Stronger discipline means that first there should be open communication with parents. Parents should not have to wait for a student to report an incident when their child comes home. Parents should be informed within 24 hours of incidents or the questioning of their student. In each school across the city, administrators should set consistent consequences that fit the infraction. Schools should have a proactive style of discipline set in place in the beginning of the year so students know the expectations walking in the school day one. In addition to that, all students should be treated the same when it comes to consistency and consequences. Safer schools means students can not just walk out of school anytime of day. Doors are locked during school hours, and all middle school, high school teachers and security officers  are de-escalation and restraint trained.

I believe all students can succeed if given the correct environment. In order to have rigorous academic expectations, our city's grading policy should keep students accountable for turning work in 2 weeks before the end of the quarter. I want to implement policies that include students being able to retake tests if they get below at 70, a grading policy that reflects SOL scores, and  students getting 0s for work not turned in on time. The current grading policy of 50 percent no matter when you don't turn in work is telling our students you don't have to try, and it is saying to the student - you can't do it, and we are going to meet you where you are instead of push the student to their greatest potential. This policy is flawed and will ultimately set our students up for failure when they attend college because the 50 percent cap is not in the real world. Our students need to be prepared for when they step foot outside of Manassas City Public Schools. Changing the grading policy will ensure our students are challenged and pushed to their greatest potential. 

Retaining and hiring quality teachers means we should have an extensive vetting process when we hire administrators. Our current Principal and Vice Principal Academy should be equipped with a probationary period for each position. Teachers will feel supported if they have competent administration that hears their concerns and acts accordingly. Teachers retention is very high at each of our schools. We need to understand why teachers are compelled to leave by mandating anonymous exit interviews that are taken before teachers check out and hand in their keys for the summer.  These exit interviews should be shared with their school's administration, the superintendent, and the school board so that we can grasp the issues we can't see. Another way to retain quality teachers is by hiring and putting in place more support positions for our teachers - translators, parent Liaisons, esol teachers, and reading specialists. Teachers should not be expected to do it all, but they need to  know that they are supported no matter which class they are given each year.