Mildred Russell: I'm not afraid to tackle hard, unpopular issues

Last year I was appointed to the vacant seat on the School Board of Alachua County, District 2, by Gov. Ron DeSantis. I have lived in Alachua County with my family for 40 years.

Over the years I have tutored students, mentored many people in Bible studies, and counseled and volunteered in the churches I have attended. I home schooled my children for most of their education; my son then dual enrolled at Santa Fe College, my daughter attended Buchholz High School. I grew up in Western Kentucky, where I attended excellent rural schools with teachers who inspired me to love learning.

Serving on the School Board is an exciting and rewarding way for me to give back to my community. Students are the future; our future leaders and our future workforce. The School Board is important because it makes policies that help to determine what kind of education our students receive. Every decision that I make will continue to be in the best interests of all students.

Going forward, there are several issues that I would like to address and implement solutions for. The most important goal for me is to improve student outcomes, providing our students with a world-class education.

An important component of that education is partnering with parents. Parents should absolutely have a say in what is happening in their students’ classroom. The students in our schools belong to their parents. The board is tasked with teaching them the core subjects of education.

The learning gap in our schools has been an issue for many years. I requested a workshop regarding our voluntary pre-kindergarten program at our elementary schools, and our HIPPY program (Home Instruction for Parents of Pre-school Youngsters). Both of these programs are successful in preparing children for kindergarten readiness.

We just saw the statistics for the 2021-2022 school year for the VPK program, and they were impressive. Nearly every school significantly improved by the end of the school year. My goal is to have a VPK in every elementary school.

Another serious problem in our schools is student behavior. I want to see every student who has a behavioral problem overcome his/her challenges and succeed. Every student should be treated like a success story in the making. It is unfair to the students and to his/her classmates to let bad behavior continue.

I have requested a workshop with the former principal and the dean at A. Quinn Jones Center School. Their staff have been successful at helping their students overcome their challenges and return to their zoned school.

I will continue to look for solutions to the problems the School Board faces.

The new board will have to address rezoning and transportation issues. We will have to look at over- and under-populated schools, magnet programs and career technical opportunities. We will have to go through the process of hiring a superintendent. I am not afraid to tackle the hard and unpopular issues, to have the difficult conversations.

Being committed to the success of every student means doing what is best for all students. Every student is unique and individual. It is my goal to provide the right opportunities for each student to develop a solid foundation on which to build in the future.

The School Board is nonpartisan. Every voter can vote for a candidate in each of the four districts that are on the ballot. I would be grateful for your vote for Mildred Russell for School Board, District 2, on Aug. 23.

Mildred Russell is running for the Alachua County School Board, District 2. Opinion columns written by the candidates in this race and others running in the upcoming election can be found online at bit.ly/august22electioncolumns. 

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This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Column from Alachua County School Board Candidate Mildred Russell