I will strive to make our Rock Hill Schools the safest in the nation. We must continuously update our protocols and provide the highest quality of resources to ensure that our children have a safe and secure learning environment. This will require partnerships with local and state law enforcement agencies as well as evaluating the feasibility of utilizing private security firms for certain instances.

In society, our online presence and dependence upon technology continues to grow. I would like to implement an online safety curriculum beginning as early as kindergarten to help protect our children from the dangers that may be lurking online. There are individuals that prey upon our children online and we must teach them how to navigate the internet world safely.

Our next generation needs to be taught interpersonal communication skills at a higher level. The ability to positively communicate with others breeds respect. Respect not only for each other, but for teachers and respect for oneself. We must facilitate and teach peaceful ways to resolve conflicts between our students to avoid disruptive situations that may escalate to something much worse.

Each child should be reminded constantly that they are of value no matter what their mindset or circumstances. We must bolster RHSD3's mental health resources to counterbalance the myriad of mental health issues that our students face in today's world. Every single child must be given hope for tomorrow and realize their self worth.

It is imperative that our students learn the value of self-discipline. Discipline is often times confused with punishment. Punishment is what you do TO a child; discipline is what you do FOR a child. Discipline starts by teaching students things as simple being on time, listening , following directions, turning in assignments on time and waiting their turn to speak.

We lose children every day in this nation rather by death or incarceration due to the effects of drugs and alcohol. Our School district must partner with our community agencies to create an effective and comprehensive drug prevention program to make our students aware of the dangers and real life consequences of drug and alcohol abuse.

My vision is to create new and valuable learning opportunities for our students through community involvement and partnerships. I want to use these partnerships to provide hope and knowledge to our students through apprenticeships, internships and presentations from Rock Hill businesses, non-profit organizations, and our public service sector. I would like to increase the visibility of entrepreneurs, local artists, and tradesmen to highlight their importance in the community and hopefully inspire our students to follow their lead.

I am 100% in favor of teaching our children the truth and facts. If factual history makes anyone feel uncomfortable, that's a good thing. We must learn from that feeling and strive to never repeat heinous acts committed in the past. We must examine and tailor all curriculum to what is best to build our students and determine what is of value and what is not.

I am opposed to allowing any politically agenda based curriculums in our classrooms. What we may like about a curriculum based on our own political beliefs could be whisked away and replaced with the opposite party's agenda based on an election. That is a slippery slope that could lead to our families' values being encroached upon in a classroom. I am not willing to risk exposing our students nor our district to that.

Our teachers, administrators, and staff serve as the catalysts for our children's future. It is my belief that they should be appreciated and respected for being on the front lines to provide our students' education and paid accordingly. Classroom teachers and staff are invaluable and under no circumstances are they to be seen as merely a number nor replaceable or disposable. I intend to fight for them by providing the support they deserve in the way of salary, securing and protecting their benefits, involving community businesses and individuals to sponsor classrooms, and assuring them that the Rock Hill School Board has their back.

Teachers should be able to be the CEOs of their own classrooms without having to worry about bureaucracy or red tape. Every employee of the district will be held accountable, but in a way that does not induce stress or fears of job insecurity.

We must prepare our students not only for college enrollment, but also for joining the workforce upon graduation. Our district must enrich and fully fund our ATC programs that teach trade skills. This will allow students who do not plan to go to a four year college or university the power to join the workforce confidently and competently. Our STEAM programs must be promoted within the community to interest more student participation and interaction as well.

Also known as extracurricular activities, we must provide the very best options and promote the availability of clubs, athletics, performance groups and the like to keep our students engaged and involved. This includes inviting organizations such as Scouts of America, Jack and Jill, F3, youth groups, community services, and our faith communities to engage with our students.

The fine arts are integral to a student's personal growth. Appreciation for the arts and participation must be promoted and protected.

Our School District's budget must be run similarly to our families' budget. We must provide full transparency to the public regarding salaries, expenditures, and revenue. We owe it to the taxpayers to comb through our budget looking for savings at every turn. Each penny saved is a penny that we can devote to our true purpose, serving our students.

Students must be prepared to be fully financially competent upon graduation. We must bolster education pertaining to credit, interest rates, mortgages, the importance of job benefits, and investing for the future. The long term goal is to create a system that produces generational wealth to ALL families regardless of where they live.