Closing Opportunity Gap Is Goal For Incumbent In District 6 School Board Race

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — Patch invited every candidate running for the Anne Arundel County Board of Education to complete a questionnaire on their campaign priorities. We are posting stories with their unedited, verbatim responses.

Get to know District 6 candidate Joanna Bache Tobin.

Voters can check what district they live in at this link. Early voting runs from May 2 through May 9. The primary election is on May 14. The General Election is on Nov. 5. More information on voting locations, registration, mail-in ballots and dropbox ballots is posted here.

Name: Joanna Bache Tobin (Incumbent)

District: 6

Hometown: Annapolis

Age On General Election Day: 61

Profession: Consultant

Campaign Website: joannaforboardofed.com

Campaign Facebook: JoannaBacheTobin

1. What are your three biggest policy priorities?

My top three policy priorities include: ensuring equity in education (acknowledging students’ differences to give them what they need to thrive); providing sufficient resources to support all students and staff; and faithfully implementing the legislated Blueprint for Maryland's Future in Anne Arundel County.

2. What is the biggest educational issue in Anne Arundel County?

The biggest educational issue in Anne Arundel County is the continued existence of opportunity and achievement gaps between different student demographic groups. Each student must have the opportunity to achieve academic, social, and emotional growth regardless of their background. This requires addressing barriers. In particular, AACPS must improve special education services as well as Gifted and Talented instruction and support.

3. What is the biggest educational issue in your district specifically?

In District 6, City of Annapolis and surrounding area, the issue of opportunity and achievement is particularly acute. District 6 includes some of the deepest pockets of poverty in the county. In fact, all the public housing communities in the entire county are located within the City of Annapolis; all the children who reside in those communities attend Annapolis High School. It is often more difficult for families with lower incomes to access additional special education support because they are less likely to be able to hire their own advocates to assist in advocating for their children, something which is often necessary to secure special education services, sadly. Additionally, it is often less likely that students from lower income backgrounds are identified as Gifted and Talented. Addressing these deficits requires increasing the number of special education teachers and staff, and placing renewed emphasis on programs that identify and serve gifted and talented children. Broadly speaking, this goes back to a commitment to equity in its fullest intent because we must commit to serving children as individuals to move each child toward their full potential--regardless of where they begin.

4. How will you address the teacher shortage?

Addressing the teacher shortage requires a multi-pronged approach. I support the following priorities to help address the hiring shortages:

First, we must continue to address fair and competitive teacher compensation so that the district can become, and remain, competitive with other nearby counties. Since I was elected to the Board of Education in 2020,the AACPS school system has made significant improvements in teacher compensation, moving from being 19th of the 24 Maryland school districts in teachers starting pay to salaries ranking 4th. The Blueprint for Maryland's Future, a law supported by several pieces of legislation, mandates that teachers’ starting salaries reach at least $60,000 per year by 2026. However, as other school districts continue to increase salaries, so too must AACPS to remain competitive.

Second, AACPS must continue to support and expand “Grow Your Own” initiatives. This innovative strategy enables the system to develop future educators from within its own student population through education courses offered in high school, enhanced student-teaching opportunities for AACPS students who go on to study education at the college level, college scholarships, and more. Maryland and Anne Arundel County have historically been net importers of educators rather than developing them grassroots. As the nation faces significant teacher shortages overall, AACPS leaders must not rely on hiring teachers from within or outside the state..

Third, to retain teachers, we must support and grow mentoring resources so that new teachers can grow and develop in their practice. Again, the Blueprint is helpful because it requires career ladders for teachers to be developed to enable them to earn salary increases over time while remaining in the classroom. Supporting master teachers and mentors is key to growing and retaining a teaching force. In turn, a high-level teaching force helps improve student outcomes.

Finally, the AACPS system must hire enough counselors, social workers, and psychologists to meet the social and emotional needs of students. When we have sufficient staff in those positions, then teachers can focus on instruction, for which they are trained, rather than attempting to address the complex issues of student mental health.. Significantly reducing the workload and stress of our educators also supports their mental health and reflects positively on student outcomes.

5. How will you approach balancing the budget?

My approach to a balanced budget is data driven. As a member of the BOE, one of my most important jobs is oversight and governance of the AACPS system. As such, I expect to see clear evidence that the programs and staffing to which we have allocated funds are, in fact, producing good results. Those that are not should be re-evaluated, and cuts made as necessary. Likewise, any potential additions to a budget also must be clearly supported by data and parallel requirements of the Blueprint. My overriding goal in all budgeting is to ensure students are getting what they need for continuous academic improvements. It is also important that AACPS and the BOE are honest and transparent with the public about the real costs associated with achieving education goals.

6. How will the end of pandemic-era funding affect your budgetary decisions?

Fortunately, AACPS made wise decisions in expending pandemic-era funding to ensure that the money was spent, to the fullest extent possible, on sustainable initiatives. Therefore, the AACPS district has found itself in a better position than a number of other Maryland school districts at the end of the pandemic era. It remains the case, however, that a number of initiatives funded with recovery money will require significant budget increases in the future. For example, while we received a direct infusion of money to provide Chromebooks to all 85,000 students during the pandemic, these devices must be maintained and replaced as necessary. This is, however, the cost of education in the 21st century as we address the digital divide among students and prepare them to navigate careers and attend college.

7. How will you approach school redistricting? If your district is part of this redistricting, what are some of your priorities?

Redistricting involves many considerations. I will approach redistricting based on data that support the potential for student outcomes for the diverse groups of students, along with input from my constituency. District 6, like all AACPS districts, must balance the use of education facilities to avoid overcrowding at some schools and low enrollment at others. Balancing facilities is essential to using tax dollars wisely. Importantly, eliminating overcrowding can remove previous zoning barriers to the county’s development of additional housing, particularly affordable housing.

8. If you are an incumbent, why do you deserve another term? If you are a challenger, why are you the best candidate?

As a District 6 incumbent, I deserve a second term because I have a proven record of delivering on the promises I made to my constituents when I first ran for the BOE in 2020. I promised to work for increasing compensation for AACPS educators and all employees; move school start times to new, healthier hours; hire additional counselors, psychologists, and social workers; and oversight of the Superintendent. Additionally, I continue to use my experience as an educator and a leader to bring equity, transparency, and accountability to the work of the Board. As Chair of the BOE Policy Committee, I oversaw the development and approval of the first, most comprehensive LGBTQIA+ Student Protection Policy in the state. I was elected as President of the Board in December 2021, and re-elected in December 2022. During that time, I oversaw the process to hire a new AACPS Superintendent, Dr. Mark Bedell, who is nationally recognized as one of the most effective superintendents in the country. I also brought leadership and stability to the Board, ensuring meetings became more efficient and more focused on student outcomes. Looking forward, I stand ready to ensure leadership continuity so that Dr. Bedell can continue the work he has begun to take AACPS from a good school system to one of the best in the country, strengthen instruction to move every student forward, advocate for better mental health supports, build a more inclusive educational model for all our students, and ensure the Blueprint for Maryland's Future is implemented fully and with fidelity.

9. How will you handle LGBTQ+ and racial issues brought before the school board?

I am committed to equity at every level of our education system. As such, I have advocated, and will continue to advocate, forcefully to ensure that every student feels a sense of belonging in their school. In 2023 one of my fellow Board members brought a proposed policy to the Policy Committee that would have banned any flags from being displayed at or in our school buildings other than the U.S. Flag, the state flag, the county flag, the City of Annapolis flag or any others required by law or those deemed to have “bona fide” educational value by school principals. The policy would essentially have banned the display of other flags, such as the Pride flag and the Black Lives Matter flag. As a member of the Policy Committee, I voted to move the policy forward for full review by the Board, which would include at least three public readings. I did so because I believe that transparency and accountability are paramount, particularly when deliberating on such controversial issues. In these examples, I fought forcefully for equity, transparency, accountability and for recognizing the historical facts and taking responsibility for them.

Examples:

Serving as Board President throughout 2023, I also presided at the often tumultuous meetings where the public readings of the proposed flag policy occurred. The community had ample opportunity to respond. The Board received significant public comment, in person and via email; a majority of the public was against the policy. Ultimately, I voted against adopting the policy. as did a majority of Board members. I advocated forcefully against adopting the policy in my final comments before the vote at the meeting on July 12, 2023, beginning at time marker 3:38:30.

Similarly, the same Board member brought a proposed amendment to the BOE equity policy that would have stripped the policy of any reference to historical and structural inequities. In that case, the amendment was brought to the Board last minute, blindsiding the public as to how the policy could be fundamentally changed by the amendment. I argued forcefully, based largely on the facts of the history of Annapolis, for the continued inclusion of these critical statements regarding historical and structural inequity and racism, and for the importance of taking responsibility for the facts. My views prevailed. For additional information on my position, please see my comments at the February 7, 2024, Board meeting, starting at time marker 1:37:07.

10. How will you handle book-banning issues brought before the school board?

I have devoted my career as an educator to ensuring that my students know and understand the facts underlying every issue they study and have unfettered access to the information they need to learn about those facts. I am also committed to ensuring that censorship never takes hold in this country’s public education system or community. Having said that, AACPS has in place policy and a process to ensure that all books and other materials made available to students, both in the classrooms and in the libraries, are developmentally appropriate and meet the academic, social, and emotional needs and interests of our students. Should a caregiver believe that a book their child has access to is inappropriate, AACPS has a process whereby that caregiver may request a review of the book in question. I trust our highly trained educators and media specialists, who participate in the initial selection of books and materials, and serve on the review committees, when requested, to make well-informed decisions grounded in the following criteria: developmentally appropriate to meet the academic, social, and emotional needs of all students.

11. Please tell us about yourself.

My parents instilled in me a profound understanding of the power and value of education. As the child of a U.S. diplomat, I was born in Trinidad and grew up living in Hong Kong, Zambia, Nigeria, Cameroon and Ghana. While abroad, my parents sent me to the local, public schools. I attended both first and second grades in a Nigerian public school in the north of Nigeria during a civil war. There were 40 students in the classroom, often three to a desk. Friends and classmates there walked miles to school every day, putting on their shoes when they reached the school gates so those shoes would last for their younger siblings. The memory of that experience, and others, helped me understand the importance of education, how it can change a child’s life. And I rely on these first impressions as I make decisions for our students.

I attended high school in Pennsylvania, and went on to receive a B.A. Cum Laude from Wellesley College in Medieval/Renaissance Studies, a Master’s of Liberal Arts from St. John's College, Annapolis, and a Ph.D. with distinction in Political Theory from Georgetown University. Prior to going to graduate school, I worked as an actress and in arts and nonprofit administration. I was a member of the faculty at St. John's College for several years, teaching throughout the curriculum.

Since 2006. I have worked as a consultant, serving as a Senior Moderator for the Aspen Institute in their Leadership Seminars Program, chairing site visit teams evaluating public charter networks around the country for accreditation, consulting on college faculty development and writing independently. I have volunteered my time in a number of capacities including serving as Chair of the AA County Citizens' Advisory Committee on Recycling, serving as Vice President of the PTSA of Annapolis High School for 3 years, Co-Chairing the Children's Religious Education Committee at Annapolis Friends Meeting (Quakers), serving on and chairing the Board of Trustees of a local private school, acting in productions at The Colonial Players, and serving as a judge at the state and national levels of the “We The People” student civics competition. My husband and I moved to Annapolis in 1999, and our daughter graduated from Annapolis High School in 2020. She will graduate from the College of Wooster, Ohio in May. All of these experiences, personal and professional, along with my love for this community and all it has given to me and my family, led me to run for the AA County Board of Education in 2020. I believe a second term brings continuity to the BOE and allows me to continue serving our students and the District 6 community.

12. Is there anything else we should know?

I believe the primary role of any Board of Education is to develop policies and budgets with a single focus: continuous improvement in student outcomes. That singular focus has been my north star throughout my first term on the BOE, and it will continue to be so for as long as I serve. Education is not the place to fight partisan battles or wage culture wars on behalf of adults. Education is the focus that benefits our students, and that is where I will be focused with students front and center at all times.