Candidate name: Donna Hathaway Beck

Place of residence: Upper Marlboro

Date of birth: Aug. 6, 1956

Place of birth: No answer

Current occupation: Help Desk analyst, Census Bureau, Suitland, MD

Education: A.A., Mesa Community College

Community associations, involvement: Local and County PTA level experiences; Citizens for an Elected Board; Boy Scouts of America, both sons are Eagle Scouts; Girl Scouts of America; Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Victim Impact Panel Speaker; Youth for Understanding foreign student host family for one year

Professional associations: None.

Family: Husband, Donald Beck; Four grown children

Campaign office address and telephone: 9906 Sudan Place, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772, 301-868-0319

Link to candidate web site: www.hathawaybeck.com

Link to state Board of Elections campaign finance database

1. To work with the CEO of the Prince George’s County Public School System, fellow board members, and county and state officials, to restore trust and confidence in the leadership of our school system.

2. To encourage and support effective school system recommendations that improve teacher recruitment and retention which will lead to higher achievement for our students.

3. To provide a politically collaborative, public approach to ensuring that equity-based decisions are priorities within our operating and capital budgets.

How would you rate the performance of the current school board: excellent, good, fair or poor? Why?

It is not possible to give a one word or one sentence performance evaluation. Having observed the current – and several former -- school boards for over a decade, I know that it is not an easy job and there are no easy decisions. I would not want my work, over a series of years, to be rated this way.

Is the county funding for schools too much, about right or too little? If too little, where would you find additional funds?

Our schools can always use more funding. Public trust and confidence in how funds are, and will be managed is an important component when working collaboratively to identify additional, needed funds for our school system. Significant funds for our Capital Improvement Program are coming from the surcharge legislation that I worked on at the state level. Similarly, additional funds are coming from the telephone tax legislation and Thornton Commission efforts. There have been several initiatives to ‘find’ additional funds, outside of TRIM, to support our school system.

What should the school system do to raise student achievement?

The first priority is to put in place a trustworthy and stable leadership team and structure. Instability has created a chaotic atmosphere for our teachers, administrators and support personnel. Our customers – the students – can not be served effectively when confidence in the system has eroded and trained professionals have left. A volatile school district can not attract, and keep, experienced teachers and administrators; these are the individuals who – with support from leadership – will raise student achievement.

What would you do to recruit and retain quality teachers?

New leadership ‘at the top’, combined with restructuring the Human Resources Division – both of which are already underway – will help to stabilize the system. I believe a supportive, challenging, and rewarding work place will enable our system to recruit and retain quality teachers and administrators. With effective leadership we can restructure our system to become a destination for professional educators rather than a training ground.

What would you do to reduce student truancy?

The CEO is the professional charged with making recommendations to the Board of Education. If elected, with the support of my colleagues on the Board of Education, I would support strategies recommended by the CEO that effectively address student truancy.

I believe that many students ‘skip school’ for a wide variety of reasons, among them (1) they are not adequately challenged; (2) they do not see any benefit from attending class; and (3) large school populations prevent over-taxed administrators from knowing, guiding and supporting students on a more individual basis. Smaller classroom communities, where administrators have closer relationships to students and classroom instruction, is an initiative I support enthusiastically.

I strongly believe we must not depend or focus solely on disciplinary options to reduce student truancy.

Would you support having more charter schools in Prince George’s County?

I support detailed parameters for creating and monitoring charter schools. A qualified “Yes“ to charter schools, with strict guidelines that ensure public funds are spent appropriately and effectively. That said, I did not consider sending my own children to a charter school.

Do you think the current system for renovating and building schools is adequate or does it need changing?

“Adequate“ is an unacceptable standard. Anything that can be described or perceived as “adequate“ needs changing. When trust and confidence in the leadership, direction and policies of our school system improves, I believe many areas of our CIP program – including maintenance and renovations – will benefit. The recent $125m, three year, systemic renovation program is a move in the right direction.

Should the school system’s health curriculum include discussions of homosexuality and demonstrations of contraception use?

Yes.

What do you think about the board’s relationship to the community?

I have seen recent improvement in the current board’s relationship to the community; we can always do better.

Do you think the school system is doing enough to meet the needs of special education students?

The inability to recruit and retain special education teachers has impacted the way our system meets the needs of special education students. This is not a problem specific to Prince George’s County public schools; it is a national concern and how to resolve this is an ongoing struggle. I look forward to listening to, and working with, the incoming leadership of the Prince George’s Special Education Citizen’s Advisory Council (PG-SECAC); including the parent and community perspective is critical as we search for answers together.

Are the schools safe for students and school personnel? If not, what should be done?

I believe, in general, our schools are safe for students and school personnel. This does not mean there are no problems with disruptive students that jeopardize our schools. Effective alternative programs for habitually disruptive students are needed for a safe school environment for students and staff. I am convinced PGCPS leadership in the past and present share the concern for safety in our schools. Funding and installing cameras in our high schools – similar to safety-oriented initiatives throughout the country – has been one proactive step to ensure a safe school environment.

An effective maintenance schedule, that is not jeopardized by funding shortfalls, will ensure students and staff are safe from environmental hazards – such as mold – in our schools.

Do you think the school system is doing enough to meet the needs of students and parents for whom English is not their primary language?

There is always room for improvement; however, the scores of ESOL pupils compared to non-ESOL pupils shows we are making gains with the $8m budgeted for this program. ESOL parents are often missing from school system discussions because of language and other barriers. We must do more to include these parents.

With uniforms becoming the norm at many county schools, would you want a countywide policy established?

A countywide policy that provides parents the opportunity to participate in this discussion exists; this policy does not serve only to adopt or reject uniforms, it brings parents together to make an important decision about their school. This is one of the limited decision-making opportunities for parents, at this time. I could not support a countywide policy that removes process and involvement from parents.

What qualifications do you possess that make you a worthy candidate?

I know the Prince George's County public school system. I have nine years of perfect attendance at every Board of Education meeting from November 1994 to November 2003. That experience helped me learn about the system and become a resource to my fellow advocates and elected officials. I have beginning, intermediate and advanced experience working with legislators and legislation; in addition to serving six years as a PTA President at the elementary, middle and high school levels. I have received numerous advocate-based awards or recognitions, among them Prince George’s Civic Federation Award, PGCPS Volunteer award, Honorary Lifetime PTA membership, and Maryland Women’s History Project Honoree.

I have learned a lot and I am ready to use that knowledge to serve my community.