The Charles County branch of the NAACP and the Sigma Alpha Lambda Chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity hosted a forum for the board of education at-large candidates on April 30 at Waldorf West Library.
Four out of five filed candidates attended the forum, with Andre R. Griggs Jr. missing the event. Griggs has yet to respond to any requests for comment this year from Southern Maryland News.
The candidates had one minute allotted to answer questions from the audience before they were stopped.
In their introductions, candidates shared why they are running.
“I’m here as an educator. I’ve been in the classroom for 20 years,” candidate Christopher O. J. Alberts said. “If you elect me, you’re getting an educator.”
“Reason for running is the same as it’s always — opportunity,” Michael Lukas, the seat’s incumbent, said.
“I’m a mom, I have three children in the system,” candidate Pascale Small said. “We have seen the inequities in our system.”
“I’ve been doing early child care and professional development for over 30 years,” candidate Letonya Smalls said. “My heart is for the children.”
The candidates were asked what approach they would take to address higher suspension rates for Black and brown students in the system.
“I take a more restorative approach,” Small said. “Make sure students have an understanding of expectations, make sure they’re offered supports to model behavior, to mold behavior.”
“As long as we continue to repeat the same thing, nothing will change. We have to be in the trenches,” Smalls said.
“We need to accept there’s an implicit bias when it comes to our Black and brown children,” Alberts said. He advocated for addressing accountability, saying that we need to know what the problems are to be able to effectively deal with them.
“The code of student conduct is not just about punishing kids, there’s restorative practices in there,” Lukas said. He assured that the school system has and will provide resources to parents.
“We need to make sure we’re treating children the same,” the incumbent added.
Candidates were also asked about their plans to address mental health crises.
“I know the importance of mental health,” Smalls said. “The plan is to find out what the need is and provide the need.”
Smalls elaborated that she would look into outsourcing for those who are equipped for mental health crises, saying, “If I can’t fix it, I know people who can.”
Alberts said it is naive that people always students to come to school and have a good day every day, and that safe schools should start with mental health.
Lukas advocated for the destigmatization of mental health and said social media plays a large part in the mental well-being of children. He said that growing up with constant images of war and destruction has made their upbringing different from older populations.
Small agreed with Lukas, saying children are facing trauma from social media, and are being grabbed and influenced by algorithms. She elaborated that the county needs a school environment free of bias, which starts in the classroom.
The at-large seat is the lone local election this year in Charles County. The top two vote getters will face off in November’s general election.
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