WATCH THE INTERVIEW THAT BRANDIE DID WITH KEN ROSSIGNOL FROM THE CHESAPEAKE TODAY
https://rumble.com/v50vr3i-brandie-edelen-st.-marys-county-school-board-candidate.html
QUESTIONS ASKED & BRANDIE'S RESPONSES
LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS
Qualifications: How do your skills and experience prepare you for the duties of this office?
I am personable. People feel comfortable speaking to me. I feel comfortable in leadership roles and have often volunteered to spearhead various projects. I am a former public-school teacher, which gives me knowledge of the inner workings of public education. I am currently an educator, serving as an Adjunct Professor at CSM, with my primary home base being the Leonardtown Campus. I have a master’s degree in Human Services. I am a mother of six. My youngest attends St. Mary’s Co. Public Schools.
SOUTHERN MD NEWS
Question: What would be your approach to solving the ongoing issues regarding school discipline?
The key to preventing/managing discipline problems at school is easier than many think. I strongly believe that it is a collaborative effort involving parents, students, teachers, administrators and other school staff. Put simply, it is imperative that parents routinely discuss with their children the importance of being kind and respectful to their teachers and their peers and that parents discuss their expectations for how their child/children are to behave in school. It is imperative that teachers are consistent in their approach to discipline and that the expectations are clear. It is imperative that administrators are equally consistent to their approach to discipline and that they are available to support teachers when called to a classroom. Administrators, teachers and support staff should be ever-present, daily, throughout the school (i.e. in hallways, the cafeteria, everywhere). When I was a public school teacher, it was rare that I experienced student discipline issues in my classroom, but I credit this to not just discussing the behavior expectations for the classroom with my students from the first day of class, but it was important to me that my students knew that I loved being a teacher and that I gave all that I had, each and every day, to teaching them to the best of my ability. They respected me because I was consistent, I tried to make learning fun and engaging, and it was obvious to them that I cared about them. All of these actions will almost always improve school climate and ultimately lead to a safer, less disruptive school environment.
LEAGUE OF WOMEN'S VOTERS
Service: What inspires you to serve on the Board of Education?
I am inspired to serve on the Board because I want to offer a unique perspective of having been a public school teacher, as well as a college professor in the Tri-County area. From teaching Special Education to instructing virtually during lockdown, I have seen areas in need of improvement, and I believe they can be improved.
THE COUNTY TIMES
What must be done to make schools safer and violence free?
Making schools safer requires a collaborative effort. Parents need to reinforce appropriate behavior at school. Teachers need to stand outside their classroom doors during class changes, which will allow extra sets of eyes and ears. Administrators need to be accessible and ever-present, daily, throughout our schools. Violent acts and disturbances must be consistently met with consequences.
THE COUNTY TIMES
What policies would you enact to help boost student achievement?
Boosting student achievement doesn’t have to cost a thing. Parents and teachers must consistently communicate with one another. When they regularly communicate, it sends a message to the student that their parents and teachers care. It’s also imperative to remove distractions in classrooms in order to boost achievement. Reducing distractions creates more focused, higher-achieving students.
THE COUNTY TIMES
How would you reach out to parents and get them more involved in schools?
I found that, as a teacher, simply emailing home was not enough. I made it a practice to call my student’s parents, and not only with concerns, but with praise too. I don’t believe that parents truly don’t want to be involved. The key to more involvement lies with educators initiating and fostering open lines of communication with parents.
THE COUNTY TIMES
What would you do to find budget savings in the school’s budget to help provide tax relief?
As an Educator, I understand the importance for teachers and students to have all the tools, resources, and support needed to succeed and thrive. I have asked Superintendent Smith hard questions regarding where money is allocated and what programs and positions are effectively working. The key to finding the savings needed for the budget lies in Central Office cuts/reductions.
Education Association of St. Mary's County (EASMC)
Please provide your general and specific thoughts on how the county can address the unmet needs facing our schools. Detail how you would prioritize aid for education in your budget deliberations.
This is a difficult situation, and I say this because no one wants to raise taxes because we all feel the effects of paying more. I honestly think that the majority of people living in our county would not object to increasing taxes if our school system was providing a top-notch education and if our students were consistently meeting target goals/scores on state tests. Who would argue with paying more taxes if the results of spending more on our schools revealed a clear positive impact? As a teacher, annually, I had to submit an SLO for each of my self-contained English classes. I had to submit how I was going to test my students in specific areas and the goal that I had for the class. By Spring, I had ample time to teach and target those specific learning outcomes and had collected and assessed the data to present to my Principal. Much like this, example, the citizens of our county need to see the progress or lack of progress that students are making. . This data can be used to show that funding the budget should be a priority. In order to address the unmet needs facing our schools, we have got to fully-staff schools. This will help with overcrowded classrooms, and help provide students with more small group instruction. It will also help with adequate staffing of counselors and special educators.
Education Association of St. Mary's County (EASMC)
There is considerable room for improvement in addressing educator recruitment and retention. Class sizes have increased because of cost-cutting measures and/or due to hiring freezes, layoffs, and retirements. Many support personnel positions have been eliminated. And Maryland is always challenged with filling educator jobs because we import nearly half of all certificated teachers from prep programs in other states. The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated these shortages. At the same time, the Blueprint calls for the hiring of 15,000 additional educators to provide more individualized attention to students. How will you address critical concerns with educator recruitment and retention?
We have been experiencing a nationwide teacher shortage for years. It really is at the core of why our schools are failing. When I was 5, my mother, who was a preschool teacher, took me to school with her while I was on summer break. She was a teacher of twelve 2 year olds. Even at 5, I read to them, helped unpack their lunches for them and played with them. It was then that I knew that I wanted to be a teacher. Teaching used to be a very respected and sought after profession; not so uncommon that I knew many students who also dreamed of someday teaching. To recruit and retain teachers we, first, have to offer them a competitive salary. One in which they can raise a family on. I, personally, have plenty of friends that are teachers, and they are single parents, who have to work two or more jobs to make ends meet. Other colleagues of mine complained about their pay but kept teaching because they were not the breadwinner of their family, so their salaries were supplemental income for the household. I began as a paraeducator in our county at Margaret Brent. I made $12.50 an hour and was only allowed to work 34 hours per week, without benefits and without pay on days off/holidays/summer break. After taxes, I didn’t contribute much to our household, but it allowed me to be home for my children to get them on and off of the bus. Ultimately, I obtained my Master’s degree and was recruited by Charles County Public Schools. To be honest, I wanted to teach in St. Mary’s because we live here, but the pay was so much higher in Charles. Teachers should not have to look for employment out of their counties to find competitive pay. Even after leaving CCPS, I looked into teaching in St. Mary’s, but even as a certified Special Educator, I would have moved backward on the teacher salary scale to take a loss of about $10,000. I understand, that the Blueprint addresses this shortage and mandates increases, but it has been a long time coming. I would also propose that the county offer more Conditional Teaching Certificates to current SMCPS employees who meet the educational requirements to be a teacher and who have earned at least an “Effective” rating on their yearly review. Allowing them to teach on a conditional teaching certificate, while providing them with a teacher mentor and departmental support allows vacancies to be filled by qualified, current employees who have proven to be quality educators. This will curtail some of the teacher recruitment currently taking place outside of our county and our state. Another strategy to recruit is to include information about the TAM Program at the Tech Center in each of our school’s weekly newsletters to parents/guardians. We oftentimes hear a lot about the STEM program, but never about the TAM program, so most parents/guardians are unaware that there is a program for students thinking that they want to become teachers. My son’s friend is in the TAM program, but only found out about it by visiting the Tech Center during it’s Open House. We’ve got to make the profession attractive starting with students. Another huge step toward recruiting and retaining educators is through boosting the respectability of the institution. This entails openness and continued support for our current educators, with the end result of teacher retention in the county. Through boosted status as a respected institution, our positions would become more appealing to those aspiring to teach, as well as veteran educators. Most of my veteran teacher friends do not complain about their salary and are very happy with the health benefits. Their concerns are that they are burnt out; worn out; sometimes performing the duties of two and three teachers. It seems as if the days of working a 40 hour work week have turned into a 50+ hour work week and with little support from Administration. This is often the result of an understaffed school, so I will make it a priority to fully staff schools to help reduce teacher burnout. I support the Blueprint’s “ladders for teachers and school leaders with standards for advancement and compensation.
Education Association of St. Mary's County (EASMC)
EASMC supports honesty in education. To encourage critical thinking, we believe educators should have professional autonomy and should be afforded the deference to teach in their classrooms, schools, and districts. Do you support or oppose this position?
I would love to say that teachers should be given professional autonomy because that autonomy can prove to be the difference between a student being able to fully grasp curriculum or not. As an educator, I too support honesty in education and strive to encourage critical thinking. As an educator, I can see both sides of the coin on this topic, however, ultimately I would oppose the position that educators should have professional autonomy and should be afforded the deference to teach the truth in their classrooms, schools, and districts. I say this, because what someone’s “truth” is, is not necessarily someone else’s “truth.”