Winnacunnet School Board candidate Charles Shannon
Name: Charles Shannon
Education: BS economics, UMass; MA National Security and Strategic Studies U.S. Naval War College
Occupation: Supervisory special agent, U.S. State Department
Political or civic experience highlights: Asst. wrestling coach at Winnacunnet High School. Active member of the Glen Doherty Memorial Foundation.
What would be your top three priorities if you are elected?: Educating for tomorrow's economy through greater exposure to world history, foreign language arts, financial education, and computer technologies.
Public and transparent communication with residents, the board, and school administration through open public comment outside the agenda items at school board meetings is the most effective way to communicate with those the school board serves. This forum should not be limited to agenda items alone. While limiting speaking times is necessary for efficient meetings, listening to concerns from the public with limited time to attend meetings allows the board and school officials to understand what is going on in the community and adjust accordingly before issues become beyond manageable.
Empower students, parents, and teachers to create an open and evolving educational environment that places our children at the forefront of excellence and makes SAU 21 the premier district on the Seacoast. I want to help build a great school district that students didn't just go to because they had to but wanted to. They didn't just go to Winnacunnet. They loved it there! They didn't just get an education but became a learner!
How should the school district handle requests to remove books from the library or curriculum?: School boards should abide by current RSAs that guide school board policy. I am unaware of any issues regarding books across the district or at the high school level. Should these issues arise and cannot be addressed through normal parent-to-school system communication and come to the school board's attention, they should be handled in accordance with current RSAs.
Do you support the expansion of education freedom accounts in New Hampshire?: Education freedom accounts, their existence, and continued existence are a function of the Legislature, which creates law, not a school board or its members that interpret laws through policy. Additionally, this is not a significant issue across the SAU that I am aware of. However, the SAU can use these laws as a metric to understand how effective their SAU is and if residents feel they are getting the school district they pay for and believe they deserve. SAU 21 provides a significant educational opportunity for the vast majority of students across the district. If the school board is made aware that a significant student population is leaving the district for other educational opportunities, be it these freedom accounts or because parents can afford other educational opportunities, the school board should address these concerns and effect change to keep students. The school board's primary focus should be providing an excellent school district where parents want to send their children.
What else should voters know about your views on local schools and public education?: As a product of public education from grammar school through university, I believe in public education. What separates this fantastic country and this state apart from numerous other countries I have worked and lived in is our public school systems that offer education to every child. A child's education should not be limited to the parents' financial abilities as it is across the globe. As a society, we must educate all our children to compete in today's world economy that is evolving daily.
We owe it to those coming up behind us to prepare them for the world we are leaving them. I advocate for greater exposure to the global environment through world history, literature, and foreign language arts. I was lucky to learn Spanish in high school and have benefited from this skill throughout my life. It has allowed me greater ease in learning new languages, which has helped me succeed in an occupation where the world is my office.
Lastly, we must strategically prepare for the wave of ESL students coming to us. We must plan, budget, and effectively assimilate inbound ESL students into our schools. School boards must work with legislative representatives to effect federal and state reimbursement for mandates. School districts have been saddled with unfunded mandates from the federal and state legislatures for too long. This needs to change if we are going to educate all children effectively.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Winnacunnet School Board candidate Charles Shannon
