The world needs innovators like never before—changemakers who see themselves as actors in the world rather than recipients of circumstance. In the United States of America, one of the most powerful tools a person has for creating change is their ability to vote.
While much of the focus of election season understandably falls on races with the widest reach, it’s no secret that ballot measures, propositions, and candidate races of every level are of great importance.
If you want to impact your community and model civic engagement for the kids in your life, look no further than your local school board election. These school board candidate questions, developed in collaboration with educators and families, can help you to get a sense of where your candidates stand on the issues.
Questions about Online Learning
Do you have thoughts on the benefits and the limitations of online learning?
With online learning, it seems more hands-on subjects like science are taking a backseat to the basics or not being taught at all. How would you address this?
How do you plan to support learners for whom it’s more challenging to sit and engage with a screen for long periods of time?
What do you feel is the appropriate amount of time for children to spend in online learning?
How will you work to make distance learning more accessible to more of the population, for both students and educators?
Questions about Equity
If students are learning remotely, how do you plan on supporting students who don’t have access to food or technology?
How would you address the learning gap and inequities that come along with remote learning, which tend to be disproportionately felt by people of color?
How do we ensure all kids have access to high-quality education when academic success is dependent on access to technology, high-speed internet, and grown-up support throughout the day?
Questions about Health & Safety
What is your assessment of the COVID risks in our community?
Do you have ideas on how to create a covid safe way for children to attend in-person schooling?
What policies or plans do you have for safely returning to schools?
How do you propose keeping teachers safe, while also serving students in-person?
How will you work to ensure our schools are community centers that meet students’ physical and mental health needs?
More Questions to Consider
Given the tumultuous period in education, it’s likely that when school life returns to normal, many students will be behind. What plans do you have for assessing where students are and providing support to schools to catch them up?
What do you believe to be the ideal class size? If that number is smaller than what is currently the reality, what plans do you have for reducing class sizes or providing more support to teachers so they can more effectively do their jobs with high student-to-teacher ratios?
What do you consider to be the role of a school board member? What experiences have you had that prepare you for that role?
How do you plan to listen to and gather feedback from your community?
—
Do you have more questions for your school board candidates that you’d like to share? We’d love to hear them!
