Questions & my responses (well, I should say this is just the gist; my notes are very rough; I'm surprises I can get anything from them).
What is your education and background. Tell us a bit about yourself.
I�m the parent of two boys, ages 8 and 11. Both Andrew and Richard are students in the Portsmouth Public Schools. Andrew just finished fifth grade at Westhaven; Richard will be in fourth grade next year.
I have a master�s degree in counseling from George Mason University; I completed my undergraduate work at Trinity College with a degree in English and concentrations in history and philosophy. I�m currently working on a master�s degree from the Naval War College; at the end of the summer I�ll be eight hours from the degree.
In my professional life, I�m a civilian employee of the U.S. Coast Guard, serving as a performance consultant. I�m a 23-year member of the Coast Guard Reserve; currently, I am the senior reserve officer at Group Hampton Roads here in Portsmouth. In the past I have worked for Newport News Shipbuilding as a trainer, a training specialist & lead consultant for a consulting firm in Arlington, an independent writer (living in the woods on a mountain in the foothills of the Shenandoahs), and as a teacher of high school English. I moved here to Portsmouth in January 1995 to take a temporary active duty assignment at the Fifth Coast Guard District in Portsmouth.
Why do you wish to serve on the Board?
To help make a difference in the lives of our students and the life of our City. ((I�m pretty sure I said more, but I can�t remember what I said.))
What skills do you bring to strengthen our schools?
I�m a team player. I�m also the person who watches the emperor parade down the street and yells out, �The Emperor isn�t wearing any clothes!� I have the ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds; I have the ability to help groups find common values and move forward.
Also, I understand leadership and management from a systems perspective, having used the Criteria for Performance Excellence for a number of years.
What are the three most important issues facing the school system?
I see six things facing the schools: three facing the Board and three facing the Schools.
Facing the Board: (1) The need to have shared values, to live by those values, and to hold each other accountable to those values. (2) To have a shared purpose or end-in-mind. (3) To use differences as a strength, not as a wedge.
Facing the Schools: (1) The need for performance excellence by our students � all of our students. (2) Aligning all our efforts to meet specific and set goals. (3) Getting our faculty and administrators to give their best to our children.
((I�m not sure if these are the three things for the Schools which I talked about to the Board. Either way, these count.))
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