Ferndale School Board Candidate Profile: Bradford Parks

Eight people are vying for four seats on Ferndale's school board in the November election and Ferndale Patch is bringing you Q&A profiles with each of the candidates.

We asked the candidates about why they want to be on the board of education, their backgrounds, what they consider the biggest areas for improvement and more.

Below are the replies of Bradford Parks.

Bradford Parks

Q: Number of years a resident of the Ferndale school district?
I've lived for 25 years in the Ferndale district--in Oak Park, Ferndale and Pleasant Ridge.

Q: Do you or did you have children in Ferndale schools?
I have two children in Ferndale schools.  I have a daughter who went to Roosevelt, Coolidge, Ferndale Middle School, and just started at Ferndale High school, and a son who is in 3rd grade at Roosevelt.

Q: What prompted you to run for a seat on Ferndale's school board?
Since my daughter started school here, I have gotten more and more involved in the school district, starting at the annual June Fair at Roosevelt and ending up, ten years later, on two different Board of Education committees and Chair of the Citizen's Bond oversight committee. Ferndale has great schools, and it's important to keep our momentum going in the right direction by giving all the students in all our programs (K-12, Alternative Ed, Adult Ed, and Pre-School) the best possible educational experience we can.  Given the extent of my involvement in all aspects Ferndale schools, I feel I have a good understanding of the district from all sides, and can contribute to the positive things going on in the district. 

Q: What kinds of experiences – professional, educational or otherwise – make you a unique and qualified candidate? 
I have been serving the Ferndale schools since my daughter started Kindergarten ten years ago. I have been President of the FE-PTA, the PTA Council, the Ferndale Education Foundation, Chair of the Superintendent's Advisory board, and have been working on the BOE Operations Committee for the past three years and the BOE Technology/Curriculum Committee for the past two years. I served on the BOE summer school bond committee, Ferndale Citizens for Quality schools, campaigned for the successful passage of the school bond, and am currently Co-chair of the Citizens Bond Oversight Committee.

Q: What new ideas do you hope to bring to the table? 
When you have been involved in the school system for any length of time, you learn that what may seem like a "new" idea to you has actually been on the district's agenda for quite some time.  Open meetings?  The district's meetings have been open since the very beginning, pursuant to the Open Meetings act.  Any citizen can come observe any of the school committee meetings at any time.  Student achievement?  The district has been steadily improving student achievement and meeting a variety of changing benchmarks from the state for years, the latest example being the new Data Teams Mondays and our new Alternative Education Digital High School.  Student retention?  The district has tracked this for years and, and even while numbers remain constant, the school administration worked with the community to helped start the Ferndale District Ambassadors to reach out to community families and spread the good word about Ferndale schools. Anyone who has been involved in Ferndale schools knows the school district and the board are constantly on the lookout for ways to save money, increase parent involvement and raise student achievement.  The goal is to keep focus on the main objectives and away from single-sided issues that weaken our school district and threaten to divide our community.

Q: What do you think are the biggest issues facing the school district? How would you handle them?
1)      Ferndale schools have to juggle a constantly changing school finance environment from state and federal sources, with a current state government pushing alternative forms of education such as charter schools that work against the public school model.  The Board has to keep working with our state legislature to make our voices heard in Lansing, and to keep the general public aware of the complex circumstances driving school financing and school reform.  We have to continue to carefully monitor our own district budgeting, looking to save where we can, and championing new and innovative ideas that can bring more education to the public and more money into the district.  However, in our quest for reducing costs and saving money, we can’t forget that our administrators, teachers and support staff in public schools deserve the same living wage and increases in salary and benefits as workers in the private sector.

2)      Developing our educational priorities by working with, and not against, the school administration, the teachers, support staff and parents of the district, and following through to assess our achievement, and make course direction changes as required.  (For example, the new Data Teams concept introduced this school year.)  If elected, I would work with the other members of the School Board and the Coordinator of Elementary Curriculum to ensure the necessary structural changes are made in 2012/13 school year to improve learning conditions for all students in all schools in our district. We have to take the best proven strategies from all our schools and apply these lessons district-wide.  We want to best for ALL students in our district, not just one program or one school.

3)      Public relations are a big issue in such a diverse school community with so many different stakeholders with different agendas.  We need to work with local parents and citizens to help them understand the complexities Ferndale faces running a diverse school district and supplying an equal education for all our students and all our programs.  Board members have to serve as emissaries to the public for all our schools, and help explain the goals, achievements, and challenges of our school district.  I would begin bi-monthly school forums based on explaining a single topic of interest, and solicit input from citizens to implement into our annual school improvement plans.  Citizens of the district have to work together for the achievement of the entire district, not just their small piece of it.

Q: What do you regard as the district's successes? How would you continue or improve upon these areas, if elected? 
The Ferndale school district is a full-service district that offers high standards for academics, a nationally renowned music program, award-winning sports teams, and a Robotics team in the top 10% of the state. We have classes for advanced learners and tutoring and special help for students who need more support. Ferndale High school was just named a "Rewards" school and ranked among the top high schools in Oakland County. We have highly motivated parent support for all our schools and our extra curricular activities. As long as we keep our students and community involved and continue the steady growth of the past several years, what's not to like?

Q: Around the country, state and in Ferndale, school budgets continue to be an issue districts grapple with. What areas of the budget would be your biggest priority, if elected? Where do you see the most room for cuts, if needed?
Ferndale schools have excelled at navigating the financial ups and downs of the past several years.  We are one of the few districts in our area which has not had to make drastic cuts, reduce teacher and staff salaries, slash programs, and raise costs for participating in or watching sports and drama.  (You can read news reports of Michigan school districts selling their school buses -even the older trees on their property!)  We do this by constantly keeping focus on our bottom line, and always looking for new and innovative ways to bring funds back into the school district.  People who talk about cutting programs or changing our focus from all our students to one select group ignore the fact that our district programs work together to make life better for all.  If we were to remove Adult and Alternative Education from our district as some citizens have suggested, we would not only be denying those students an education but reducing the pool of dollars that allow us to help fund Robotics trips, Marching band uniforms and the cost of district supports.  Our goal should be properly funding ALL student populations and programs, not cutting.

Q: Anything else you would like to add?
It's unfortunate during a political year to hear community members talk about the focusing on the "right" kids for our school district.  In the current school climate, all Michigan schools face stiff competition for district students--there are schools of choice, parochial schools, private schools, and charter schools, including a new Navy-based school planned for 2013 right here in Ferndale. Parents and students have to make the choice they feel is right for them. There are some people in our school district who suggest that families who choose to send their children elsewhere reflect negatively on the quality of Ferndale schools. I would respectfully disagree. I believe the district's time, money and energy is best spent serving the students who considered the options and chose to support their school district, not on chasing after people who have already made their choice. The best publicity for Ferndale schools is to support the entire district--schools, students, teachers, and administration--with positive word of mouth, and work together to make it the best it can be.