Cassandra Ryan

Yes, I do support the current JCPS " Safe Haven resolution.  I feel the educational system main responsibility is to serve ALL children when it relates to their educational needs. Our only job we owe to the families is to make sure the children learn to the best of their ability. The goal is to create future, successful adults. This should occur no matter if they are born in the USA or immigrants. I will support immigrants by making sure their language barriers continue to be a priority. As a past PTA President I recalled a Mother needing the information we generated in Spanish. Only her children could speak English and this made her very uncomfortable. As I have strengthen my knowledge of advocacy I see better than ever the need for all school activities in school for the children or after school activities focused on all cultures. Also, I think as a potential Board Member let it be known that I have no belief that families should be made to feel like they don't belong. I personally do not believe ICE should impact our children while in schools. The policy that only when it is legally binding should a school have to comply to the law. We must obey the law but again, our ONLY FOCUS should be to teach our children to be future leaders in our community and make them comfortable while in school. Never should a family feel their child is in jeopardy of being taken out of the safe place the schools are for our children.

I support this proposal if this is the only current option to adequately teach our students in the West End. The changes I would make is to not only allow kds to be bused to a school that is higher performing but why not solve this issue with improving the West End Schools. You have schools like Shawnee that has a very strong foundation and should be used. IF all the kids that parents take the opportunity to apply for a second East or South End option then when will JCPS take the time to place the best teachers, programs, incentves, a solid STEM program and ell the things that have successful worked for the schools our kids are leaving for. Do we all desire to have a better education for our chidren, OH YES I DO! My kids have been at priority and higher learning schools and you want the best learning experience for your children . As a Mom that advocates for ALL children I know the closer you are to your home the more involvement the Parents can be in that school. Some families simply don't have the funds to own a automobile or gas. Let's make changes to improves the area schools with a few essential changes and I believe it will impact the families, neighborhoods, businesses that could ultimately help sponsor these schools. A major change in the student assignment plan that I feel would help our families is to give a better balance of schools. You shouldn't have one cluster with 3 out of 7 school excellent and then you go straight down the street and 1 out of 7 schools are higher achieving. WE need to give a better balance. Until my dream of making all schools high achieving come to pass then let's at least make a more fair balance. On a personal note, I had 4 kids in four different schools and that is hard . I am sure I am not alone. I now have 3 kids in JCPS and one is in a transfer school out of his cluster and the other two are in magnet schools. Was that always my life. No, it wasn't. I had two sons in a priority school and it was a hardship. I was devastated my son's didn't get into the one magnet they were allowed to apply to . The good thing was I learnt to advocate and see how to make a difference. WE all can do it everyday. Our kids shouldn't have their education sacrificed by a student assignment plant that isn't for the betterment of us ALL!

Yes, I do agree with the police officers no longer acting as SRO's. I don't think our local police officers should play any role in our school system. I believe JCPS should have security for the Administration, Staff and students. I believe the Board should continue to work on creating a security system that has been trained properly to look at a student as a student and not as a future criminal I spoke to my four boys and they were very uncomfortable. The sad truth is we do watch the media and our children can sometime fear police officers from what they see day to day. It is all cops? No, it isn't but until the climate of this world changes I think to make sure all the people that work for the school system should feel their lives are placed comfortably in hand they trust. What I have seen while volunteering in schools is the poor labeling that occurs in schools. WE must not judge a child based on one minor offense and suspend them or take his or her privileges away. WE need to make sure all kids no matter what their God Given skin color is treated equally. As an African American, our kids respond and act differently from our Caucasian friends. We must have educated counselors and Administrators understand this and act accordingly. Please don't set a child up who is lacking something at home and when a bad event occurs we kick them out and the next step is the streets and then a much worse decision. Now the child feel inadequate like no one cares and behaves this way. They cant get a job because they don't have their GED or Diploma. Now we have a bigger problem and sooner than later they are in the prison system. What a tragedy that occurs over and over again. We need to use our awesome Administrators, Teachers, Counselor, FRC's and whoever in each school gets to the root, don't label a kid and do your best to saved them. For example, truancy is a big issue JCPS. Why kick a kid out for bad attendance. As a board member,, I would want to make sure each and every school is follow the same policy and making sure no child is left behind. The more successful children we have the better the world is for us all . As our awesome educators continue to be educated on how to discipline all children the better it will even be for the academic scores I the schools. IF the children are all taught equally with no racial disparities the more FUTURE EDUCATORS we could potentially create!

I think the restorative justice program is essential. I love the idea of getting students that have made a poor choice in their schools and chance to redeem themselves . Anytime a person makes a mistake there should be accountability and this program does that. The idea of zero tolerance was detrimental to society and now this program that JCPS uses seems to work well.

If I had the honor of becoming the 4th District Board Member I would continue to work the plan recently approved by the Board of Education. I believe having a diverse curriculum, a diverse set of qualified Teachers and Administrators, a school culture and climate that is relatable for all races will continue to improve the diversity in the schools. As the Board of Education implement these initiatives it should guarantee a great future for the whole school system.

I personally believe sex education is very essential and has been a crucial part of our students learning. I think this class should only discuss the differences in the body of the sexes, the preventative measures for unwanted pregnancies, STD'S and any pertinent information that has been taught throughout many decades. No, I don't believe LGBTQ should be inclusive. I disagree with the bullying and issues that may come along with the students that are LGBTQ but I still feel this is something that is that individual personal lifestyle and should not be a topic discussed in conjunction with sex education.

The literature I have read recently about charter schools has led me to personally believe charter schools is not a good idea for JCPS. I don't feel it would be beneficial to take the schools that are priority schools and convert them to a curriculum that has not worked in other states. My reading also suggest that charter schools curriculum wouldn't increase out children's knowledge but decrease it. Why switch to a school set up that simply doesn't work. It would force parents to lose their choice and be stuck in schools that have a high probability of failing.