Q: Currently, nearly half of the dollars spent at a school building are allocated centrally and not accounted for at the building level, making it difficult to know whether resources are being distributed equitably to meet student needs. How will you make Pittsburgh Public Schools budgeting process more transparent?
A: I think it is important to know what the budget is at the building level and there isn’t enough data on that currently. I would ensure that we were adequately accounting for school spending and budgeting at each individual school rather than only at the central level.

Q: Under what circumstances would you support increasing or decreasing property taxes in the district? What research or evidence would you use to help you make that decision?
A: We need to first ensure we are first getting appropriate federal and state funding. I would continue to advocate in Harrisburg for a fair funding formula from the state for education, since it does not make sense that we have a funding formula for our prisons, but not for education.

Q: Over the last several years Pittsburgh Public Schools has seen a decline in student enrollment. How will you reverse this trend to keep families in the district?
A: We need to improve the quality of education for ALL students in every school in the district. One way to begin doing that is by giving our teachers more support; providing students with more activity during the day; finding alternatives to suspensions for minor infractions; and spending more on social workers versus arming school police.

Q: How will you, as a board member, improve the district’s transportation system?
A: Within the school bus system at PPS, there is high turnover and a great degree of unreliability. One way to address this would be to ensure that we are doing everything we can to retain PPS school bus drivers within the district to reduce the rate of turnover. This may involve looking at wages at comparable jobs at Port Authority, for example.

Q: Do you support the universal screening of all students for Gifted and Talented education supports?
A: Yes, but the screening needs to be evaluated to ensure cultural differences are considered; and that methods are implemented to reduce/eliminate testing and/or interpretation bias. I would like to implement one-on-one assessments with each child by 2nd grade to determine their needs and ensure all students have the support and resources to succeed.

Q: Do you agree with the board’s decision to create another tier of disciplinary infractions? Would you be in favor of creating more tiers to better address behavior problems?
A: Five tiers of infractions would help reduce the number of suspensions, particularly for minor infractions. PPS students (K-12) lost 15,901 days of school in the 2015-16 school year for suspensions, and 65% were for minor behavior infractions. African American students and those with disabilities were suspended at higher rates than their peers.

Q: Suspensions and expulsions are rarely an effective means for improving school climate. What alternatives will you support (eg. Restorative Justice, Positive Behavioral Intervention Systems, others) through policy to reduce school pushout and improve school climate? (Please cite the research or evidence you will use to back up your policy position).
A: There are effective ways to improve school climate and address behavioral issues without suspending students. Restorative Justice if implemented correctly is one way. But other ways involve providing more activity throughout the day, PBIS, Mindfulness meditation, creating respectful environments, and emphasizing emotional intelligence. In a report created by the Secret Service and US Department of Education in 2004 entitled, “Threat Assessment in Schools,” experts stated that schools should address the root causes of violence: bullying, a lack of a respectful environment, and neglecting despair and depression in students. When we create respectful environments in our schools, adults and students respect each other. It provides a place for open discussion where diversity and differences are respected; communication between adults and students is encouraged and supported; and conflict is managed and mediated constructively. Cultures and climates of safety, support environments in which teachers and administrators pay attention to students’ social and emotional needs as well as their academic needs. Such environments emphasize "emotional intelligence" as well as educational or intellectual pursuits. We need to ensure daily teasing and bullying is not accepted as a normal part of the adolescent culture, as this can lead to student isolation and fear. We need to invest in more social workers and counselors to meet student’s needs to improve school climate and minimize or eliminate school push-out.

Q: If elected, your main job will be to serve over 26,000 students in Pittsburgh’s district and charter schools. How will you ensure student voice is taken into account by the school board?
A: I would like to create a Student Advisory Board. These non-voting seats allow students to have representation in the decisions that affect their education. Parents and students will be better informed of important school policy decisions, and the school board will have a direct source of feedback from the students affected by these policies.

Q: Pittsburgh Public Schools hiring process often does not conclude until August for many new teachers, later than most surrounding districts. What policies will you enact to improve the hiring timeline for new teachers and to attract a more diverse pool of candidates?
A: The current superintendent is focused and working with PFT to attract and hire more diverse staff in our schools. In order to improve the hiring timeline, incentives may need to be provided to teachers considering retirement to announce before the end of the school year, so that the hiring process can begin and end in a timely manner.

Q: PPS is currently in the planning stages of creating community schools. What research or evidence will you use to monitor the successful implementation of a community schools model?
A: A team in NY is using an assessment model to monitor the success of community schools in NY. They take the following factors into consideration: math and reading proficiency, as well as suspensions and attendance rates. If these assessments are effective, we should adopt a similar assessment model here in Pittsburgh.

Q: Reading at grade level by third grade has been shown to be a strong predictor of future academic success, and in 2016 only 47% of Pittsburgh’s third graders met that bar. What will you do as a Board member to ensure that students benefit from systematic, comprehensive and evidence-based reading interventions so that more of our students are reading at grade level by third grade?
A: In order to ensure our students are reading at or above grade level, we need to implement strategies that have been proven successful. We need more paraprofessionals, social workers, and smaller class sizes, especially in K-2 classrooms to ensure teachers are able to work individually with students, as needed.

Q: How will you as a board member identify gaps in opportunities for students and work to address them so as to close gaps in student achievement?
A: Some achievement gaps are due to large class sizes, suspensions, and inadequate support for teachers. We should begin by addressing these issues. Additionally, we need have mandatory assessments by 2nd grade to determine if additional support or resources are needed; or if there are other issues affecting learning.

Q: How will you ensure that students receive a well-balanced and healthy lunch that students will want to eat?
A: Although the school board does not oversee nutrition at each school, but signs contracts, I would work to ensure that the contracts being approved are with companies that provide well balanced and healthy lunches. Additionally, schools should be able to establish community gardens, so students could eat fruit and vegetables grown in the garden.

Q: How will you make sure students have up to date materials especially in history and literature classes?
A: In addition to having materials that are up-to-date, we need to ensure that the curriculum is culturally appropriate. In history, students often are presented with textbooks or materials that are “whitewashed.” And, in literature class, books written by diverse authors on a range of culturally appropriate topics should be selected.

Q: What is your vision for the expansion of Pre-K in Pittsburgh? What do you see as the role of Pre-K in a child's learning progression through the PPS system?
A: The most valuable investments we can make in our community is in quality early childhood education (ECE). Research has shown that for every dollar spent on ECE, $17 is saved on other social services. Children from middle and upper-class families hear, on average, 30 million more total words than those living in poverty by the time they are three years old. This difference becomes what we later perceive as the “achievement gap.” When children, particularly those from families living in poverty, have access to high quality early childhood education through the expansion of Pre-K, they are exposed to more language and social interactions, which can help in narrowing the achievement gap.

Q: How will you work constructively with the eight other board members to ensure all Pittsburgh students receive a quality education?
A: The success of our students relies, to a degree, on having a diverse school board willing to advocate and fight for high quality education for every student. As school director, I would work to create a collaborative environment where different perspectives are respected, with the goal of helping each student thrive and succeed.

Q: How will you effectively advocate for Pittsburgh’s students with other elected officials, both local and state?
A: Pennsylvania is in the bottom ten of all states in the proportion of education funding provided at the state level. With regard to the city, there seems to be a disconnect between investment in the city and innovation and investment in K-12 education. However, a strong school system is central to ensuring a strong and vibrant community.

Q: How will you communicate the board’s work with your constituents, parents and non-parents alike?
A: In order to ensure open, transparent, and receptive lines of communication between the board and its constituents, we need to publish updates, clearly and prominently on PPS’s website, every 2-4 weeks, on upcoming votes, as well as new or changing policies. Additionally, the PPS website should be revamped to make it easier to find information.

Q: How will you support best practices in early education (Pre-K- Grade 4), including play based learning and a focus on social and emotional skills?
A: There is evidence that at least 60 minutes of physical activity a day benefits children’s cognitive, social-emotional, and physical development. At PPS currently, recess time varies greatly between schools. We need to implement an activity/recess policy that ensures children get adequate activity and that recess is not taken away as punishment.