Cassandra Aucoin featured in JCRC Voter Guide
What do you see as the three most important issues facing the County’s schools today?
The most important issues that I see as facing our County schools are:
Declining student achievement performance and lowered academic standards. The 200+ schools in FCPS have vastly different reading and math proficiency levels, and the already present achievement gaps between Black and Hispanic children and other racial/ethnic groups are widening. SAT scores have declined. We need to raise academic standards back to where an “A” really is an “A.”
Parental involvement in their children’s education and fractured parent-school/teacher relationships. To rebuild the partnership between parents, teachers, administration, and the school board, we must give parents and guardians the freedom to participate in all facets of their children’s education.
School safety. Elementary schools do not have security personnel and progress has been slow on installing external cameras. There are hundreds of trailers on school campuses without any viable means of physical protection.
In addition, the increase in student behavior and drug related (fentanyl) issues since the return to in-school learning have caused added stress in the classroom, to other students, and for the teachers. Safety needs to be a priority.