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Nonpartisan
Alex Fahmy
Where you live: Damascus
Date of birth: April 18, 1995
Current occupation and employer:
Sports PR, marketing and partnerships
Political experience:
N/A
Website: https://www.voteforalex.org
Email: alexfahmy08@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/399705398645772
Why are you running for this office?
Parents are becoming aware of the lack of emphasis on math, English, and writing. Parents are seeing there is a lack of emphasis on goal-setting, career planning, financial literacy, and developing the trades and life skills in order to succeed in a global competition.
What is the most important issue in this race and what specific plans do you have to address it?
There are many important issues. As a member of the school board, there will be no more mask or vaccine mandates for teachers and students. I will also encourage parents to be more involved with their son or daughter’s education, so they know what is being taught in the classroom. Parents will be able to attend their child’s classes, and receive curriculums developed by the teacher when they request to see it. Another important issue is MCPS needs to hire more teachers, not cut them. I also think salaries for teachers need to be based on the teacher’s workload.
What is one major issue that has been handled poorly and what would you have done differently?
Schools need to stay open. Children did not learn, they lost their social skills, and teachers were forced to create and teach curriculums through a screen.
What experience (work, political or other) has prepared you to hold this office?
This is a leadership position, and I will lead the future generation to success. I evaluate start-ups for a venture capital firm so underrepresented founders and young entrepreneurs can live their dream. There is no reason why the next Elon Musk, Shahid Khan, and Lori Greiner can’t be from the Montgomery County Public Schools system. We need to make sure what is being taught in the classroom will set your son or daughter up for success.
Jay Guan
Where you live: Clarksburg
Date of birth: July 1986
Current occupation and employer:
System Engineer – Leidos
Political experience:
Ran unsuccessfully for Board of Education At-Large, 2020
Website: https://www.jayguan4boe.com
Email: jg@jayguan4boe.com
Facebook: facebook.com/JG4BOE
Why are you running for this office?
Public education was my path to upward social mobility. I am deeply grateful for it. I am running for the Board of Education to ensure that this upwardly mobile path will be here for our children and grandchildren. I am running to ensure that MCPS can prepare all of our kids for a rapidly evolving future. I am running to improve transparency and restore public trust.
What is the most important issue in this race and what specific plans do you have to address it?
Make MCPS operations more resilient and its decision process more transparent. Data transparency is a key component. To that end, easy access to academic performance, operational, and demographic data is a must. The community should not have to go through a MPIA/FOIA request, or try to extract data from a simplified dashboard with a difficult-to-use tool to receive this data.
Furthermore, we need to consistently and succinctly communicate our intent, criteria and how these criteria and information are used in the process.
What is one major issue that has been handled poorly and what would you have done differently?
The re-opening of MCPS in January can certainly be better. We could have been more clearer in communicating and explaining the decision process surrounding individual schools going virtual. We could take a page from surrounding jurisdictions. Strategies such as test-to-return were employed successfully in neighboring jurisdictions.
Ultimately, we need to make MCPS operations more resilient, improve transparency regarding decision making processes, and conduct two-way community engagement and communication.
What experience (work, political or other) has prepared you to hold this office?
In the past year, I served as the MCCPTA’s ESOL committee chair focusing on support for ESOL families. Previously I was part of MCPS’ ESOL and Bilingual Advisory Committee (EBAC) that focused on the same group. I am also a long time member of the Asian Pacific American Student Achievement Action Group, where we brought previously unknown issues such as bullying (and pitfalls in its reporting process) to light and worked with MCPS to resolve them.
I am also currently on the Clarksburg Village HOA board that serves about 2,300 households. The board is tasked with ensuring the community’s budget, financial well-being, provisions of basic services (trash removal, landscaping, operations of amenities, etc.)
Grace Rivera-Oven (Information not submitted)
Esther Wells
Where you live: Gaithersburg
Date of birth: 05/23/1987
Current occupation and employer:
Currently, I am a Senior Tax Manager at Washington Gas Light Company. I lead the State Indirect Tax Department with a proven track record of monetizing multi-million-dollar savings opportunities. I am a Certified Public Accountant in Maryland for over 12 years. I started my career at Ernst & Young Public Accounting firm where I audited the tax provision of multi-national corporations’ financial statements.
Political experience: No political experience
Website: https://www.anewdawn4boe.com/about-esther
Email: esther_wells@yahoo.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anewdawn4boe
Twitter: @EstherLWells
Why are you running for this office?
I am the proud mother of two boys, a 4-year-old and a 9-year-old who has Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD who attends MCPS. The Board of Education’s decision to offer virtual only learning was a disservice to our students, specifically our developmentally disabled learners. I am running to keep our schools open, refocus MCPS on high academic achievement and require financial literacy courses.
What is the most important issue in this race and what specific plans do you have to address it?
Recovery from Disrupted Education: MCPS students are promoted to higher grades, though demonstrate immaturity in their proficiency, literacy, and social skills. Supporting our school system in recovery from this significant disruption is crucial. My plan is to refocus MCPS on core subjects such as math, comprehension and reading. Offer Saturday school, night school and summer school to students that need additional support. Allow teachers more time to teach and reduce the level of testing that we currently offer our students. It’s time to focus and rebuild our education system back to being best in class and nationally recognized for proficient students. An “all hands-on deck” approach to addressing mental health support for families AND teachers is needed. Normalize seeking therapy and give everyone the attention they need to be okay. We need to ensure that students have a trusted adult that will listen and act appropriately in response to what they are saying.
What is one major issue that has been handled poorly and what would you have done differently?
MCPS offered virtual only learning for all students, without regard to the needs of our developmentally disabled learners, like my son. I would have re-opened schools a lot sooner. Virtual only learning was a disservice to our students, specifically our students with disabilities. The prolonged disruption and continued mandates that serve to disrupt instead of support, has caused our children anxiety, depression, speech impediments and frustration with themselves and their schoolwork. The lifelong impacts of the disruption caused by the current leadership will last a generation without swift action to begin urgent repairs and supports.
The mental health crisis, learning loss, abnormal social development of our students, rise in disorderly conduct, community violence, among other things – was not worth it.
What experience (work, political or other) has prepared you to hold this office?
I am the only candidate with professional financial statement experience and can provide adequate oversight of MCPS’ operating budget and financial statement audits. I will provide needed financial oversight of this $3 billion dollar budget and communicate about the finances of this school system clearly with the community. I am the only candidate in District 1 with any teaching experience. I’ve taught Junior Achievement curriculum at various schools here in MCPS. I’ve tutored MCPS and college students in Algebra through Calculus II math courses. I was hired to tutor Business School students in advanced level Accounting courses at the University of Maryland. As your next board member, I will elevate the voice of the most vulnerable populations as a black, immigrant, female, mother of a developmentally disabled son.