Campaign email: salimahforschoolboard@gmail.com
Website: www.SalimahJasani.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SalimahForBmore
Age: 30
Employment: A design principal at Education Elements.
Education: Master of Science in Education Studies, Johns Hopkins University, and Master of Public Affairs, LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin.
Why are you running for the school board?
I am running for school board because we are failing our students. Each year, we have students forced to drop out so they can work full time, students who become incarcerated, and far too many students who lose their lives to violence.
Of those that do stay in school, we fail them in other ways. For example, as a special education teacher, my incredible students often received a subpar education because of their disability label.
It doesn’t have to be this way. I am running because I know we can redesign our school system so ALL of our students can thrive. And I believe I’m uniquely situated to be a part of that redesign due to both my lived experience and professional expertise.
What makes you a good candidate for the board?
I belong to two communities that are underrepresented on the School Board: the immigrant community and the disability community.
Additionally, in my current role, I work with school districts around the country on things like leadership development and systemic change. I have a deep understanding of what it means to be a school board member because I work with them for a living and support them in solving their toughest challenges.
Finally, I remain connected to Baltimore students, not only through my relationships with my former students, but also through volunteering and community organizing. My goal is to amplify student voices in board decision-making.
Please name a public leader you admire and explain why.
I admire Stacey Abrams (former Georgia state representative and current Democratic gubernatorial candidate) because she embodies leadership that is focused on collective empowerment. Her campaign has been centered on giving a voice to people who have been intentionally disenfranchised. Her work reminds us that our fates are connected.
As a first time candidate, I have been intentional about the ways in which I engage people that the political system has left behind. Additionally, through the campaign, I have become connected to so many people and organizations creating change in Baltimore, in many cases one block at a time. It will take all of us – elected and non-elected leaders and community members – working together to dismantle the systems that harm our students.
What is the most important issue facing your school board, and what would you do about it if elected?
I believe that inequity in education is our most pressing issue. There should be no such thing as a “bad school.” ALL of our children should have an excellent education and access to opportunities that allow them to thrive.
My plan to address educational inequity includes the following:
- Work to meaningfully include students with disabilities so they are fully participating members of the school community.
- Promote School Board outreach in ways that are culturally responsive and meet our community members where they are.
- Support district-wide training and follow-up coaching around diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
How concerned are you about school safety, and what if anything should be done to improve it?
I am very concerned about school safety, having lost students to violence in and around schools. I believe that violence in schools is a symptom of the injustices in our city that traumatize our students, and in order to address the violence, we must address that trauma. For this reason, I am a strong proponent of implementing restorative practices and conflict resolution training in every school. I also support providing students with the wraparound services they need to be mentally, socially, and emotionally well, including an appropriate ratio of school mental health providers to students. Finally, I would advocate for full implementation of an integrated tiered system of supports.
Do you have any concerns about the way history is taught in your district’s schools, and if so, what are they?
I find that the curriculum used by Baltimore City Public Schools to teach history, both within and outside of Social Studies classrooms, is robust. For example, as an English teacher, the curriculum I used included historical background on the events surrounding the works of literature that we read. If I were to enhance our curriculum, I would add coursework related to personal finances and career/ workforce preparedness so that our students have opportunities to achieve their goals after high school. I would also advocate for implementing personalized learning for our students so that each student has voice and choice in the curriculum.
Do you think there are circumstances when books should be removed from school libraries, and if so, what kind of books should be removed?
I am against banning most* books from school libraries, because:
- Whatever a child cannot find in a library, they will look for on the Internet.
- In the library, adults can help children find age-appropriate materials.
- A lot of topics from which adults want to shield children directly impact children, and research tells us it’s better for kids to have their experiences validated.
- The best way to prevent indoctrination is to make a wide variety of books available so children can learn to think critically.
*I say “most” because there are exceptions – a book that encourages students to hurt themselves, for example. But school libraries don’t typically stock books like this.
