Campaign email: Yang4education@gmail.com
Website: www.Julieyang.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/julieyang4boe
Age: 52
Employment: I am a full-time candidate who serves on the board of The Arc Montgomery County. I was an MCPS high school college & career counselor prior.
Education: Master of Education, University of Hawaii
Why are you running for the school board?
I want every student to have a chance to succeed. My vision is to empower students, parents and staff, restore trust between the community and the school system, and lead efforts that ensure all students are college/career ready. I can make a difference given my extensive background directly serving students and their families in the school system. My plan includes:
- Increasing mental health support by making mental health a standing agenda item at the board.
- Expanding opportunities by connecting our students to various career pathways.
- Preparing students for future jobs by expanding STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) and career programs.
- Providing universal Pre-K education to ensure children are ready to learn.
What makes you a good candidate for the board?
As a former teacher, data analyst and college/career counselor, my track record includes serving three MCPS school clusters, removing barriers for students to access opportunities, working in high-poverty schools, and increasing engagement between immigrant families and schools. In my decade of advocating for students, I have served in leadership roles as a PTSA (Parent Teacher Student Association) activist, chaired the Asian Pacific American Student Achievement Action Group, and founded the Village Initiative, which serves special education families. My established relationships with the community, county government, non-profit entities and families are key to developing policies to better meet the needs of the entire community.
Please name a public leader you admire and explain why.
I admire Patsy Mink, the first woman of color elected to Congress (from Hawaii). She successfully introduced the first child care bill and legislation establishing bilingual education, special education, and Head Start. One of her great legislative triumphs was the Women’s Educational Equity Act. It provided educational funds for programs to promote gender equity in schools, increase educational and job opportunities for women and excise gender stereotypes from textbooks and school curricula. Mink is a champion for children, women and the underrepresented. She has the integrity to be an independent thinker and stay true to her ideals throughout her long political career.
What is the most important issue facing your school board, and what would you do about it if elected?
The single most pressing issue is student mental health. I intend to improve student mental health in the following ways:
- We need to gradually decrease the student-to-counselor, student-to-psychologist ratio in our schools.
- Put mental health as a permanent item on the Board of Education agenda. We can do this by making mental health fall under the jurisdiction of the Special Populations Committee.
- Collaborate and sustain partnerships with different levels of government and other agencies to bring resources for mental health support to our schools.
- Elevate student voices and have their input in implementing effective programs, curriculum and initiatives to improve mental health.
How concerned are you about school safety, and what if anything should be done to improve it?
My vision for safe schools is one where teaching and learning are not distracted; violence, drugs, bullying and fear are not present; students are not discriminated against; expectations for behavior are clearly communicated; and consequences for infractions are consistently and fairly applied. To achieve this, it requires the involvement of all school staff, and community partners when appropriate. Recent incidents have exposed the need to improve our schools’ intercom system, training for staff on safety protocol procedures and crisis communication with the community. As a board member, I will work with the school system to address these concerns.
Do you have any concerns about the way history is taught in your district’s schools, and if so, what are they?
It is important that our curriculum provides a variety of perspectives and materials. We must acknowledge that diverse cultural identities and practices, as well as issues of racial inequity, white supremacy, the history of slavery, and other systems of oppression, are a part of our history. I will work with the board to identify resources that are inclusive of all perspectives and learning materials that appropriately shed light on diversity, cultural identity and practices that permeate our lives. Currently, MCPS provides African American History as an elective, the board could consider replicating similar electives for other underrepresented and historically oppressed populations.
Do you think there are circumstances when books should be removed from school libraries, and if so, what kind of books should be removed?
Books should not be removed from school libraries only to appease the personal, religious or political views of parents or groups. I am opposed to any means that prohibits free speech. We have heard parent concerns about age-appropriateness. To be honest, at this time and age, our students are exposed to many different things on social media. The real work is how to equip our students with critical thinking skills to examine the materials they are exposed to. In plain language, we are teaching students not what to think, but how to think. I will charge our librarians and teachers to adjust the developmental age-appropriateness of books with channels for feedback from the community.
