Closing the achievement gap, helping students pass the High School Assessments and retaining quality teachers are some of the issues candidates running for Howard County School Board say are important to them.
Larry Cohen, 56, a 28-year employee of the school system, said he would “make sure all kids are given the necessary assistance to pass the High School Assessments.”
Regarding the achievement gap, he said, “it?s a societal issue that we need to work on as a community.”
Keeping teachers in the school system is also important, Cohen said. “The schools are only as good as the teachers that we have.”
Incumbent Patricia Gordon, 82, who has served on the board since December 2000, said she wants to ensure continuity on the board, make sure the operating budget for fiscal 2007 is fully funded and strengthen the curriculum.
“We?re transitioning from five to seven members, and I want to make sure that everyone is grounded in the way the board works,” she said.
On the school system?s operating budget, she said, “I think everyone looks at the budget and say, ?It?s so big; we can take a little bit away.? But every function of the Department of Education is vital,” Gordon said.
She also wants to see foreign language taught in the elementary schools.
“The earlier children learn foreign language, the better they communicate in the world,” she said.
Incumbent Joshua Kaufman, 35, who has served on the board since 2003, said he wants to make sure every student passes the HSAs.
“We?ve seen a dramatic increase in scores using our co-teaching model ? a mixture of regular and special education classes that have smaller student-teacher ratios,” he said.
Editor?s note: The remaining candidates for School Board will present their top three issues Thursday.
