Set the Bar Higher

Norfolk Public Schools shouldn't be aiming for adequate. We should be building a school division other cities want to emulate.

I decided to run for School Board after walking into my son's kindergarten orientation and learning that his school was slated to close.

The school consolidation plan was bigger than buildings, budgets and maintenance costs. It meant children leaving schools they knew. Parents leaving PTAs and communities they had spent years building. Teachers leaving colleagues, principals and classrooms they loved. Hundreds of families would have to adjust to something new.

Those realities deserved to be part of the conversation from the beginning.

That experience is what pushed me to run. After more than 20 years working in education, I know difficult decisions sometimes have to be made. But making a decision is only the beginning. Leadership means thinking through what happens next, communicating clearly and doing the work necessary to make change successful for the people living through it.

And I believe Norfolk is capable of much more than simply getting through the changes ahead.

I don't want us to accept “good enough” as the standard for Norfolk Public Schools. I don't want us satisfied because we met the minimum standard, filled out the right paperwork or improved a few numbers on a spreadsheet. I want NPS to become the gold standard for public education in this region and, eventually, across Virginia. And when we get there, we set the bar higher again.

We have talented educators. We have families who want their children to succeed. We have universities, nonprofits, businesses and community organizations all around us. Most importantly, we have students who are capable of extraordinary things when we give them the support, opportunities and expectations they deserve.

Getting there will take all of us.

1. Communicate Early, Clearly and Directly

Parents should not learn major news about their child's school from the evening news. Teachers should understand the division's direction and how their work fits into it. The community should have meaningful opportunities to ask questions before major decisions are finalized—not just hear about them afterward.

I want more direct communication between the School Board and the people it serves, including town halls and real conversations with families, educators and students.

Transparency isn't just putting information somewhere people can technically find it. It's making sure the people affected by a decision actually know what's happening and have a voice in the process.

2. Trust, Support and Keep Great Teachers

Yes, compensation matters. If Norfolk wants excellent teachers, we need to pay them competitively.

But if we're losing good educators even when we're paying competitive salaries, we need to understand what is driving them away.

Teachers deserve to feel heard, respected and supported. New educators bring current research, new ideas and energy into our classrooms. Veteran educators bring years of knowledge and experience. We should be learning from both.

After 20 years in education, I've also seen what meaningful professional development looks like. It isn't always bringing in an expensive outside speaker. Often, the best expertise is already in the building. Give great teachers opportunities to teach one another, recognize innovation and create a culture where good ideas can actually go somewhere.

3. Keep Students Safe by Keeping Them Engaged

School safety is about what happens inside the building, but it can't stop at the school’s doors.

Students need counselors, trusted adults, strong programs and meaningful ways to belong. They need opportunities that challenge them and give them somewhere productive to put their energy.

I want to explore stronger connections between NPS students and Norfolk's nonprofits, community organizations, universities and businesses—including service and volunteer opportunities for middle and high school students.

That's good for students and good for Norfolk. Students gain experience, relationships and a sense that they have something valuable to contribute. Community organizations gain the energy and talent of the next generation.

We're not just educating students to pass a test. We're helping them become capable adults and engaged citizens.

4. Go Beyond Compliance

Accreditation and continuous improvement are my professional wheelhouse. I oversee programmatic accreditation for 22 programs at Tidewater Community College, and I know one thing very well:

Meeting the minimum standard is not the goal.

Compliance matters. Accreditation matters. Test scores matter. But the goal should never be to scrape across a benchmark and declare victory.

Strong organizations continuously evaluate what is working, identify weaknesses before they become crises and improve even when they're already meeting the standard.

That's the mindset I want NPS to embrace: not “Are we good enough?” but “How do we get better?”

5. Bring the Whole City to the Table

Education isn't only a family issue or a school-system issue. It's a Norfolk issue.

The changes happening in NPS make strong PTAs and parent involvement more important than ever. But parents and teachers shouldn't have to do this alone.

Norfolk has universities preparing the next generation of educators. We have nonprofits doing extraordinary work on shoestring budgets. We have businesses and community organizations with time, talent, expertise and resources to offer.

Let's pick up the phone. Let's build the partnerships. Let's give people meaningful ways to help.

Whether your family is at Granby, Maury, Booker T., Ruffner, Ghent School, Norview, Northside, Academy for Discovery at Lakewood or anywhere else in NPS, we are one school division and one city.

Norfolk Can Be Exemplary

Of course I want higher test scores. Of course I want great teachers to stay. Of course I want students graduating prepared for college, a trade, the military or the workforce.

Those aren't bold goals. Those are the basics.

I'm running because I believe Norfolk can do more.

I want a school division where families trust their leaders, educators are empowered to do exceptional work, students are challenged and engaged, and the entire city sees their success as a shared responsibility.

Getting there won't be easy. We have real problems to solve and difficult work ahead of us. We have to rebuild trust, support our educators, engage our students, strengthen our schools and make sure the changes already underway work for the people affected by them.

But I know what Norfolk has to work with, and I know what we're capable of.

The vision is an exemplary school division. The work starts with where we are right now—and I'm ready to do it.