Diyonne McGraw is the incumbent candidate for Alachua County School Board District 2 and will face challenger Thomas Vu in the Aug. 20 primary election.
More: 2024 Voter Guide: School Board of Alachua County. See how the candidates stack up
Q&A
Q: What, in your opinion, is (are) the most prominent challenge(s) facing Alachua County schools? How do you think you can help change this?
A: There are many issues facing our school system and has for years, but three important ones that need to be addressed consistently are our Student Achievement Gap, recruitment and retention of teachers, and limited funding. Prior to Covid until now, our Achievement Gap in Alachua County has been a major hurdle. To address the Gap, implementing more VPK and Pre-K ESE classes is going to help increase our reading skills to promote more success amongst students prior to third grade, we must decrease behavior issues in our schools, encourage more parent engagement and accountability, and assertively address absenteeism. We currently partner with the Chamber of Commerce providing "celebration ceremonies" with students and families who improve their attendance; the implementation of more traditional Career and technical educational opportunities for students will assist with decreasing behaviors, because since Alachua County has implemented Barber classes in high school, students feel more confident and look forward to coming to school. One of the things we need to do differently is how we recruit and retain teachers. We need to provide an environment that is welcoming and rewarding. For example, I would like to see us revert to past hiring packages which include tangible incentives that will draw quality candidates. Also, become an overall system that consistently supports and encourages all employees.
Q: What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment from your time on the board so far?
A: In less than two years, as a compassionate leader, I have brought stability to our district, been visible, accessible, actionable, and visited 90% of our schools within the first two weeks building solid relationships with administrators, staff, teachers, students and families, and have truly demonstrated through my actions that I am committed to serve all students without involving my own political views. I was able to implement a Barber Class at Eastside High School, strong advocate for early childhood education with the re-opening of Duval Early Childhood Center that will serve VPK, Pre-K and Pre-K ESE students, wrote a District-wide behavior plan to address behavior issues and promote safety, created a community-wide Career & Technical Education Committee that consists of 40-50 community members and student representatives, initiated multiple Joint-Municipality Commission meetings to promote inclusivity of our surrounding municipalities, as chair of the Board I attended City and County Commission meetings to share positive updates on major accomplishments such as three out of seven schools coming out of turn around status which has not occurred since 2016, and supported one of the largest raises for all ACPS employees. As your candidate, I would like to have the opportunity to continue the great work that is in progress.
Q: What is your plan to address the achievement gap between Black and white students?
A: We have to be cognizant of the academic supports we are providing all of our students including our Black students. This means we must ensure that all of our students have access to strong tier 1 instruction. This access increases students’ opportunity for academic success. We must also provide professional learning opportunities for our administrators and teachers to ensure they have the tools needed to analyze data quickly in order to close academic gaps. Therefore, I will continue to support the Superintendent’s effort to increase access to technology in the classroom in order for teachers to monitor student progress. This data will allow our teachers to design lessons that target student strengths and areas of growth. From the dais as well as through community engagement, I will continue to encourage parents to get their students to school daily. Attendance impacts academics and we need to have students in school in order to address their academic gaps.
Q: What is your approach to addressing and listening to the various perspectives, wishes and opinions of members of the community and parents?
A: As a leader, 99% of your success comes from listening to and hearing others! As the current chair of the board, I ensure all community members, students, and employees are heard and respected at all school board meetings. If afforded the opportunity to continue to serve, I would seek input by promoting and facilitating forums, town hall meetings, intently listening to citizens that share during citizen input. Forums and town halls can be geared towards community at-large or teachers in specific or students in specific. Once all information is gathered and completed, compile a list of priorities and share it out. As a Board member, I would then have discussions with the Superintendent to relay the priority concerns and each time a priority concern is addressed, I would share at board meetings, via email, letters to families, attend city and county commission meetings if needed, visit schools, stand at car ride and share with parents as they are picking up their children, present power-point presentations to organizations, and other ways deemed appropriate.
Know where to vote
Voters can find their precinct ahead of the August election by visiting the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections’ website .
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Meet the School Board of Alachua County District 2 candidate: A Q&A with Diyonne McGraw
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