Christina School District District G Seat

Christina School District currently has 2 seats up for election on May 9, 2017. Because there are 7 total candidates
between both seats, their responses will be divided into two separate documents. One for the District G Candidates,
one for the District B Candidates.

Jeffrey Day, Meredith L. Griffin, Jr., and Kimara Smith are candidates running for election to
the District G Seat on the Christina School District Board of Education. It should be noted that
Candidates Jeffrey Day (District G) and Justin Day (District B) are not related.

1. Please tell us what your connection and relationship is with the School District in which
you are seeking election to the Board of Education.

Jeff Day: I am a resident, taxpayer, and father of 3 school age children.

Griffin, Jr.: I am a resident of Nominating District G within the Christina School

District. My daughter was a 2013 graduate from Christiana High School.

Smith: I live in the district

2. In your opinion, what is the purpose and function of an elected Board of Education?

Jeff Day: To govern the district through collaboratively creating and executing a
vision for equity and excellence and directing our superintendent to execute the
vision. Students must be at the center of the vision.

Griffin, Jr.: An elected Board of Education's role is to set policy, and governance.
These servants set the course for the education of the district's students
(curriculum), hire the educational professionals that will administer the
educational and other programs of the district (superintendents), set budgets,
and ensure that policies are such that they promote and advance the district's
educational goals. They work collaboratively with the various levels of leadership
throughout the district (district office personnel, school building administration,
classroom teachers, etc.) to meet the common goal. They also work
collaboratively with other stakeholders (parents, businesses, and community)
toward the same aim.

Smith: In my opinion, the purpose of the board is to plan a vision for the school
district that reflect the stakeholders. The function of the board is to set policies
that keep schools on track and ensure students get the best education.
3. What are your opinions on A) School Choice overall, B) Magnet Schools, and C) Charter
Schools?

Jeff Day:
i. School Choice:
ii. Magnet Schools:
iii. Charter Schools:

Choice is a difficult subject. At its core, it is intuitively positive, but the

results and implications are extremely complex in terms of results and
benefits. Choice must be viewed holistically in that there are
consequences for those that choose and those that do not choose. Also,
we must remain aware that choice is an inherently selective process that
provides advantage to those able to afford its costs: involved and
financially capable parents. I am concerned that children of parents not in
those two buckets are getting an inferior public education and thats the
central thesis of my candidacy: equity.

Griffin, Jr.:
i. School Choice: I believe that the decisions that parent's make regarding
the education of their children are personal, and affected by myriad
factors. Public school choice in Delaware has been used by parents
throughout the State to provide the opportunities they desire for their
children. We must, however, ensure that school choice doesn't adversely
affect the overall equity in the public education system in Delaware.
ii. Magnet Schools: Magnet schools can and iii) charter schools are options
for parents in Delaware. Magnet schools can offer specialized curriculum
geared toward the specific interest of a child or family. In some instances,
charter schools fill a similar role. As I stated earlier, while the options these
schools offer benefit a number of families, they can also create pockets of
inequity within the overall public education system. The Christina School
District loses more than 6,000 students to out-of-district choice and
charter schools.
iii. Charter Schools:

School choice, magnet, and charter schools are part of the educational
landscape in Delaware. So the traditional district must ask hard questions as
it seeks to stem, and reverse, the tide of students leaving the district. A
district cannot simply oppose a part of the system that has been around for
more than 20 years. Why are parents opting to send children to magnet,
charter, or out-of-district choice schools (including Vo-Tech)? What
 synergies do our schools have with the programs offered in these schools?
What opportunities do we have as a district to learn from the best practices
introduced by these models, and make them fit the context or our district,
schools, and needs of our students? How can we make our district the
"destination district" of choice?

Smith:
i. School Choice:
ii. Magnet Schools:
iii. Charter Schools:

In my opinion, school choice, magnet schools, and charter school are

excellent alternatives for public education for families who have the ability
to go. The quality of your school should not depend on your zip code but
public schools offers an opportunity for all students.

4. Where do you stand on school vouchers? How would they benefit or harm public
education?

Jeff Day: I stand diametrically opposed to vouchers because they will widen the
chasm of achievement between socioeconomic subgroups.

Griffin, Jr.: I am not a proponent of school vouchers. I believe that providing

vouchers that would send public education funds to private schools would
further harm public education.

Smith: I believe vouchers harm public education because it removes public

money away schools that need it most. When less money is spent on public
schools it is never good for poor communities that rely on the public school
system. I also believe parents deserve a choice and these choices are personal
decisions.

5. Do you believe that poverty affects education and educational resources?

Jeff Day: Yes

Griffin, Jr.: Yes

Smith: Yes
 Why or Why Not?

i. Jeff Day: Children come into school from various homes/backgrounds. If

the homes they come from are not equally providing basic necessities for
those children the expectation that they would succeed equally is flawed.

ii. Griffin, Jr.: Impoverished children, and as a result the schools with high
levels of poverty, come to school having faced myriad issues that other
children do not. Nutrition, sleeping conditions, clothing, access to
counseling, and healthcare are but a few of the issues that these children
may present when entering any of our classrooms. Early education goals
may not have been met for the child entering kindergarten, due to lack of
access or funds. Often poverty affects more than one generation within a
family. This means that parents are doing for their children the best that
they can, based upon what they know, have access to, or understand.

The dedicated educators who receive this children must often deal with
the issues presented long before they can begin the educational process.
Or they must cater the process to fit the unique and specific needs of
these children. Tutoring and extra academic enrichment, things often
taken for granted by more affluent parents, are sometimes either
nonexistent or only found in programs that may serve the broader
community of impoverished families.

iii. Smith: Absolutely! Students coming from low-come area require more
resources which fall on schools to pick up the slack. Schools more then
ever have to provide more services then they've ever had to deal with in
the past.

6. Delaware provides special education supports and resources for children with higher
levels of need in grades 4 through 12 but not for children in grades K through 3. Should
Delaware expand support for special education needs to K-3 children? Why or why not?

Jeff Day: Yes. Early identification and intervention are a social and moral
imperative.

Griffin, Jr.: Yes, Delaware should provide supports for K-3 children. Data now
shows the vital importance of early education to overall educational success and
achievement. This means that, ideally, education begins prior to the child's arrival
in a kindergarten classroom. That said, from K-3 it is vital that a child learns to
 read. It is vital because from grades 4-12 (and beyond) that same child will use
those reading skills to learn. So Delaware has to ensure that the funds are
available to ensure that all students K-3 can gain the skills needed to advance
their education.

Smith: Yes, Having special education in grades K-3 will ensure students are ready
to enter the 4th grade . The earlier the services can be provided for students the
better they will preform in long term. Providing these services may help students
do better in the long term.

7. Below is an excerpt from a Baltimore Sun story summarizing recent legislation making its
way through the Maryland legislature focusing on suspension & expulsion policies for
students in Pre-K through 2nd grade. Please share your thoughts on this and how it
could pertain to Delaware schools.

Jeff Day: Children, especially at a young age, should never be made to think that
society has given up on them. School is a large portion of a child's life and to
remove them from that environment, especially at an early age, will play a
detrimental role on their life and development moving forward.

Griffin, Jr.: The data from several districts shows a disparity in disciplinary rates,
based upon ethnicity, in Delaware. While the rates in some districts have
decreased, the disparity still exists. It would first be my hope that the local Boards
of Education would establish policies regarding the use of restorative disciplinary
measures before the state legislature took up the issue. I do, however, firmly
believe that there should be a very narrow set of circumstances that would lead
to the suspension or expulsion of children in the earliest primary grades.

Smith: I don't think we should suspend or expel students at such an early age.
These students are young enough that we can alter there behavior with
incentives. Studies show that expelling students at a young age can result in
students becoming involved later in the criminal justice system. Suspensions are
ineffective because this only treats the symptom of a bigger problem. We can
give up on these kids. I know that it is not easy but we need to find alternative to
this system.

8. Governor Carney has repeatedly said that the Delaware Department of Education will be
refocused as a support service for schools and districts. What are three items or services
that you would ask the Governor to prioritize?
 Jeff Day:
i. Support for educator professional development
ii. Support for evidence based interventions in failing schools
iii. Support for children ravaged by poverty, a known factor in positive
student acheievement

Griffin, Jr.:
i. Early education services and programming.
ii. Professional development supports educators.
iii. Better vertical alignment of the entire system from early education
through post-secondary education

Smith:
i. BUILD STRONGER CONNECTIONS BETWEEN EARLY LEARNING AND K-12
SCHOOLS.
ii. EXPAND CAREER PATHWAYS PROGRAMS TO GET MORE STUDENTS
PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS BEFORE GRADUATION.
iii. OFFER USEFUL AND EFFECTIVE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TO
DELAWARE EDUCATORS.

9. Governor Carney's proposed budget for fiscal year 2018 places tens of millions of dollars
of State public education funds at risk of being eliminated. Now that the budget process
is in the General Assembly's hands, what words of advice do you have for our legislators?

Jeff Day: To be strong and vote no on the proposed budget by the governor. We
have to many options available to us to generate revenue to make cuts to
education, the very future of our state. We should not be selling our future to
place bandaids on decades old wounds within our government.

Griffin, Jr.: "Shared sacrifice" is absolutely the wrong way to approach budget
cuts. Prioritize the things that matter most, much in the same way we expect
citizens to do with household finances. Public education is vital to the success of
every sector of public good within Delaware. Therefore, it shouldn't suffer cuts at
the same rate as other parts of the budget. In reality, we should increase
educational funding, recognizing it as an investment that will pay dividends long
into the future via greater economic development, more business drawn to a
state with an educated workforce, higher employment rates, lower crime rates,
more attractive real estate for home owners with children, etc.
 Smith: DON'T CUT FUNDING!!! We need to invest as much as we can in our kids.
Delaware needs to look at kids today, these are future leaders. Investing in our
kids education can put children on a direct path to good health and employment.

10. Please share any additional thoughts or comments you would like us to share when we
post your responses and know that we sincerely thank you for taking the time to
respond to our questionnaire.

Jeff Day: I want students, parents, teachers, and all other stakeholders to know
and understand that my voice is theirs. I have a history of leading at work, at
home, and as an activist in my community. I am ready to create a dialogue with
you all, listening to and finding solutions together. Christina, and public
education in Delaware as a whole, need an advocate in order to succeed. As a
nurse and father I can and will be that advocate for all of you.

Griffin, Jr.: Elected Board of Education members are stewards of the public trust.
We are first entrusted to thoughtfully develop the policies that will set the
educational course for thousands of students. Second, we're trusted to be
attentive, committed, and professional leaders. It is my hope to serve, in this
mold, as a member of the Christina School District Board of Education. I truly
believe that the Christina School District can be a "destination district" in New
Castle County. In order for this to occur, we must focus on leadership, equity, and
reputation within the Christina School District.

Smith: Thank you so much for taking the opportunity to participate.