Incumbent Z. André Huff faces Fred Zackery of WMGJ Radio in the election for District 3 representative on the Gadsden City Board of Education on Aug. 23.
The Times asked each candidate for his short-term goals and long-term objectives should he be elected; the responses are published as submitted, subject to minor editing.
Platform Overview: As Gadsden City Schools board member for District 3, I will continue to work wholeheartedly to ensure our school system provides a quality education that includes equitable, inclusive, diverse and a safe academic environment that allow our students to prosper after high school.
Short-Term Goals:
Advocate additional funding to assist with paying full-time resource officers at every Gadsden City school.
Ensure all middle school students have an equal opportunity to educational resources, funding stability, more course offerings and enhanced programs.
Continue being instrumental in hiring qualified and diverse employees.
Encourage implementing a system for tracking all students, K4 through 12th grade, to manage their career development, which helps to ensure students are exposed to different career paths and courses, providing each with the ability to succeed in life.
Establish meaningful ways to work more effectively with city leaders to gain support for funding of school programs.
Develop a specific program for improving parent participation in their child’s educational learning experience and career development.
Long-Term Objectives:
Accountability: Create a culture of accountability within the Board of Education and administration that will ensure decisions will have a positive impact for all students and staff.
Ensure success for all students: As Gadsden City Schools board member for District 3, I will work diligently to ensure all students have access to an equal and diverse learning environment by providing all students with high-quality teaching and learning driven by a curriculum for post-secondary success; suitable assessments that provide accurate measurements of student performance; counselor assistance focused on every student having a career-driven educational plan; and provide teachers with strong professional development opportunities.
Provide resources for all students: As Gadsden City Schools board member for District 3, I will continue to ensure all students are provided the necessary resources that will allow them the ability to reach their maximum educational potential, and develop policies and practices to overcome the barriers that students face.
My goal is to promote community reading programs with an emphasis on children developing reading skills by the age of 3. I want to establish community reading rooms, baseline needs with appropriate tools, provide the specialists and resources needed to meet the desired goal or goals, set evaluation benchmarks and evaluate
