Domonique Flowers
Running for school board in Baltimore City At Large
Email: flowers4board@gmail.com
Website: www.DomoniqueFlowers.com
How old will you be on Election Day (Nov. 3)?
42
Are you currently employed? If so, where, and what is your job title?
I am an attorney advisor with the Social Security Administration
What is the highest level of education that you completed, and where did you get that degree?
Juris Doctorate from Howard University School of Law, Master of Arts in historical studies from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and a Bachelor of Arts in jurisprudence from the University of Baltimore
Why are you running for the school board?
My motivation to run for this position dates back to 1999 when I began a position as an assistant daycare instructor at an aftercare facility in Clinton, Maryland. Little did I know that this would be the start of my lifelong passion to ensure that children and teens are given the tools they need to succeed. I have always been passionate about investing in our children and looking beyond the scope of some of the conventional methods of evaluating success by also considering a comprehensive approach that focuses on holistic student growth, equity and outcomes. I am also invested in bridging the gap between the school system and the parents and community we serve as I see this relationship as vital. I want to take a closer look at polices that allow proactive communication and consistent accessibility between parents and school board members. This would include responding to inquiries that community members make at school board meetings as opposed to simply allowing the public to share their views without input from the school board. To ensure that all of our parents and students have access to the resources to succeed is perhaps my driving reason as to why I want to serve as a school board commissioner. I believe that every child possesses the ability to succeed in life, they just need the right people and resources in their lives to help them overcome any obstacle that they encounter.
What makes you a good candidate for the board?
I believe that I possess the experience and commitment to serve as a school board member and to work with the community to improve the lives and opportunities for our students. Since the late 1990s I have worked or volunteered at youth facilities, daycare centers, schools and summer camps. I have spent 12 years working exclusively with Baltimore City Youth Services in several in-school and after-school programs. This has included mentoring youth through partnerships with organizations and serving as a substitute teacher. I have also represented several Baltimore students as a special education attorney ensuring that they receive appropriate accommodations and special education services through 504 plans and Invidiualized Education Programs. In addition, I have experience working with community members to address pertinent issues which includes serving on the Uplands Homeowners Association, including a term as president. This also included reviewing the budget and expenditures of the homeowners association which is an essential skill for school board members tasked with fiscal management of the operating and capital budget of the school system. From a policy angle, I also have extensive experience in education policy working with local school boards beginning with the Prince George’s County School Board where from 2010 through 2014 I served on the Disability and Ethics Advisory Panels, providing advice to school board members. I currently serve as the vice chair for the Baltimore City School System Ethics Panel. I also serve on the Maryland Commission on Hate Crime Response and Prevention where I am the co-chair of the education committee.
What is the most important issue facing your school board and what would you do about it if elected?
I believe one of the most important issues facing the school board is ensuring that our children are equipped with “real world” skills that will help them succeed in life. While it is reasonable to focus on raising graduation rates, we need to ensure that our students are equipped with the skills they need to not only survive in the real world but also flourish in it. Some of these skills include professional and life management areas such as time management and financial literacy. Other essential traits that students should possess include interpersonal skills such as communication, critical thinking and professional accountability. Without these basics, many students struggle professionally and are ill-equipped to live independently. This could have the potential to steer them towards making poor choices later on in life. I would like to work with our non-profit and business community members to offer all-engaging programs that will ensure that our students are ready to tackle the challenges of the working world and adapt once they graduate high school. These programs would invariably involve parents, community members and students coming together to develop the itinerary and curriculum. This would require proactive communication and consistent accessibility between parents and school board members. Together we would work towards implementing a method of measuring student success beyond such metrics as tests and evaluations. This initiative would serve as a priority for me to at least create a pilot program for rising seniors who would need these skills to succeed in life.
Please name a public leader you admire and explain why.
I have always admired the honorable Kurt Schmoke. I first learned about him as a kid visiting the city when he served as the first elected African American mayor of Baltimore. I was then privileged to attend Howard Law School when he served as dean. Through my experience as a law student I witnessed his efforts to expand the clinical programs which allowed students like myself to serve the legal needs of low-income individuals. I also worked as an adjunct professor at the University of Baltimore where he currently serves as the president. As an employee, I appreciated his commitment to fostering relationships between the University and community partners. This included allowing Baltimore students to attend classes on campus which provides them with exposure to a higher education learning environment and also aligns with my own vision of ensuring that our young people have access to college resources and opportunities.
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.
The Blueprint for Maryland's Future aims to transform Maryland's education system by focusing on five pillars. One concern is that it hasn’t yet been fully funded, which could lead to significant financial implications. In addition, the required mandates under the plan could likely place considerable strain on Baltimore’s school systems in implementing it without full funding and a clear method. I believe that effective advocacy is necessary to ensure that the Blueprint is equitable and fully funded. Its implementation involves significant changes to teacher salaries, curriculum and pre-kindergarten expansion. The path to addressing these concerns involves direct engagement with state officials, public awareness and leveraging data to hold systems accountable. I would also like the community to provide public comment at monthly meetings and submit feedback on the proper allocation of these funds. In addition to fully funding this initiative, I would want to identify the areas that require additional support or stronger funding focuses to achieve equity in the foreseeable future. Some of these areas could include community school expansion or funds to supplement special education initiatives. Time allotted for teacher collaboration is also important and I would also look into other school systems where the results that came from funds set aside for teacher collaboration were successful and research how this success led to improved professional learning and led to closing achievement and opportunity gaps among students. Other funding priorities would include before and after school and summer programs where funding could expand learning opportunities.
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?
Out of all jurisdictions in Maryland, Baltimore has had the highest rate of absenteeism. After understanding the systematic reasons for absenteeism, any method we employ should begin with the schools that yield the highest rate of absenteeism before we begin implementing a system wide approach. Some methods that we could explore include addressing transportation barriers that students may encounter or creating an incentive program that would hopefully encourage students to attend school more frequently and on time. Any strategy employed would take a certain degree of relationship building between schools, students and parents. This could involve scheduling conferences with parents to see what services they need or putting students on attendance contracts. Support for families could also extend beyond the boundaries of school and come in the form of volunteers dropping by a student’s house to see what can be done to encourage them to come to school on time.
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?
The generative AI initiative and the guiding principles that the school system is using to incorporate AI seems to be beneficial concerning the crucial role that AI plays in academics. I would work to encourage a balanced approach concerning the use of AI in public education. The way students learn is currently being reimagined through the growing impact of AI and as such I believe that we must ensure that we consider the ethical ramifications of AI and work together to develop best practices for staff and students to utilize AI effectively. While being aware of the positives that AI brings, we must also be aware of the negaitve drawbacks which include the potential for AI to weaken research and critical thinking skills. Any laws or governance regulating AI would need to take into consideration the risk factors for students and teachers as well as the added benefits of AI.
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?
It is also important to evaluate the impact of mental health initiatives and identify student well-being trends. While I believe that the school system has the resources and personnel to address youth mental health, I am not sure if our young people necessarily have access to robust mental health services. I believe that access to these resources and personnel starts with investing in staff training, expanding community partnerships and promoting school-wide wellness culture. I would want to encourage schools to build welcoming environments through routine morning meetings, regular check-ins and proactive Social and Emotional Learning curricula. I would also want to ensure that every school provides on-site counseling, self-care toolkits and clear policies for staff to ensure they can support students and foster inclusive, safe environments. We will need to also establish partnerships with local agencies and mental health professionals to fill resource gaps and create a seamless referral process.
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?
While the school board still has authority to maintain control over curriculum decisions, I believe we should adopt policies that foster, rather than inhibit, critical thinking about complex, sensitive issues. While the right to challenge books should still exist, I believe this should be reserved for only the most extreme materials that may be deemed vulgar and educationally unsuitable to a certain degree. Even in these cases I would support formal, written policies that require complainants to file a formal request rather than allowing ad hoc book removals. I believe parents also play a role in this endeavor, and while I do believe that parents should have some say in determining what type of library books are available to students, this needs to be balanced with the policies in place that dictate the type of appropriate reading material available to students.
