Candidate Profile: Carly A. Bosco (Suffolk School Board – Sleepy Hole Borough)

Name: Carly Bosco
Age: 44
Website: www.boscoforsuffolk.com

Biography: I grew up in suburban Detroit. My husband and I relocated here to Hampton Roads in 2006 for his job opportunity. We moved to Suffolk in 2018, just before the birth of our third child. I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan and a Master’s Degree in Technology Management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. My career over the past 20 years has been spent in engineering and program management. I am currently the Senior Director of Research and Operations at an aerospace research and STEM education-based non-profit in Hampton. I previously worked for IBM Microelectronics supporting primarily aerospace and defense-related projects.

Why are you running for this office?

As the mother of three children in Suffolk Public Schools, I am committed to doing what is within my power to improve our schools for every student, and to foster a positive, welcoming environment for students, staff and community alike. For the past six years, I have been an active volunteer in various capacities both in school buildings and on various citizen committees. I am running for the board seat to be able to impact positive change on a larger scale.

What is the top challenge facing Suffolk Public Schools, and how would you address it?

Staff recruitment and retention is at the top of the list of challenges we must address. We cannot provide high quality education in overfilled classes with overworked teachers. We need our classrooms fully staffed with permanent teachers. We need our buildings fully staffed with support personnel to allow teachers to focus on instruction rather than ‘everything else’. We need administration support in handling disruptive classroom behaviors. The last climate survey showed unacceptable results from staff in the area of morale. We need to make the climate one where staff are empowered to suggest and implement positive change and where it is OK to raise concerns without fear of reprisal. We can begin to address this with honest conversations where we truly listen to understand and not defend and take that feedback to target areas of improvement. When staff feel valued, we become a more desirable employer and the challenges we face related to student achievement, special education compliance and other issues all begin to improve because our teachers are the linchpin to a successful and thriving education system.

How will you still value constituents with whom you disagree with?

We find the best solutions when diverse viewpoints are represented in discussions. Community members who come to the board with genuine intention to improve our schools with the interest of students and teachers at the forefront are all deserving of respect. No decision will ever please everyone and we will not always agree, but we all deserve a forum where mutual respect is displayed and everyone has the opportunity to be heard.

What is your view on the Governor’s Executive Order to ban cell phone use?

Teachers have long noted that cell phones are a major distraction in the classroom. Last year Chesapeake introduced a ban on cell phones that was met with significant resistance from parents. There are valid reasons that students, particularly beyond elementary level, need a phone with them. However it is equally valid that during instructional time students have no need to be on their phones. While exceptions would certainly exist where a cell phone is used as a medical monitoring device or other IEP/504 reasons, it is not unreasonable for restrictions to be placed on the use of phones and for there to be consequences for ignoring those restrictions. Through collaboration with stakeholders it will be possible to develop a policy that meets the objectives desired without an outright ban.

Recently, Superintendent Dr. John Gordon said in a school board meeting that “I still don’t understand why we are now expected to share what new safety measures have been put in place.” This was in reference to questions from a news outlet, following the intruder inside Kilby Shores Elementary School on the last day of school. What is your reaction to Dr. Gordon’s comments? Should the superintendent share security information with the community?

Transparent communications and appropriate protection of security measures are not mutually exclusive. I believe the biggest issue following the incident at Kilby Shores is that there was no public response from the District. A letter went out to Kilby Shores parents, but an incident of this nature would have been better served by a larger-scale public response. An appropriate response to the incident does not require that specific details be disclosed, but does take accountability for what happened and that corrective actions are being developed while reviewing what transpired. The silence implied to many that the incident was simply being ignored, particularly after the police chief’s statement that the incident was not a breach of security policies. We should strive for an environment of continuous improvement in all operations, not only security, and this incident at Kilby Shores certainly provides the opportunity to reassess policies and implement changes to lessen the likelihood of a repeat event at any schools in the district.