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The Daily Tar Heel

Michelle Brownstein: Candidate for the CHCCS Board of Education

Brownstein was first elected to the board in 2009

With less than a week until Election Day, The Daily Tar Heel spoke with the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education candidates to discuss major issues facing the board. Election day is Nov. 5.

Candidate Name: Michelle Brownstein

Daily Tar Heel: What are the biggest issues facing the school system?

Brownstein: My big issues are supporting our new superintendent Dr. (Thomas) Forcella and his successful implementation of a long-range plan, which for me encompasses all the major issues for our district: achievement gap, professional development of teachers, accountability issues, discipline issues and the big thing we’re highlighting is a year’s worth of growth for every child and accelerated growth for those who are behind.

This whole growth mindset that Tom has is really tremendous. The other big thing is the budget and the state government’s onslaught on the profession of teaching. I’m trying to do all I can to make sound choices with regard to the budget.

An offshoot of the budget is the facilities assessment that we’ve done of the older buildings of schools in our district and we’re partnering with Orange County Schools to do this there as well.

That’s going to be a huge fiscal need for our community that will involve a lot of work by whoever’s sitting on the school board to work collaboratively with the Orange County School Board, commissioners and the taxpayers to make sure everyone knows what’s going on.

DTH: Under your term as chair of the board, the achievement gap in CHCCS has remained steady, with white students significantly outperforming their minority counterparts. How can you explain this? Is the board doing enough?

Brownstein: Part of the reason I even ran for the school board the first time is because I want success for all students, and they’re not realizing their potential. That goes across the board for all kids.

The achievement gap is something I’ve tried very hard to shine a light on and really emphasizing the literacy gap. For me personally I think that is a fundamental, huge piece of the achievement gap. I had to provide extra support to learn to read.

I had to provide that privately and didn’t think that was appropriate for parents that couldn’t afford that. Once you start to learn about the impact of illiteracy in students it will blow your mind.

One of the things that I am continuing to push for is our focus on a high quality of literary instruction from the time the kids walk in the door. It’s not about just passing. It’s about accessing the curriculum so that you can grow up and be anything you want to be. That should not be determined by your parents’ income, where you live or the color of your skin.

DTH: Why are you the best candidate for the job?

Brownstein: Well the good news is there are three positions available. The reason I think I’d be good to be one of those people is that I have the most experience of all the candidates.

It takes time to learn the job of how to be a good board member. I also have the support of my board colleagues to be elected as vice chair and chair which reflects their confidence in my ability to do a good job. Having experienced board members is critical right now.

city@dailytarheel.com

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