Why I'm running for Dearborn School Board?

Ever since I announced my candidacy for the Dearborn School Board back in March, some people I get to speak to ask me why are you running? They add: background is computer science? What bothers you with education? I smile and I go to explain how “education” is dear to my heart and how involved I am with the public system.As a product of Dearborn Public Schools and now a parent of a first grader, I have been highly active within our schools. My diverse involvement within Dearborn has allowed me the opportunity to build strong relationships within our schools and community at large. These opportunities have vastly shaped my professional leadership and communication skills which make me qualified and prepared to serve our children, teachers, schools, and community.

Given my personal and professional experiences, I believe I will be the voice of our students and parents on the board. As a student of the Dearborn school system, I understand students’ issues. Additionally, as a first generation college graduate, I share students’ aspirations; striving to reach college, graduate, and lead successful, enriching lives.My four main goals for the district are: 1) to increase student academic achievement across the board, 2) analyze and improve college readiness for our high school students, 3) utilize technology to be more pro-active with parents and the community, and 4) bridge the academic gap between the under-performing and over-achieving students. We can achieve these goals while being fiscally responsible through an effective and efficient implementation of programs.

We owe the taxpayers the due diligence to making sure that every dollar is well spent.As a business startup entrepreneur, I look forward to bringing more business partnership to the district. For example, with the continuous cuts to education, public schools future seems quite gloomy but I believe other sources of funding must be sought by the district. It can all start with simple partnerships with the local global companies we have in the city such as Ford. Recently, we invited some of the Ford Research engineers to participate in the mentoring program at Edsel Ford, and it was refreshing to see some of Edsel’s alums giving back! We must reach out to the surrounding community along with the parents to actively participate in the educational experiences of our students. All students should be able to experience the real world before graduating from high school and the only way to do that is to bring professionals to high and middle school buildings.

I have been involved with Dearborn Public Schools since I graduated from the University of Michigan-Dearborn in 2008. I co-founded the Michigan Chapter of the American Association of Yemeni Students and Professionals (AAYSP) ! and collaborated with the district on many initiatives from mentoring to academic achievement data analysis to shaping the overall policy for our schools. Furthermore, I have taught the Digital Connectors Program, a national program sponsored by Comcast and hosted by ACCESS for the past three years.

Over the course of the past 3 months of door knocking and speaking to fellow residents, I listened to many of Dearborn residents voicing their concerns about our schools. I promise you, I will do everything in my power to make your voices heard and your issues addressed. I have been endorsed by the Dearborn Federation of Teachers, the Police Officers Association of Dearborn, and our own councilman Mark Shooshanian. I hope to earn every Dearborn resident's trust and vote to build a brighter future for our children. To know more about me and my vision for the district, please visit www.adelmozip.com. Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call me directly at (313) 415-5801 or email dearborn@adelmozip.com.