than a little Trumpian for a guy with literally zero experience in APS.

He says what it is based on--his private sector experience with data. Based on his website, he also sounds like someone who has a hammer and thinks APS is just another nail.

The board doesn't run the school system, it provides direction and oversight--we need people who listen to the public, have a broad overview of the issues, and can ask good questions during staff presentations--not people who look at everything through a single lens or come in with pre-determined solutions. (That goes for all the candidates, not just Ling.)

I don't think Chen understands this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having kids in APS is a must in my book, and involvement very desired, but what the School Board needs is someone who brings relevant skills to the table!

Involvement should be a pre-requisite, no other city has as many advisory councils and commissions as APS and pretty much anyone who volunteers can get appointed. There's no reason to not get involved with one of those if you "care about the schools"--you don't have to start with the board. Plus, "the relevant skills" at the board level should include knowing how a school system works--having gone to public school for 12 years or having kids in the schools does not give you any special competency. It used to be pretty standard that candidates would have experience on the instruction, facilities, or budget committees and be active in a PTA or BLPC or something.

I completely agree. The only two candidates who have this experience are Kathleen and Larry, but Larry's was a long time ago, and a lot has changed in APS since his time. I'm not counting Zuraya just having joined one committee yesterday in a calculated ploy so she could pretend she's actually involved. And Chen hasn't even done that.

Larry has been in the schools recently as a long term sub

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having kids in APS is a must in my book, and involvement very desired, but what the School Board needs is someone who brings relevant skills to the table!

Involvement should be a pre-requisite, no other city has as many advisory councils and commissions as APS and pretty much anyone who volunteers can get appointed. There's no reason to not get involved with one of those if you "care about the schools"--you don't have to start with the board. Plus, "the relevant skills" at the board level should include knowing how a school system works--having gone to public school for 12 years or having kids in the schools does not give you any special competency. It used to be pretty standard that candidates would have experience on the instruction, facilities, or budget committees and be active in a PTA or BLPC or something.

Very few of these people run for school board. What about the anons here tearing down CL for his lack of experience? Why don’t they run?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having kids in APS is a must in my book, and involvement very desired, but what the School Board needs is someone who brings relevant skills to the table!

Involvement should be a pre-requisite, no other city has as many advisory councils and commissions as APS and pretty much anyone who volunteers can get appointed. There's no reason to not get involved with one of those if you "care about the schools"--you don't have to start with the board. Plus, "the relevant skills" at the board level should include knowing how a school system works--having gone to public school for 12 years or having kids in the schools does not give you any special competency. It used to be pretty standard that candidates would have experience on the instruction, facilities, or budget committees and be active in a PTA or BLPC or something.

Very few of these people run for school board. What about the anons here tearing down CL for his lack of experience? Why don’t they run?

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having kids in APS is a must in my book, and involvement very desired, but what the School Board needs is someone who brings relevant skills to the table!

Involvement should be a pre-requisite, no other city has as many advisory councils and commissions as APS and pretty much anyone who volunteers can get appointed. There's no reason to not get involved with one of those if you "care about the schools"--you don't have to start with the board. Plus, "the relevant skills" at the board level should include knowing how a school system works--having gone to public school for 12 years or having kids in the schools does not give you any special competency. It used to be pretty standard that candidates would have experience on the instruction, facilities, or budget committees and be active in a PTA or BLPC or something.

Very few of these people run for school board. What about the anons here tearing down CL for his lack of experience? Why don’t they run?

You don't think lack of experience in a school board candidate is a relevant thing for the voters to discuss? I do.

[ChenLing]

Anonymous wrote:Chen, thank you for posting. What have you actually done in APS?

Hi. Honestly not a whole lot -- I've done the standard things that an involved and priviledged parent has done -- I've joined my school's PTA, I've donated, I've volunteered in the classroom and as a chaperone.
Outside of APS proper, I teach ballroom dance at College Park, I coach my daughter's soccer team, I tutor undergraduate CS students, and I'm mentoring a couple of high school students (one in APS).

My wife and I moved to Arlington for the excellent schools. It wasn't something I thought I needed to worry about. I got involved because of the boundary change process. During public hearings I, along with others, asked questions for which we received responses but not real answers. At the time I didn't know whether they didn't want to give us the answer or if they didn't have the answer. So I started digging -- reading board docs, watching old board meetings, asked followup questions, etc., and it became obvious that they often didn't have the answer.

This kind of problem isn't unique to APS. I've seen this in many organizations where some things are done a certain way because of risk aversion, because it was the easy thing to do, or because "it's always been done that way". I have a lot of experience trying (successfully and unsuccessfully) to fix these underlying problems. I believe that this skill set -- active listening, problem solving, people coordination -- would be a useful one for the school board.

Since then I've been learning as much as I can -- talking with teachers, parents, principals, facilities folks, and (since declaring) every member of the current board except CDT.
I know I have a lot to learn still, but I'm a fast learner and public education is something I truly care about.