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Essential Focuses

Essential Focuses are policy goals that are necessary for all students to improve their experience in MCPS. The issues targeted in these focuses have devastating consequences if left unaddressed, and affect nearly all students across the county, which is what makes them essential to solve. Policy solutions to these problems are ones that need to be implemented immediately, which is why I've set out to achieve these since the minute I took office.​

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Mental Health

Expanding awareness  

  • Wellness days for all schools:

    • Four times a year, one for every quarter.

    • Mental health organizations come to schools during the day and giving presentations 

    • Guest speakers share their stories

    • Counselors, school psychologists and social workers will be speaking to students

  • Monthly surveys

    • Have all students across MCPS take monthly surveys regarding their mental health

    • Give them information about the mental health resources they can access 

    • Ask students questions about improvements that can be made to MCPS mental health resources  

    • Review surveys to influence policy at BOE meetings

  • Mental Health Specialists

    • More than one school psychologist per school

    • Social workers in middle school 

    • Have mental health workers reach out to students instead of having students have to each out to them

    • Train teachers to be able to identify mental health issues in students

School Safety

  • School Violence Awareness and Prevention 

    • Preventing instead of policing 

      • Use strategies to stop violence before it occurs to reduce the need to officers in schools

      • Host assemblies to inform students on resources available to them 

      • Increase staff training to identify mental health issues in students​​​

    • Emergency Drills ​

      • Implement more realistic and frequent drills

      • Expand use of presentations on what to during a school emergency ​

    • Safe Schools MD App

      • App where students can anonymously report tips about possible school threats

      • Better implementation and awareness throughout schools​

  • Reform Disciplinary Policy ​​

    • End the school to prison pipeline

      • Diminishing the use of the court system and police officers for infractions that do not compromise student safety

    • Have security guards focus more on actual threats to students instead of minor offenses (being late, wandering the halls, etc.)​

    • Invest in more welcoming and community-engaging school disciplinary staff​​​

  • Traffic Safety

    • Re-implemented school drivers ed classes

    • Better traffic safety measures in front and around schools

Opportunity Gap

  • Expanding Access and Awareness 

    • Increase course offering to underfunded schools

    • Broaden the scope of available extracurriculars and clubs to all schools

    • Ensure school SGA's are properly publicizing academic opportunities to students 

    • Incorporate more informational assemblies for students to learn about various academic pathways 

  • Providing Resources and Aid

    • ESOL Programs

      • Translate videos, documents and general information into multiple languages

      • Provide ESOL students with a fair chance at participating in extracurriculars by instituting new inclusivity policies for MCPS organizations

    • College and Career Readiness

      • Expand College and Career Readiness (CCR) programs to a wider array of students

  • Staff Diversity

    • Hire more teachers that look like students

    • Increase diversity training

    • Expand outreach for staff hiring in underrepresented communities

    • Ensure high paying salaries for all staff

  • Equitable Funding​

    • Increase funding for arts, athletics and extracurriculars to underfunded schools without them needing to apply​

    • Increase data collection on county and school expenditures to ensure equity throughout MCPS finances

Environmental Advocacy

  • Energy Efficient Infrastructure 

    • Solar Panels on school roofs

      • Wire solar energy to schools without solar panels

    • More Bike Racks

    • Walter filtration/flow control

    • Expand green roofs and gardens to more schools

  • Advocacy

    • Meet with county officials to meet net zero carbon emission goal

    • Create more climate advocacy opportunities for students (walk outs, protests, etc.)

  • Expand composting program

    • Compost bins in all schools

    • Mitigate food waste

    • More emphasis on recycling in classrooms

  • Education

    • Expand climate education 

    • Integrate with science lessons

Increasing Student Representation

  • More MCR Representation

    • Ensure MCR Executive Board has at least 20-25 members from each school

    • Ensure MCR Officers have a maximum of 1 per school 

    • Host MCR events at a wider variety of schools to ensure equitable access to information for all students

  • Polling and Surveys

    • Use polling and surveys on MCPS decisions to include a variety of student voices are incorporated 

    • Have surveys be focus on a number of topics from racial equity to infrastructure needs

    • Bring in underrepresented voices to county policy

  • Host more events in the DCC

    • Guest speakers from various organizations to inform students​

    • Meet and greets with county officials

Innovative Focuses

Innovative Focuses are policy goals that are inventive and introduce a new perspective to the improvements that can be made for MCPS. Many of the issues these objectives aim to solve affect specific groups of students that are often underrepresented, and because of that they require direct attention in order to ensure equity across MCPS.

Increased Access to Information 

  • Ensure all students are aware of magnet programs and extracurricular activities 

    • Host guest speakers at schools to talk about opportunities 

    • Ensure community leaders are encouraging students to participate in opportunities

  • Information Methods

    • Instead of only using newsletters and social media, have teachers present important county and school information at the beginning of class to ensure student engagement 

    • Create SMOB twitch streams and podcasts where students all around the county can discuss new initiatives and opportunities 

    • Staying Updated

      • Ensure social media accounts are consistent in posting information and updates

      • Increase followers from around MCPS rather than just one area​

      • Hold organizations accountable for keeping websites and social media's updated and giving out correct information to students

  • Expand Access

    • Ensure all informational handed out to students is in multiple languages​

    • Present information to students in ESOL classes and other unrepresented areas​

Workload Relief

  • Wellness Days

    • Twice a month

    • Days where teachers are not allowed to give new assignments in order to allow students to catch up on missed work

  • Homework Free Weekends

    • Four weekends a year

    • Days strategically picked on SAT days and college application season

    • Will ensure teachers cannot assign work due friday, saturday sunday or monday

  • Subject Test Days

    • Impose a system where each academic subject class can only give tests on certain days (I.E. Fridays, Mondays, etc.)

    • Will ensure students won’t have multiple tests in one day

  • Advocating for less homework

    • Encouraging teachers to view unnecessary homework as optional prep work instead of assigned material

  • College Prep

    • SAT/ACT 

      • Provide free SAT/ACT tutoring for students (In person and online)

      • Provide this tutoring equitably, giving it to the students that can’t afford private tutoring

      • Publicize waivers for free PSAT admission

  • Senior Skip Day

    • Allocate 2 days during the college application as optional days for seniors to show up to school due to college application stress
       

Curriculum Reform

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  • Culturally & Diverse sensitive curriculum 

    • Ensure every core academic subject is embracing and recognizing all cultures involved within them appropriately 

    • Review and eliminate cultural appropriation and bias from curriculums

    • Reform social studies curriculums to include a more diverse overview of certain cultures

  • Better curriculum structure 

    • More interactive teaching methods

      • Less lecturing

      • More hands on activities

    • More project based curriculum; less worksheets

    • Increase use of optional collaboration on assignments

    • Discussion based approach to learning

    • Lower emphasis on grades and memorizing material and increase focus on actual learning​

  • Teach students aspects of subjects that actually matter

    • Health Curriculum 

      • How to practice safe sex instead of only abstinence

      • More expansive life-saving drug and alcohol units

      • Expand nutrition and exercise lessons

      • Make health curriculum less focused on worksheets and more on discussions to engage students

    • Science Curriculum

      • Vaccine education 

      • Climate education

      • Personal health education

    • English curriculum

      •  More diverse coursework

      • Less analysis and more creative writing

      • More interesting and equitable course material

Infrastructure Renovations

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  • Equitable Renovations       

    • Focus new renovations on schools that actually require them (Wootton High School, Northwood High School, Neelsville Middle School, etc.) 

  • ​Expanding Infrastructure

    • ​Increase parking spaces at Schools

    • Adding portables to schools with overcrowded classrooms

  • Revamping Schools​

    • Streamline process for replacing old and damaged technology at schools ​(projectors, water fountains, lights, etc.)

    • Ensure all infrastructure at schools work properly

      • Better temperature control in classrooms​

      • More water pressure for water fountains

      • Bathroom functions all work properly (toilets, sinks, etc.) 

    • Add more couches and comfortable seating into classrooms​

    • Encourage teachers to create more warm and fun classroom environments (posters, lights, etc.)​

  • ADA Compliant Schools​​​

    • Require every school in MCPS to be ADA complaint​

      • Elevators, ramps, brail on bathroom signs, etc.​

      • Hire inspectors to ensure schools are ADA complaint

Transportation Equity

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  • Access

    • Equitable access to school  bus routes all over the county

    • Work with county council to add RideOn bus stops near students outside their school’s bussing route

    • Expand awareness of bus tracking app and ensure all students and parents have access to it

    • Ensure busses are not overcrowded by mitigating the amount of students per bus

  • Activity Busses

    • Expand activity bus program for after school events and sports practices 

  • Electric Busses

    • Ensure smooth transition to electric busses in MCPS

    • Introduce surveys for students to report the quality of electric busses

  • Bus Quality Improvements

    • Implement better cleaning procedures on busses

    • Advocate for more comfortable and spacious seating on busses

  • Bus Drivers

    • Expand bus driver hiring

    • Increase pay for bus drivers

    • Institute training for bus drivers to create a safe and equitable bus ride experience for students

Other Focuses

  • Athletes

    • Host NIL Seminars for high school athletes to earn money for their sports

    • Meet with companies for possible sponsorships

    • Ensure equal representation for all genders in sports

    • Increase funding for equipment and resources for sports teams

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  • School Lunches

    • Work with culinary programs to improve school lunch quality

    • Have them be student taste tested

    • Expand lunch options for students with dietary restrictions

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  • Drug overdose prevention

    • Narcan distribution among qualified staff 

    • Better education on how to save lives during an overdose

    • Focus disciplinary action on helping students recover rather than punishing them for drug use ​

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  • LGBTQ+ Support

    • Incorporate LGBTQ+ education in history curriculum​

    • Start pilot program to implement gender neutral bathrooms in schools

    • Educate teachers, staff and students on how to stop bullying against LGTBQ+ students

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