Campaign email: VoteJohnson10@gmail.com
Website: www.nmjohnson.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marylandnivek.m.johnson/
Age: 28
Employment: MCPS, IT, Technology Education & Computer Science Teacher
Education: Master of Education, Bowie State University
Why are you running for the school board?
Since joining the school board, I have seen the incredible innovative practices and programs implemented for our students and educators. I witnessed and learned up close and personally the strengths and weaknesses of our small school system. We still have a way to go, but we are on the right track. However, I’m running to drive the school system to become more effective, efficient, and unified in all its core value areas. Attention to this work will be critical as we move through educational changes and challenges. I aim to make Kent County one of the leading school systems, and we are already on that path.
What makes you a good candidate for the board?
I bring different lenses to the school board service as an educator, consultant, caregiver and community member. As an educator, I understand the needs of my fellow education professionals. The tools and resources they need to be successful in their craft. As a consultant, I see the need for solid operational structures and strategic planning. Caregiver for siblings and relatives in the KCPS system, I know the struggles and successes they have faced in such a rural school system. Being in the community has helped me understand how to bridge the gap between school and community. I know what it means to listen and discern the needs of the county population and student population.
Please name a public leader you admire and explain why.
Sarah Johnson Brown. She was a teacher for 44 years and served on the Kent County School Board for 18 years. She believed in education and meeting the needs of the education professionals and children of the school system. After she served as an educator and public official, she worked as a substitute. She has overcome many odds, not limited to racism, the first time reaching the Eastern Shore of Maryland in 1970. She has persevered through life challenges, including domestic violence, the death of a son and granddaughter, and raising her four grandchildren after she parented for 18 years. She continues to serve through all her life changes, putting service above herself. That is why I chose her.
What is the most important issue facing your school board, and what would you do about it if elected?
One of the major issues is the implementation of “Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.” Several moving parts include salary changes, curriculum implementation and accountability measures. This is will be a heavy lift both for school board and the county commissioners. Advocate for the creation of ongoing implementation advisory teams with students, parents, citizens and teachers. These stakeholders would review the systemwide changes and progress of the Blueprint. Hold monthly town halls to inform all stakeholders on progress. We need to work and meet monthly with the county commissioners, to ensure that we are all on the same page with the understanding implementation of the Blueprint.
How concerned are you about school safety, and what if anything should be done to improve it?
This year I helped the school board propose a resolution to fund school safety initiatives. I have advocated for making sure safety procedures for drills are posted in the classroom to ensure that all educational professionals and scholars understand the drills. I ensured that employees from our school’s operational department were part of their emergency management teams. All KCPS employees received active shooter training, known as ALICE. KCPS needs more training on social-emotional crises and bullying and harassment identification. These are issues that are becoming more prevalent in the ever-changing educational climate. The training needs to be given to all educational professionals.
Do you have any concerns about the way history is taught in your district’s schools, and if so, what are they?
No, I am not concerned about how history is taught in our school system. KCPS believes in an inquiry-based approach to teaching history. It’s not teaching scholars how and what to think about history but investigating primary and secondary sources and making conclusions. I would love to see our educational professionals and school administration help teach scholars about their local history. How do we connect the history taught in class to the surrounding community? History is an ever-changing concept; history and social studies curriculums must be regularly updated and supplemented to ensure that the knowledge and information are current.
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, books don’t need to be removed from school bookshelves and school libraries. It is up to curriculum teams to vet books and literary texts to ensure they are up to date. If a book needs to be removed, it must be by a criterion set with precise removal guidelines. Guidelines must be centered around school system policies and procedures. If a parent feels that a text is inappropriate, give the parent an option for their child to receive an alternative text or independent study.
