Hazel Sellers is running for the District 3 seat on the Polk County School Board.
1. Why are you running for this office?
I am running for this office because I believe that public education is one of the most important institutions in this country. I am passionate bout our mission of providing a high quality education for all students.
Our district is dedicated to and has a plan to meet this mission and I believe I can help our district meet this goal.
2. Why do you think you are the best qualified candidate for the office?
My extensive work in education at the school level, district level, and as a board member give me the experience and leadership skills that need to take us through these next years to move our district ahead academically.
My educational background includes a B.S. degree in elementary education from Florida State, a Masters in Reading Education from USF, and a Masters in Educational Leadership from USF. I have 30 years experience as an educator in the classroom and at the district level.
Our school district has an aggressive plan that is focused on bringing up the academic achievement of all our students and I believe that my knowledge, experience, and vision for our district can help us achieve our goals and mission.
3. If you are elected, what will be your top priorities?
Addressing poverty in our schools and all the issues related to poverty will be one of the top priorities. With over 72 percent of our children receiving free and reduced lunches we have identified poverty as a huge factor to overcome in addressing the achievement levels of these children.
We know that many of these children need more time, resources and adult mentoring for them to reach the same level of academic achievement as middle and upper middle class children. We have been an aggressive plan to address many of these issues and have further plans to overcome some of these issues children of poverty face in education. Bringing back extensive summer school programs is just one part of this plan.
Continuing to bring our graduation rate up is another priority that has some extensive plans. Expanding our career academies in both middle and high school is just one of our strategies to engage students in school and to give them a concrete reason for coming and participating in their classes.
We are working with some high schools as they become wall to wall academies giving every student an opportunity to experience some real work activities that lead to careers or higher education. I am on the advisory board for our academies and strongly support them in all our secondary schools.
Addressing the needs of capital outlay dollars to repair and maintain our aging buildings. With 14 million square feet of buildings, it takes a tremendous amount of money just to maintain them. I plan to work with legislators and the citizens in solving this issue since we have no taxing authority as a school board.