To the Editor:
The undersigned writers will complete their terms on the Alexandria City School Board at the end of 2015. We are endlessly proud of the great work done every day by ACPS staff and students. We believe our school system is in as good as or better condition in almost every aspect than it was three years ago. This is despite challenges that keep getting bigger: our buildings are getting older, our enrollment continues to tax the capacity of our buildings, the percentage of students who need ELL services increases, and local and state and federal funding continues to be strained.
While progress is made, these challenges are not going away and ACPS remains at a critical juncture. Leadership is important. We write today to encourage the voters of District B to vote for Veronica Nolan for School Board.
Veronica is exactly the type of person the board needs at this time. She has substantive experience in education with a Master’s of Arts in Teaching and five years of serving as an urban classroom teacher in D.C. Public Schools. After leaving the classroom, she went to work for the non-profit Urban Alliance, helping open opportunities for high school students who would often not otherwise have a path to a wide range of post-high school options. She has served on the boards of directors of several other non-profit organizations, including Valley Drive Cooperative Preschool, DC Alliance of Youth Advocates, and Capital Area Asset Builders. Her tenure as executive director and CEO at Urban Alliance was nothing short of remarkable. It also included bringing the program to T.C. Williams.
She understands education. She understands and is motivated by the challenges of educating diverse populations. She has vast first hand experience, both from the perspective of a chief executive serving under a board and as a board member overseeing administrators, of what role a board such as the School Board can and should play in the continued upward trajectory of ACPS. Her quality of experience and skills makes her a truly unique candidate. The board would be lacking without Veronica at the table.
Stephanie A. Kapsis Justin P. Keating
The views are the writers’ own and should not be interpreted as official statements by the Alexandria City School Board.