@VincentSmithVB
#VincentSmithVB

While VBCPS' reading scores are higher than the national average I do not think we should rest on shriveling laurels saying, "We're not as bad as others". We should be striving to do much better. By VBCPS' own statistics, 30% of our 3rd graders are not reading at 3rd grade level. Written communication is a cornerstone of human civilization. Children who can't read at grade level will struggle to learn at grade level. Frustration leads to discontent and acting out disrupting classrooms thus affecting others' access to education. We should be prioritizing resources to get that number much, much lower.

The school buildings and facilities of VBCPS are aging much faster than we are addressing it. With 86 schools in a division, we should be replacing or modernizing about 3 every 2 years, but we aren't even addressing one a year. VBCPS must develop a plan to recover our Capital Improvement Program immediately. I have the skills and 25+ years of experience in Capital Improvement projects and programs to get us back on track.

Teacher retention must be prioritized. Our teachers are not feeling supported and are frustrated by a plethora of non-teaching mandatory training and tasks. Let's get our teachers back to focusing on teaching and nothing else. We also need to address our libraries. The past few years have been tumultuous surrounding our school libraries and the books within them. Without digressing into the discussion about individual books, we need to set policy stating the purpose and mission of our libraries. We do not have that now. It is imperative to get younger children eager to read, and you do that by providing recreational reading materials they are excited about. As our students age I feel the library should shift toward curriculum support and let the parents take the lead in providing recreational reading materials.

Absolutely. The same as capitalism always results in a strong economy when the government gets out of the way, school choice will absolutely result in better schools. An educational "free market" will self-correct poor performance and results. Do you buy anything from Amazon with a one-star review?

Parents are the ultimate authority. But that's not to say that parents have direct ultimate control over instruction or curriculum. That control is exerted at the ballot box when electing school board members. Balancing that statement, I also believe no school should hide anything about their child's curriculum, lessons, experiences, development, health, safety, etc. from their parents. Try holding a piece of cardboard between a mama grizzly and her cub and see how that ends.

America was inherently racist during one part of our history. We no longer are. There is racism in America. But it is not systemic. When on the school board I will represent all, regardless, with a personal zero-tolerance policy the same as current VBCPS policy.

I believe, as is already required by state law, there should be an opt-in sex education component teaching approved curriculum led by appropriate qualified instructional members. It should be a high-level general curriculum focusing on the basics of reproduction, safety, and protection from STDs.
I do not believe SEL, CRT, or any CT have a place in our educational system. We should foster a caring and alert environment that helps our staff help their students grow with a sense of achievement and pride in their work. As to DEI, I believe some need more help than others throughout life. It's human of us to give of ourselves to help others. But to mandate my humanity? No thank you. I do not believe in equality of outcome. I believe in more help when more help is needed as a human being.

As many have said before me, get back to the basics. We had better education in the early 70's than today. Yes, we have challenges today that were not faced in the 70's. We also had challenges in the 70's that we do not face today. I believe we have overcomplicated many things in life and many parts of education. We don't need a weird program developed by someone with a doctorate in mathematics to teach multiplication tables. We should return to the requirement to memorize them. That's just one example of what I mean when I say, "the basics".

Girls, and women, need to be protected. Just as importantly they need to feel protected. That used to be simple. Today, it's been overcomplicated by the blurring of lines that, to me, are clear. We all know what this question is getting at, bathrooms, locker rooms, and athletic teams. Boys do not belong in girls' spaces or on girls' teams. It is dangerous and leads to harm.

Yes, I believe Title IX has been blurred in a way that we must undo. A century of women's achievements has been wiped from the map overnight, and it's wrong.

The Republican Party of Virginia Beach
Students First
Sen. Bill DeSteph
Sen. Christie New Craig
Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer