Shirley Brandman's Campaign Kick-off Speech

March 4, 2006

Welcome. Bienvenidos. My name is Shirley Brandman, and today, I want to tell you in as plain language as I can, who I am, what I believe, and why I can make a positive difference for your children and our schools as a member of the Montgomery County Board of Education. I want to start by sharing a few stories with you.

A 12 year old in juvenile detention receives only two hours of formal education daily. His attorney fights to ensure that the school system provides him with a full education. A 10 year old child with speech difficulties, forgotten and left behind, does not receive any services. A legal advocate challenges the school to successfully get that child and others like her the speech therapy she needs.

An eighth grade class of learning disabled students sets out to learn about the landmark desegregation case, Brown vs. Board of Education. They cannot learn from opening a book so their teacher gets the students to talk, to feel, to act out the case, including physically segregating a group of them to mimic the sense of racial segregation.

An eight year old student sits with her immigrant parents and reads to them the notes her teacher sends home. They cannot read English.

In these stories...I was the attorney who spoke for the juvenile detainee; I was the legal advocate who fought for the child's speech therapy services. I was the special education teacher who designed the hands on lesson to teach about school desegregation.

And, I was that child who read teacher notes to my parents who emigrated from Romania in 1960, unable to speak a word of English and penniless.

These are some of the stories that have helped shape who I am and what I believe in. I did not design my life to run for office. But I've always have been, and always will be, an advocate for children.

Advocating for children has always been both my passion and my profession. It is why I majored in child psychology in college; it's why I went to law school. It's why for more than 10 years, I represented children in abuse and neglect cases as well as in litigation for better educational opportunity.

It is why I went back to earn my Master's in Special Education and became a teacher and a tutor; and why after I had my own children, I volunteered in Montgomery County classrooms; and then later served as PTA President at Burning Tree Elementary School; as a Commissioner with the County Commission for Children and Youth, and in 2003 was elected as Vice President for Educational Issues for the county-wide PTA.

I did not design my life to run for office.

But today, I stand before you as a candidate for the Board of Education because that same concern for children that has driven my professional life and community activities compels me to take my advocacy for children to a new level. Today, I want to lay out five thoughts about what I want to accomplish and how I plan to serve this community.

First, I believe to serve our children, an effective School Board member must be rooted in the community and never stop reaching out to you—the parents, and families. I got to plant some of those roots in my work with the County PTA. I visited schools across the county to see and hear about their classes, their staff and their school buildings most importantly, their children. These connections made me keenly aware of the diversity of our county and the enormous spectrum of need.

As a candidate for the Board of Education, I pledge during this campaign to visit schools in all 24 clusters from Wheaton to Gaithersburg, from Poolesville to Rockville – but even more, to listen to the parents, teachers and students in each of those 24 clusters and understand their specific challenges and concerns.

I know that as I meet with parents from every different geographic and ethnic group throughout the county, both my understanding and roots in our county will grow. One thing I can promise: as an elected member of the Board of Education, I will continue to reach out to you the community for your help in guiding the work of our schools.

Above all, I will seek first hand knowledge of the students. Of their needs. Because their needs are paramount…not only their academic needs but also their need for healthy schools free of mold and lead and for safe schools free of violence and intolerance.

Second, I want to both champion what there is to celebrate about our public schools, but also challenge what must be improved. Investment in early elementary school reforms such as the reading initiative and targeted class size reductions have resulted in more than 70% of students in kindergarten through Grade 2 reading at or above grade level. But, if 70% of our students are reading at or above grade level, then 30% need more – more attention, more support, more instruction. And we cannot be satisfied when more than a quarter of all high school students have below a 2.0 GPA, and are academically ineligible to participate in extracurricular activities. Or when some of our high schools have a 10% suspension rate and a graduation rate only in the 80% percentile. Success for every student must mean just that—every student. Today, we are not an equally effective school system for all of our students.

Third, it is critical that we must believe in each child's potential and that it is our job to challenge and stimulate their learning so they will aim high. There should be no barriers to any child’s learning. And we should never predetermine a child's limitations.

We must protect teachers' opportunity to teach with creative and innovative methods that speak to different learning styles. We cannot sacrifice teaching for the sake of testing. We need a better balance. Tests which are not required by law and which do not improve teaching and learning should be eliminated.

Fourth, we must engage parents, guardians and the larger community as meaningful participants in the debates that affect the education of their children. Our Board of Education needs to hear the voice of the community to understand the challenges our students face and the services they need. And we must do more to reach out to parents and guardians for whom barriers of language and culture limit their involvement.

Fifth, we must recognize and celebrate the differences of each learner and allocate resources based upon the needs these students present. Students should not have to fit into existing programs but have programs designed for their needs. We need to have the availability of AP and IB courses for the students who are ready to reach. But we must also have interventions for the students who need more foundation to succeed. While we prepare and encourage our students to strive for honors, we must also offer rich and engaging opportunities and challenging teaching in our on level, "regular" courses to stimulate all students' growth.

There is enormous diversity in our county and an enormous spectrum of need. No one Board member can answer the needs alone and today I ask for your help.

Today is March 4th. Today, I march forth as a candidate but this is only the beginning of the journey and I need you to march forth with me. I need your time and effort, I need you to talk to your friends and neighbors and encourage them to vote, I need you to put a bumper sticker on your car and a sign on your lawn. I need you to work with me on Election Day. And I need any financial support you can lend, whatever the amount.

I need this support so that we can march forth for high expectations for all students;

I need your support so we can march forth for more teaching and less testing.

I need your partnership so we can march forth for more public involvement in public education;

And I need your help so we can march forth to reclaim our commitment to meet each and every child's educational needs.

I stand before you not as a lawyer but as an aspiring School Board member eager to advance the education of all our students.

I stand before you not as the young child of immigrant parents, but as an adult who will never forget the challenges those families face as they seek to realize the promise of public education.

I stand before you not as a special education teacher but ready to lead the significant debates that the School Board will undertake to ensure the well-being of all students in our County.

I stand before you ready to symbolically march forth.

Gracias por venir a todos los participantes de la communidad Latina. Quiero communicarme en su lengua tambien para que ustedes sepan que yo quiero la collaboracion de todos ustedes.

Thank you for being here. Thank you for the assistance you will lend to my campaign.I never thought I'd be running for office...But, here I am. And, together, we can make a difference.