District 2: Mount Pleasant

Carolina D Jewett

EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE

I am a mom of 2 children in SSCD and volunteer my time as much as possible. In my past career, as a consultant for IBM, I worked with the Public School system of Puerto Rico where we implemented a new student information system into all of the schools in the entire county.

TEACHER VOICES

Teachers are the cornerstone to our education system and need to be included in the decision making. I think having an open dialogue with teachers in my district will be a very important part of my job so that I can support them as much as possible. 

TEACHER COMPENSATION

I think that we have made huge strides and I think we can make more. In order to have a strong economy we need a strong education system and that cannot happen if we do not have teachers. It is a critical piece of the puzzle. 

DISCIPLINE

I think it is critical that we empower teachers to teach. It is a difficult situation for teachers to be in and it is time that we help them navigate the issues with clear and unwavering support. 

Ed Kelley

EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE

As a current sitting board member, I bring a thorough understanding of the CCSD school district, to include the work structure, curriculum adoption, budgeting and the all too important and overlooked distinction between Governance and Management.  Through the last two years on the board, I have come to understand what parts of our systems work well, and what parts are in desperate need of intentional focus.  As a board member, I plan to continue to focus on student outcomes as the most important metric we have.

TEACHER VOICES

I have continually both listened to (by meeting in person in small group or individual settings) and been a voice of teachers.  I was the first board member to suggest a $5K bonus from ESSR fund, as well as brought the teacher raise up to $8K by a conservative viewing of our budget (eliminating waste).  I have publicly taken up issues that teachers have raised with the public, district, and other board members to include curriculum changes, planning time, lunch duty, safety and more!

TEACHER COMPENSATION

As a champion of the recent teacher pay increases and bonuses, my record certainly speaks for itself.  I believe teachers who cannot live in their community (because it’s too expensive) and are therefore commuting long distances, working longer hours, showing up to school more exhausted…. All those negative outcomes for teachers, have negative outcomes for students.  I believe in a zero-based conservative spending model, that gives building level leaders as much authority as possible over their budget is ultimately best for students.  Eliminating waste and putting as much money as possible into classrooms is the only right answer. 

DISCIPLINE

I am adamantly against progressive discipline.  I believe the only way teachers can be successful is if they are respected, which must start with parents supporting teachers.  The root problem is not in the classroom, but at home.  The district needs to engage with parents and encourage and teach parents that their level of involvement in their child’s education has a direct “1 to 1” impact on their child’s level of academic success.