Campaign email: contact@camille4boe.com
Website: www.camille4boe.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/camilleforCCPS
Age: 41
Employment: Mothership Strategies, Chief operating officer
Education: MBA, Loyola University
Why are you running for the school board?
I’m running for school board in hopes that my knowledge and skill set can be utilized to preserve and improve the quality of Calvert County Public Schools. I’m an active parent in the community and I want to have a positive impact as an elected representative for the citizens of our county. I’m running to support the new superintendent while holding them as well as the board accountable to what they commit to doing, work on CCPS culture in hopes of improving recruitment and retention, and focus on student achievement. I aim to maintain and further strengthen the anti-racism policy.
What makes you a good candidate for the board?
I am a great candidate for the board because I am an effective communicator, a good listener, a strategic thinker, an innovative doer and a dedicated advocate. With so many conflicting opinions, I have the ability to be objective and listen to all to understand their perspective and assess how we can best work together to have needs met. I have 20 years of experience in Human Resources and Organizational Development, which I feel are pertinent to our school system’s current needs for greater recruitment and retention.
Please name a public leader you admire and explain why.
I have to say Harriet Tubman. It is hard for me to identify another leader that I respect that doesn’t have the traits I admire in her. She was a strong tenacious woman of strong faith, will, and spirit who endured and persevered through her own set of circumstances, which would have been more than enough; yet, she continued the fight to right the injustice of slavery and free as many as she could. In my run for the board, I often say this is not an action to benefit myself and my children directly, but one where I hope to have broader impact for the community and greater good of all.
What is the most important issue facing your school board, and what would you do about it if elected?
Recruitment and retention within the school system is one of the most important issues being currently faced. If there aren’t appropriate staffing level, there aren’t people present to carry out any of the solutions you find to any of the other problems. If elected I will become more informed on exactly what the concerns are, provide feedback on current processes, act as an advocate and mouthpiece for the great aspects of living in our area and working in our system, and ask questions/provide input on directives that come before the board that could hinder progress in either of these areas.
How concerned are you about school safety, and what if anything should be done to improve it?
I am always concerned about school safety. Our communities’ future, our children, are in these buildings every day. Our county has made great efforts to improve safety by utilizing protocols for entering buildings, limiting access, and funneling entry so that it can be monitored. I think we should continue to assess what level of safety precaution is appropriate for our effort in collaboration with Safety Officers and local law enforcement and make improvements as necessary.
Do you have any concerns about the way history is taught in your district’s schools, and if so, what are they?
I would like for history to be taught providing as much factual information and discussion of the various perspectives on issues as possible. Our country’s history should be a foundation for which we all can gain understanding and learn lessons to not repeat mistakes.
Do you think there are circumstances when books should be removed from school libraries, and if so, what kind of books should be removed?
No. There are already processes in place to determine which books are in the library and which are not. Beyond that students and parents are able to discuss and determine if they will further restrict what material is viewed. I’m sure there are books in the library with views/opinions that I do not agree with but my solution to that is not to remove the book.
