James White, Jr.
Running for school board in Somerset County District 3
Email: votejwhiteboe.d3@gmail.com
How old will you be on Election Day (Nov. 3)?
67
Are you currently employed? If so, where, and what is your job title?
Retired
What is the highest level of education that you completed, and where did you get that degree?
Doctorate in educational innovation and leadership
Why are you running for the school board?
After putting six children through Somerset County Public Schools, I now have three grandchildren in Somerset County Public Schools, and I want them to have the best well-rounded education available.
What makes you a good candidate for the board?
I have 35 years in higher education administration, served as a Princess Anne town commissioner, graduated Leadership Maryland, taught at University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Wor-Wic Community College and I've written and managed grants, people and development curriculum. I'm certified in higher education law and I have developed a number of student policies. I'm committed to see our students achieve to their fullest potential, with certified dedicated teachers.
What is the most important issue facing your school board and what would you do about it if elected?
Transparency, accountability, fiscal responsibility, teacher morale and retention and providing a diverse education to our children in healthy safe schools.
Please name a public leader you admire and explain why.
Former President Barack Obama. He reminds me of two biblical characters, Job and Nehemiah. Under challenges conditions, he never gave in or compromised his character. And like Nehemiah, he remembered where he started and gave back.
The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, passed by the General Assembly in 2021, is a 10-year plan that includes increased funding to support early childhood education, higher teacher starting pay, college/career-readiness standards for high school graduates, and expanded services to multilingual and impoverished families, among other goals. Since the Blueprint's implementation, test scores have increased modestly in many parts of the state, but some school officials complain about the costs and administrative burdens placed on them by the Blueprint. Please tell us your views on the Blueprint and how it is affecting your school district.
In general, I think the Blueprint is good, but when we put more effort into teaching to the test and the standards, and not the development needs of the students or teachers and the resources they need to teach to the student and not the test, as well as stringent reporting requirements that force teachers away from developmental time with students, achievement rates will be slow and unfortunately, the learning gap will widen.
Chronic absenteeism has been a problem in many schools since the Covid-19 pandemic. How big of a problem is absenteeism in your school district, and what if anything can the Board of Education do about it?
Absenteeism is a concern in every school district in the state. One missed day under current teaching requirements can set a student back weeks. We have to develop alternative means of engaging both the student and parent. We have to also develop programs of remediation that will allow students to catch up on missed assessments so they are not lost.
Are you satisfied with your school district's policy on AI use by students? If so, why? If not, what would you suggest to improve the AI policy?
AI is constantly developing and evolving. As such, our policy has to be fluid and constantly reviewed for changes.
Youth mental health has been a growing concern for years now. Do you think your school district has the resources and personnel in place to deal with this issue adequately? If not, what would you suggest to improve the situation?
We should be striving for better than "adequate" in everything we do for our students. Adequate to me is just meeting standards. We have to do more, and that starts with hiring certified learning specialists and coaches, who can help students navigate academic, peer, social and emotional health issues. This all starts with awareness of student needs.
Do you think there are circumstances when books should be removed from school libraries? If so, what kind of books should be removed, and who should make those decisions?
As a parent, I know there are books that are absolutely not appropriate for children of any age. However, I support the American Library Association's classifications for children's literacy in each age group. I further support the parental right to opt out on any assigned reading they believe is inappropriate for their children. I further support a parent-teacher review model of reading materials in our schools.
