| Voter's Guide, 2020 Fall Elections, New Orleans
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| Position | ORLEANS PARISH SCHOOL BOARD, District 2 | | Name | Chanel Marie Payne | | Party Affiliation | Democrat | | Profession | Educator/Business Owner | | Present Employer / position | CMP Educational Consulting Services, LLC | | Length of residence in Jurisdiction | 4 Years | | List of educational institutions and degrees | Doctorate – Educational Administration, Superintendency – Texas Southern University
Masters – Educational Administration, Principalship – Texas Southern University
Bachelors – Print Journalism; Alternative Certification – Southern University at New Orleans
| | Prior elected and appointed positions | N/A | | Civic involvement and affiliations | Board Member, Free-Dem Foundations Inc.
Member, Independent Women’s Organization (IWO)
Member, United Teachers of New Orleans (UTNO)
Secretary, Louisiana Reading Association (LRA) – New Orleans Chapter
Member, Louisiana Association of Educators (LAE)
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Questions specific to the position
| 1. Describe your view about school board oversight of charter schools. What changes do you believe are needed to improve performance?
| The current school board oversight, in my view displays a complete disconnection from the schools they manage and the stakeholders they serve. I would really like for our school board to be a board that makes a difference. Our ability to improve depends on the strength of our organizational foundation (the school board). In order for us to see improvements in NOLA-PS, our educators, and our students the school board must:
-improve the the decision-making process; use some form of shared decision making (include all stakeholders)
-stay true to OPSB/NOLA-PS vision, mission, and/or purpose as it relates to academics and community engagement
-develop a self evaluation and performance improvement tool for board members
-create district-wide professional development that aligns with district goals | | 2. What is your vision and three top priorities for NOLA-PS for the next five years? What obstacles do you foresee and what steps will you implement to overcome them?
| As an educator and educational leader, my vision for NOLA-PS is one that embodies the best thinking about teaching and learning as well as one that invites all stakeholders to share in that vision. My vision for NOLA-PS is one that all stakeholders recognize as a common direction of growth, one that inspires us all to work harder for children.
My top three priorities for NOLA-PS for the next five years are:
1. Effective decision-making and recommendations regarding the opening of schools based on data not dates to include ALL stakeholders.
2. Exploring changes needed in both curriculum and educational models to provide quality and equitable educational opportunities for all students based on current student demographics and the state of education in New Orleans.
3. Conducting a forensic audit of the OPSB budget to eliminate waste, look for opportunities to redirect funds based the financial needs of individual schools, while ensuring every dollar of our students' money is spent on our students.
I think the biggest obstacle is that even as a unified district, every charter management organization operates there school(s) independently. To overcome this obstacle, I would push for:
-A truly unified school district that provides authentic school choice to children and families.
-A greater level of accountability, transparency, and communication from OPSB and NOLA-PS.
| | 3. In the Accountability Framework, there is no indication of any input from faculty members. What are your thoughts about giving teachers more input to decide how their performance is judged?
| There is critical importance in the structured democratic voice of teachers, specifically as it relates to their professional performance. Educator evaluations that lack educator input and base evaluations largely on test scores ignore that fact that only a small percentage of test scores are attributed to the teacher. I think it is important that the people who put in the most work are invited to participate in process of developing and implementing an accountability framework that will judge their professional performance. Allowing educators to have a voice as it relates to accountability builds trust and creates an incentive for more voice. | | 4. What approaches will you implement to ensure that the needs of special education students are fully met?
| A child's disability should not prevent him/her from receiving an excellent education. To ensure the needs of students with special needs are being met fully, I would implement the following approaches:
-Pilot a special education certification program to ensure we have certified and highly-qualified special education teachers.
-Build the capacity of school leaders and special education leaders/teachers through relevant and on-going professional learning sessions in specialized instruction to include: accommodations, modifications, and technology.
-Improve communication among and between all members of the IEP team and evaluate special education IEP process for parents.
| | 5. Last year some students were unable to graduate because of improper management of graduation requirements by school administrators. Do you think these issues could happen again and, if so, what steps would you like to see implemented to prevent this?
| I would hope the type of negligence that caused students not to graduate would not happen again, but I am not confident that this issue is/was isolated. The steps I would take to ensure prevention of improper management as it relates to students meeting graduation requirements are:
-Conduct bi-yearly transcript and graduation track evaluation meetings to include students, parents, and school officials.
-Hire qualified school leaders/high school counselors and provide on-going training as it relates to changes/modifications to graduation requirements.
- Develop and implement an Early Warning Intervention Monitoring System to reduce the risk of chronic absenteeism, course failure, low GPAs and suspensions, which are all barriers that prevent students from graduating. |
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