Campaign email: pamela@pamelaboozer-strother.com
Website: https://www.pamelaboozer-strother.com/
Facebook: facebook.com/pam4pgcps
Age: 53
Employment: I am an association sector consultant for sponsorship programs and also serve as the current District 3 Board of Education member.
Education: MBA, Kogod School of Business, American University
Why are you running for the school board?
I am running for reelection as the mother of a PGCPS seventh grader and member of the Board of Education since 2018. I led through the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic and now have the opportunity to help students, staff and families recover. I am deeply knowledgeable of the PGCPS $2.6 billion annual budget. I have contributed to positive change in system resources, including expansion of new schools, with one delivered in my first term, and nine more on the way in the next two years throughout the county. I have served in a leadership role on the Community Schools strategy, expanding academic enrichment and mental health services to 95 Blueprint for Maryland’s Future funded schools.
What makes you a good candidate for the board?
I am a 17-year active resident of Prince George’s County. Before I ran for the board, I had a track record of success serving as the president of the Gateway CDC board and as a parent leader of the Mount Rainier Elementary PTO. I am known as a bridge builder among many PGCPS schools in District 3. I am running for reelection to continue to contribute to building an equitable and inclusive system by drawing on my life and work experiences.
Please name a public leader you admire and explain why.
I am grateful to the many Prince George’s County, Maryland, and national leaders who paved the way for women running for elected office. Witnessing the leadership of Maryland Delegate Joseline Peña-Melnyk (D-Anne Arundel and Prince George’s), and the bills she sponsored for LGBTQ+, immigrant and health equity, made me understood the power of grassroots elected leaders – the PGCPS mothers right here in our communities fighting for and making positive change.
What is the most important issue facing your school board, and what would you do about it if elected?
Implementing the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future legislation, which is based on the Kirwan Commission findings to improve academic achievement, is the most important issue facing the Board of Education. I support the COVID-19 pandemic academic recovery plans developed by CEO Dr. Monica Goldson that expand upon the programs in the Blueprint. PGCPS has been a leader in pandemic response, building tutoring and summer programs to provide year-round supports for learning loss gaps, as well as implementing the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future community schools model with wraparound services that include mental health practitioners in school buildings.
How concerned are you about school safety, and what if anything should be done to improve it?
Students, staff and families define safety in many ways. I will continue to advocate for funding for new clean energy school buildings that are built with the features of secure front entrances and modern doors and locks; improve safe walking paths to schools and advocate for a fully staffed crossing guard program; promote mitigating COVID-19 spread through a high vaccine rate; and support budgets with increased services for bullying prevention and restorative approaches to conflict resolution.
Do you have any concerns about the way history is taught in your district’s schools, and if so, what are they?
PGCPS is a culturally responsive school district in curriculum development and a system where educators teach the truth about U.S. history. There is room for expansion of more inclusive experiences for Hispanic students who are now more than 36% of the student body, such as the inclusion of the history and culture of Latin America.
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 do not agree with book banning. However, school library catalogs should be reviewed on a regular basis to ensure they include content that represents the diversity of the students of PGCPS and the commitment to culturally responsive teaching.
