Candidate Profile: Jacky McCoy Runs For Howard County Board of Education

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Candidates in the Democratic and Republican parties will be competing on Tuesday in their respective primaries to see who will be on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Patch has asked each of the candidates running in select races to fill out a questionnaire, sharing facts about themselves and why voters should choose them to represent their party in November.

Let's start with your name.

Jacky McCoy

What email should be used to contact your campaign?

jackymccoyboe@gmail.com

Does your campaign have a website?

https://www.jackymccoyboe.com/

What city or town do you live in?
Columbia

What office are you seeking?
Howard County Board of Education

Please share with us with your education.

Bachelor of Science - Mechanical Engineering; Master of Arts - Secondary Education (Mathematics)

What is your occupation?
35 years in education

Do you have a family? If so, please tell us about them.
I am married to Andrew McCoy. We have a blended family (Shauntae McNair, Eric McCoy, Samantha McCoy, Jonathan McCoy, Michael McCoy). Samantha, Jonathan, and Michael all graduated from Long Reach High School.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?
No one in my family works in politics. My husband works for a US defense contractor.

Have you ever held a public office, whether appointive or elective?
I have not held a public office of any kind.

Why are you seeking this office?

I’m running for a seat on the Howard County Board of Education because I want to use my unique set of skills and experiences to bring about:
- REAL EDUCATION that is effective for all students,
- REAL ACCESS to necessary resources for students and teachers, and
- REAL FAMILY ENGAGEMENT from preschool to high school.
It is my goal to ensure that every student has equitable access to opportunity, regardless of where they live in the county.

Please complete this statement: The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is \_\_\_, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Outside of addressing the impact of the pandemic on student learning, the most pressing issue facing the HCPSS is teacher retention and recruitment which is a nationwide crisis. To address this issue employment processes, wages, and employment incentives have to be adjusted to be more competitive with other school systems competing to recruit and retain teachers. However, wages and employment incentives are addressed as part of the budgetary process. In the meantime, there may be a need to restructure Central Office staff (trained educators) to fill some of the classroom teacher gaps until Human Resources can grow the classroom teacher numbers. Reaching out to recently retired educators may be viable option as well.

As a member of the board I would:
- advocate for alternative methods to certify teachers in order to provide broader opportunities for potential educators to enter the profession and
- promote efforts to grow teachers within the school system through programs like "Grow Your Own” and apprenticeships like teacher residencies.

The Praxis Exam and ParaPro Exams are gatekeeping mechanisms that limit the teacher pool. Good test-taking should not be the primary determinant for assessing teacher readiness and skill. There must be other effective matrices used to assess readiness to broaden the available pool of educators. The bottomline is that the system must find effective ways to retain and recruit teachers that does not negatively impact the quality of the teachers.

What are the major differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

The major difference between me and the other candidates is that I am an experienced K-12 educator with over 35 years of experience in education. I have taught at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Also, I have tutored elementary through college level students. My degree in mechanical engineering honed my problem solving skills which is a valuable asset for contributing to Board of Education decision making process. Therefore, my training and experience in education make me the best candidate for the Board of Education.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?

My priorities are real education for all students, real access, and real family engagement.

By REAL education, I mean that we need more instruction that addresses the needs of students especially in light of the impact of COVID so that they can thrive. We need to maximize the Blueprint for Maryland's Education and fully funding universal Pre-K as well as birth to 3-year old engagement / education initiatives (ex: “Talk With Me,” Howard County Family Institute, and other family and community outreach efforts). Also, I will promote bridging the opportunity gap through investment in programs like high quality Career and Technical Education (CTE), JumpStart, Grads for Life, and Year Up.

By REAL access, I mean to explore approaches like Community Schools (a national initiative) to help us improve academic developmental outcomes of children through community partnerships to ensure that all students have an equitable opportunity to succeed in school. Also, I will advocate for expansion of Special Education services and support to ensure that all students thrive no matter their challenges. Where appropriate, I would seek to improve student engagement and performance by advocating for assisting teachers and families with proven methods with incorporating the effective and safe use of technology.

By REAL family engagement, I will support efforts to encourage student success through system wide collaboration, communication, and accountability. We must work together - the board, superintendent, Central office, schools, teachers, students, families, and community - to bring about the best outcomes for all students.

All these priorities will be approached with a lens of equity so that no matter the school all students will have what they need to succeed.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

In the past, through my testimony before the Board of Education I was able to initiate the change from a 4 x 4 scheduling that used to exist at Long Reach High School and I believe River Hill to align with the scheduling of the other high schools in the system. Also, I gave testimony that was instrumental in bringing about the change from a 3-credit requirement for high school math to a 4-credit requirement which better supports students to be college and career ready. I successfully advocated for the Alpha Achievers program to begin its second chapter at Long Reach High School. That effort led to the program's expansion throughout the HCPSS high schools.

My work as co-founder and facilitator of Changing the Lens has helped to sharpen my leadership, collaboration and listening skills. I have been able to help participants develop more informed lenses through which to view the state of society. In our series of workshops that I helped to create, participants:
- examine the brain science of bias,
- delve into the historical and institutional issues of bigotry and bias that have shaped our society, and
- work to help participants understand disparate outcomes and consideration for what one can do the change the systems that helped create those outcomes.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

The best advice anyone has given me was to use "we" instead of "you" when addressing problems.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

My primary goal for becoming a member of the Board of Education is to center children first in every decision. As an at-large member of the board, I look forward to opportunities for engagement with students, families, and educators throughout Howard County to inform my decision making on the board in order to help create a more effective system of education for all.