In Arlington, we don’t nominate party candidates for school board, but the Democratic Party does endorse candidates. This year, we are selecting one candidate and you have an opportunity to vote tomorrow – Saturday, May 11, 11am-7pm, at Washington-Lee High School (1301 N Stafford St Arlington, VA 22201).
I ask you to join me in supporting Barbara Kanninen for Arlington County School Board. I first met Barbara (and her husband, Kevin Wolfe) during the Obama primary campaign in 2008 and I worked with Barbara in 2012 when she headed up the state effort to get President Obama on the ballot. Barbara, of course, has worked hard for the election of President Obama and numerous Democratic candidates. But I think her primary qualifications for school board are that she is an extraordinarily smart person and cares a lot about kids and will work hard to make sure that Arlington’s schools offer the best opportunities for our children. I don’t have any children in Arlington Schools (Barbara has two), but I did spend 12 years there myself and I care about educating the next generation. I know that Barbara would be a terrific new school board member. I hope to see you at W-L tomorrow.
Here is some additional information about Barbara’s background and campaign:
- Barbara has the ideal skill set to serve on the Arlington County School Board:
- Ph.D. economist – she understands how to analyze data and knows what questions to ask
- Children’s book author – she understands kids at all age levels
- Experience on three School Board advisory committees – she understands educational needs and priorities
- She believes we have great public schools, but to keep them great, we need:
- Stronger science, technology, engineering, and math programs
- More opportunities for creative expression and involvement in the arts
- Adult mentoring support for all students
- Transparent, principled approaches to dealing with overcrowding and boundary changes
- Budget priorities that center on teachers and students
- A hard look at testing requirements and schedules
Please visit Barbara’s website for more information: http://www.barbarakanninenforschoolboard.com/