Stell: If elected, I would personally call on our community to partner with us for extra help, tutoring and support. There are ways we can support our teachers, giving them the help and encouragement they need. Let’s survey them! We need to listen to them, our parents and the taxpayers. Transparency is the key.
What are the biggest challenges facing Richardson ISD? How do you plan to address these issues?
Brown: We must first focus on educating and equipping our students for success in a challenging world. Support for, and the retention of, our teachers who create an environment of excellence for our children is paramount. Third, we must raise the at-level reading performance of our third graders to at least a B (80% from less than 50%).
McGowan: Some of our challenges are the following: teacher and counselor shortage, superintendent search, achievement gap and the fight against equity. RISD teachers and employees—managing the budget to give retention bonuses to staff, more training on district initiatives, and stronger benefits and health care to our employees and teachers.
