Staci R. Martin
Age: 51
Occupation: Partnership Marketing Grants Manager, Virginia Tourism Corporation; Adjunct Faculty, Old Dominion University
Previous Office Held: None
Education: B.G.S. (Media/Literature) Radford University; M.A. (English) Old Dominion University; University of Virginia Sorensen Institute PLP 2018; International Economic Development Council (coursework for EDP and CEcD.)
The pandemic, and the response to it, appears to have caused what has been called “learning loss” for students in all grades since 2020. What can and should school boards do to counteract the lingering effects of the pandemic on students?
The School Board needs to reframe “learning loss” so undue pressure is not put on students for a systemic shock that was not their fault. Instead, they must acknowledge student resiliency. We must rebuild student confidence in themselves and their ability to learn. Because there is now a wide swath of mastery levels across a variety of subjects, resources will need to be allocated in a very tailored and precise way so that students get exactly the support they need at a pace that suits their learning style. The School Board may need to adjust the overall annual pacing schedule to allow additional time for review, tutoring, and benchmarking. We must also give teachers more leeway in their classroom pacing and curriculum since they know first-hand what skills their students have mastered and what skills still need review.
Please name one other pressing issue that the school board should address. How would you address it?
The School Board must maintain the school replacement schedule. Continued disinvestment in our school infrastructure must stop before it begins to impact the overall Virginia Beach economy and its workforce readiness. My family has personal experience with one of these schools and the medical costs of four years of schooling in a dilapidated building infested with rats, roaches, and other vectors is high and unnecessary. The School Board and City Council must begin to work together on a financing and revenue package that will show our community, site selectors, real estate developers, and economic developers that our city believes in education and invests in education as an economic strategy. We can not let our schools, our city, or our economy stagnate through disinvestment in education. Economic stagnation will lead to higher real estate taxes and fewer jobs for our students. Our students are worth the investment.
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Kenneth Lubeck
Age: 59
Occupation: IT, Sr. Business Systems Analyst
Previous Office Held: None
Education: Regent University, M.A.
The pandemic, and the response to it, appears to have caused what has been called “learning loss” for students in all grades since 2020. What can and should school boards do to counteract the lingering effects of the pandemic on students?
More resources need to go into the classroom to help teachers help the students catch up. In Virginia Beach the budget for Administration is close to 65%. I would move 10-15% of that into the classrooms. We also need to support our teachers by fixing the new discipline policy.
Please name one other pressing issue that the school board should address. How would you address it?
I would work on launching a second location for our Vocational/Technical Ed Center Program. Students need to be college ready or equally ready for a good paying skilled career. We are graduating too many students who are neither college ready or have any real work skills. Being ready to work as a Welder, Plummer, Electrician, CyberSecurity… pays better and can be more rewarding than many college degrees. My website lays out some of my other plans.
