Local News Network Election Guide 2024

Anne Rosen

Running for school board in Talbot County District 3

How old will you be on Election Day (Nov. 3)?

Are you currently employed? If so, where, and what is your job title?

Retired educator

What is the highest level of education that you completed, and where did you get that degree?

I hold a master's degree in school counseling from Wilmington University, a Bachelor of Science in Education from Salisbury University (Summa Cum Laude) and an associates degree from Chesapeake College (Honors with Distinction).

Why are you running for the school board?

I care deeply about our children, our schools and our community. As an educator, a parent and a grandparent, I want to bring experience, practicality and a steady voice to the Board of Education. As a long time resident of Talbot County and former educator with Talbot County Public Schools, I would love to be involved with the things that impact young people and their families. Students will rise to the level of our expectations if we let them. HIGH EXPECTATIONS = STRONG, WELL PREPARED INDIVIDUALS! I believe that it's very important to give back to your community and this is a way that I am more than qualified to do so. Over the years, I have seen our school system lower its expectations for our children and turn out citizens that are not fully prepared for real life. Schools have become far more involved in social policies than in academics. Further, I am very concerned about the lack of transparency, communication and cooperation with parents and families. People deserve to understand how decisions are made and why as well as how they will be implemented in a way that is clear and understandable to all.

What makes you a good candidate for the board?

I have lived in Talbot County for more than 40 years and have been involved with our schools in one capacity or another for more than 20 years. I previously served for two years on the union's endorsement committee and for one year on the contract negotiations team. I understand that process from the inside. My children attended Talbot County Public Schools from pre-K through graduation, and I currently have a special needs grandchild at Easton Elementary. I have been a parent, an educator, a union member and now a grandparent in this school system. I know Talbot County, and I know our schools. My involvement with Talbot County Public Schools began as a parent volunteer in a first-grade classroom, helping children who struggled with reading. I later headed the mentor program, and those experiences inspired me to return to school and become a teacher. I went on to teach math, science and social studies at Easton Middle School for 15 years. Later, I got a master's degree in school counseling and was a school counselor at White Marsh Elementary School until I retired.

What is the most important issue facing your school board and what would you do about it if elected?

Lack of clear and consistent policies when it comes to grading and discipline and its effect on learning as well as lack of transparency and communication with parents regarding those same things. The competency-based grading system that has been adopted this year, while having merit, was never fully introduced to parents in a way that they can easily understand. In fact, unless parents attended the Board of Education meetings, most parents were not made aware until mid-May of the new systems consideration and implementation information did not reach parents until a short time before school started. Further, the state and county have changed attendance and discipline policies with the same lack of interest in parent understanding or opinion. I believe that were I a board member, I would insist that parents be told on advance, that new policies were being considered both locally and at the state level and that parent information nights be held at several convenient times and guides be sent home either by mail or with students so that parents could be made aware of important changes.

Please name a public leader you admire and explain why.

One public leader I greatly admire is educator and philosopher John Dewey. Dewey was an independent educational thinker who believed that students learn best when they actively engage with ideas rather than simply memorize information.

He emphasized learning through experience, solving real-world problems, working collaboratively and developing critical-thinking skills. He also believed classrooms should give students opportunities to exchange ideas, ask questions and develop the skills necessary to become thoughtful, responsible citizens.

I admire Dewey because much of his philosophy reflects what I believe good education should accomplish. Students need a strong foundation of knowledge, but they also need opportunities to apply that knowledge in meaningful ways.

When students are actively engaged in reading, writing, mathematics, science, problem solving, discussion and hands-on learning across the curriculum, education becomes relevant—and meaningful learning can take place.

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.

I support many of the goals behind the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, particularly its investment in teachers, early childhood education and preparing students for life after high school. However, I question whether a statewide approach provides enough flexibility to recognize that students and communities have different needs.

College readiness should not be the only measure of a successful future. Students need strong reading, writing, mathematics and critical-thinking skills, but not every student wants or needs a four-year degree. Career readiness must receive equal attention in practice. Students interested in skilled trades, technical careers, health care professions or military service deserve clearly defined pathways and the same level of guidance and opportunity as students preparing for college.

I strongly support full-day pre-K, but I would like high-quality programs to become more broadly accessible to families across the economic spectrum.

Teachers also deserved better compensation long before the Blueprint was enacted. Competitive salaries are essential for districts like Talbot County as we work to attract and retain excellent educators. We should recruit broadly and welcome qualified candidates from different backgrounds while keeping qualifications, effectiveness and student needs central to hiring decisions.

My concern is not with the Blueprint’s overall goals, but whether its implementation allows sufficient local flexibility and recognizes multiple pathways to success.

The question should always be: Are we giving every student a meaningful pathway to a productive and successful adulthood?

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?

I experienced the effect of chronic absenteeism throughout my career both as a teacher and a counselor. Once again, parents MUST be made aware of what absenteeism does to children’s learning and consequences attached to it. In my career, nothing was done about chronic absenteeism until students reached middle school. I realize that Truancy court requires resources but I believe that it would not have to be used too often if parents knew that it was an option even at the elementary levels after kindergarten. As a counselor, I was responsible for contacting parents about chronic absences but my hands were tied because there were no real consequences. If it’s a mental health issue, there are lots of solutions that could be explored but not if there is nothing that requires accountability.

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?

Talbot County’s policy on AI has only just been released. From what I can gather, the policy seems to limit student usage which I agree with until such time as technology emerges that allows teachers to identify whether information turned in by students is their own or AI-generated in much the same way as what took place when internet research had its beginnings. I believe that staff should be able to use it as a tool to aid in gathering activities and materials for lesson planning and classroom management. It can certainly be used as a great tool for planning and implementing lessons. As the policy is so new, I would like to see how it works out in the months leading up to election day before saying what I might change.

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?

In fact, I believe that Talbot County Public Schools does a pretty good job of this. There are resources available but they are not consistent throughout the schools. Generally, the secondary schools and larger schools get the bulk of the resources. A more detailed look at what funds are allocated and to where they go needs to happen. As a counselor at one of the smaller schools, I often found myself waiting and waiting for the mental health professionals from the board office to help out. There are resources, I’m just not sure they’re enough or allocated fairly. It is certainly something that needs to be studied and addressed in more depth.

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?

The only time I would say that books may need to be removed from schools is if the content is offensive to certain cultures or too sexually explicit for the age and grade level of the students. That being said, I would never recommend this type of action without first including parents, families, teachers, staff and community members in the decision making process.