District 8: Hollywood/ Ravenel/ Sea Islands/ West Ashley

Michelle Faust

EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE

I have spent the last 12 years as a community leader and a passionate advocate for educational excellence in Charleston County School District. Shortly after moving to Johns Island, I noticed many families were leaving the community to seek better educational opportunities elsewhere. Determined to make a difference, I reached out to the Charleston County School District (CCSD) to get involved and gather community and parent input on the needs and wants of local schools. Initially, I chaired the District 9 Education Committee; the work resulted in expanded early childhood and Spanish instruction offerings on Johns Island. Since that work, I have served on School Improvement Councils (SIC), PTOs, and district-led lead groups in addition to attending school board meetings, Constituent Board meetings, and participating in discussion/impact opportunities from the district staff. I have spearheaded collaboration efforts to unite all SICs on Johns Island to work together to retain students in our neighborhood Johns Island schools. This experience, combined with my professional experience as a leader in large manufacturing companies has led to me to intentionally seek out diverse viewpoints and hone my skill of listening and inviting all stakeholders to the table for conversations. My platform is simple - I believe we can build strong schools together. I've spent the last 12 years working alongside school leaders, urging district staff, and bringing together community to ensure that our neighborhood Johns Island schools offer improved educational opportunities to our students. There is more to do, I am excited to begin similar work in the Hollywood, Ravenel and James Island parts of Charleston County School Board District 8. For more information about my platform, please visit www.faust4ccsd.com

TEACHER VOICES

Teacher input is vital to student success. We know that the single greatest predictor of student success is the quality of their teacher. Collective teacher efficacy has been proven, by researchers like John Hattie, to be a leading predictor of student achievement. Curriculum and resources, including budgetary decisions, should be determined with teacher input at the start of any selection, allocation, or policy-making process. Teachers know firsthand the needs of students and what might resonate with them, when teachers are resourced in ways that support them, they effectively become advocates for equity in the classroom ensuring all students' educational needs are met. I am committed to policies which require teacher input for critical decisions of the district. A key priority of my campaign is to improve working conditions for teachers; a key way to do that is to ensure that teachers have a seat at the table when critical decisions are being made. CCSD subscribes to the motto, “Students are the heart of our Work” I feel strongly that, it is teachers that bring the heart to the classroom.

TEACHER COMPENSATION

I have been in full support of the teacher pay increase over the last two years. I will offer continued support to address increased compensation of teachers and other professionals, particularly as the cost of housing in our area rises. I know there is still work to do to continue to increase teacher pay and maintain CCSD's position as the highest-paying school district in the state.

I'll prioritize spending that supports relevant and meaningful professional development that supports key district initiatives, and high-quality curricula and does so in a way that honors teachers as professionals. I will prioritize spending that supports the HR team's effort to improve working conditions and gather staff input to make positive change, including expanded early childhood offerings for employees' children.

I will continue to prioritize spending that provides guaranteed support for the weighted student funding (WSF) budget. The WSF provides resources to all schools, to be used to support pupils in poverty, multilingual learners, and students who receive special education services. Now that the innovative budget is a reality, I will prioritize ensuring that the WSF positively impacts student groups by demonstrating an increase in student achievement and closing the achievement gap. I will focus particularly on underserved and Title 1 schools, while also maintaining an awareness of student achievement in schools that recently lost Title 1 funding.

DISCIPLINE

Decreasing reports like these is a key component to ensuring that teachers feel their working conditions are positive. A teacher should be able to keep their priority rigorous classroom instruction, without spending their time and energy on repetitive student misbehavior. I will support teachers by supporting programs and funding that teachers need to manage disruptive and disrespectful student behavior such as: restorative practices, second step, calming kits/rooms, referrals to guidance and mental health / administration at the local school level. In most cases, these programs/referrals cannot be fully implemented without budgets that provide resources. I look forward to further input from teachers to see if the WSF budget can be expanded to include reducing the number of teachers who say that misbehavior at their school negatively impacts learning student discipline/disruptive behavior.

My philosophy toward student discipline is centered around positive relationships, academically engaged students, and holding high academic expectations for all students.

TEACHER PLANNING AND NON-INSTRUCTIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

To ensure planning time is protected, schools require resources/adults in the building. Expert adequate administrative support from data clerks/administration reduces time teachers spend on things that are non-instructional items. At a minimum, we must follow laws that afford protected planning time for teachers. Further, I support the CCSD-funded initiative to provide additional teacher planning time. I support the continued dialogue, led by the Teacher Compensation Task force, to hear from teachers and better understand, firsthand, actionable steps that trustees can support, and staff can implement to ensure that teachers have protected planning. As a board member, I am committed to listening to our teachers and providing resources to reduce non-instructional responsibilities.