Letter to the Editor: Graf on Her Candidacy for School Board

Dear Editor:

Only one day remains for candidates to register for November’s Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) School Board election. When I announced my candidacy nearly three months ago, I circled this date on my calendar. I had so much to do, so much to accomplish, to build the foundation for a successful campaign.

Visiting schools, meeting with teachers, speaking with current board members, educating myself, developing a point of view, honing my message, reaching out to the community, rallying support, raising funds. My “to do” list seemed endless, and every completed task raised two or three new avenues to explore.

Now, it is tomorrow. Ten weeks have never flown by so fast.

I can’t claim to have accomplished everything that I wanted to at this stage. But I am pleased and proud that I have accomplished a lot. I am humbled by the openness and candor I have encountered in my interactions with people from ACPS, as well as the Alexandria community. And I am moved and incredibly grateful for the overwhelming support and generosity I have received from friends, family, and fellow Alexandrians.

A strong public school system is at the core of a successful community. It nurtures and shapes our children’s futures, it gives families confidence to lay down roots, it acts as a social focal point, and it boosts businesses and raises property values. From my discussions over the past 10 weeks, I can confidently say that people believe in the potential of the Alexandria public school system. At the same time, people agree that something has been missing in the effort to consistently realize this potential.

I continue to believe that what is missing is the “three P’s” of my campaign platform: performance, process, persistence. 

• Performance: we need to rigorously and transparently evaluate which what is working and what is not. No more decision-making without accountability.
• Process: we need to establish – and adhere to – a fact-driven approach for choosing which programs we pursue and a disciplined methodology for implementation. No more throwing things against the wall and seeing what sticks.
• Persistence: we need to support our teachers, administrators, and, most importantly, students, in making our programs work. At the same time, we must maintain our focus on performance, using key performance indicators to ensure we achieve our desired return on investment. No more “flavor of the month” changes and no more mistaking activity for progress.

I look forward to the news tomorrow of who will be running for ACPS school board alongside me and I look forward to beginning to establish relationships with my colleagues in the effort to move ACPS forward toward its goal of being a benchmark public school system and a source of pride and value for the Alexandria community.

Thank you all for your overwhelming support so far. The next date circled in my calendar is Nov. 6. I have to accomplish a lot between now and then, but together we will succeed!

Karen A. Graf