Meet The Candidate: Kelly Carmichael Booz For School Board

ALEXANDRIA, VA — As voters begin casting early ballots for Alexandria's Nov. 2 general election, one of the races they will decide is the Alexandria School Board.

The school board is made up of three districts, each of which has three board members who serve a three-year term. Members who are elected in the Nov. 2 election will take office in 2022.

Voters will either vote for Alexandria School Board District A, B or C depending on which district they live in. There are five candidates running for three seats in District A, seven candidates running for three seats in District B, and three candidates running for three seats in District C.

One of the District B candidates is Kelly Carmichael Booz, who manages digital resources for the American Federation of Teachers and has two ACPS children.

For more information about the upcoming election in Alexandria, visit www.alexandriava.gov/Elections.

Learn more about Kelly Carmichael Booz and why she is running for Alexandria School Board District B in 2021:

Editor's note: below are the unedited views of the candidate.

Age (as of Election Day)

42

Position sought (mayor, city council, school board, etc.)

Alexandria City School Board, District B

Family

I am married to Hendrick Booz. We have two children - my daughter Madeline (8) is in third grade and my son William (6) is in first grade at Douglas MacArthur Elementary School.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

My husband Hendrick just started his 23rd year as a high school English teacher in Fairfax County Public Schools.

Education

M.Ed. Social Foundations of Education, University of Virginia
B.A. Psychology (with a minor in Women’s Studies), Carleton College

Occupation

I direct the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) PreK-12 digital resources serving 1.9 million educators on the AFT's Share My Lesson, the AFT's E-Learning professional development platform, and the production and dissemination of PreK-12 publication for the AFT's 1.7 million members.

I have 20+ years of experience working in education. I was previously elected to the Alexandria City School Board in 2012 and served on the Board from 2013-2015. I also served as Director of Civic Education at James Madison’s Montpelier directing the Virginia We the People program and as Manager of Teacher Programs at Alexandria’s Close Up Foundation. In 2014, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe appointed me to serve on the Virginia Standards of Learning Innovation Committee to evaluate the Virginia accountability and assessment systems.

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

2013-2015: Alexandria City School Board, District B

Campaign website

www.kellycarmichaelbooz.com

Why are you seeking elective office?

This is such a crucial moment for our children as we get our schools open full-time and we work to ensure long-term learning and social-emotional recovery from the impact of this disruptive and tragic COVID-19 year. When I previously served on the Alexandria School Board, seven of us on the nine-member body were brand new to the board. I served during a relatively normal time (before COVID-19 and before an uptick in divisive politics), but as a new member it was a steep learning curve navigating the budget process, reviewing and setting policies for the division, and managing the superintendent.

Now all three incumbents in district B are not running for reelection. Given the critical time we are in with school reopening, learning recovery, and other important issues impacting Alexandria, experience counts as we map the future. We have lost too much time over the last year. We cannot afford to lose more time with an inexperienced board. I will be ready on day one.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Our policies and budget must focus on learning as well as social-emotional recovery. Alexandria Public School students spent most of the 2020/2021 school year out of school with virtual learning. Learning in the spring of the previous year was left mostly up to parents and caregivers. No matter how diligently students, teachers, parents and caregivers worked, the reality is we have learning and knowledge gaps to overcome. Our budget and priorities must close this learning gap with a focus on reading and math specialists, after-school tutoring, and in-person summer learning.

Returning students to in-person school, five-days a week, was not simply a matter of reopening the school door. We must support students as they reengage with their friends, teachers, and peers and seek opportunities to collaborate with families and collectively support the social emotional needs of students after this year. Our budget and policy priorities must invest in more school counselors, our professional development must include social emotional learning and trauma-informed practices, and our school day and after-school programs must incorporate these practices.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I bring my experience of previously serving on the Alexandria School Board and 20+ years advocating for students, teachers, and public education. With none of the district B incumbents seeking reelection, experience and stability are crucial to ensure we support students. We spent the last year and a half figuring out how to operate within the pandemic. We can’t afford another learning curve with three new board members. We need school board members who are ready to roll up their sleeves and do the job on day one. I am that candidate.

How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?

Communication and transparency with families, caregivers, and the community are chronic challenges we must solve. Mixed messages, unclear guidance, and a lack of transparency erode community trust. For example, in December, ACPS told families to complete an intent to return to school form and families were told that their decision was a non-binding decision. Two months later, ACPS told families that their decision made in December was now binding. Families were justifiably upset. Examples like this erode public trust. As a board member, I will work with my fellow board members on greater oversight on policy, messaging, and operations.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

We all know that the COVID-19 pandemic has been massively disruptive to our students and their learning. We need to support our teachers, focus on student success, and work with City Council on funding so we can close the learning gap and social-emotional gap that’s only increased over the last year. I will serve our community and focus our budget and policies on what’s best for our students: in-person learning, academic and social-emotional recovery, health and safety, school capacity, and communication and transparency.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

The sudden decision to remove SROs overruled security recommendations of our school-level principals and lacked sufficient community engagement. A substantive and thoughtful conversation about the role of policing in our society is essential; and the events since last summer have reminded us of that again and again. I want every student and staff member in ACPS to feel safe - physically and emotionally. I recommend that Council and School Board re-engage this debate and form an SRO working group to address both security and systemic racism in disciplinary actions with a solution that supports our schools in the 2023 fiscal year.