Brenda M. Diaz
Running for school board in Montgomery County District 2
How old will you be on Election Day (Nov. 5)?
47
Are you currently employed? If so, where, and what is your job title?
Fusion Global Academy social studies teacher. Heart of Joy Learning founder and director.
What is the highest level of education that you completed, and where did you get that degree?
Master's of education, secondary education, social studies from the George Washington University.
Why are you running for the school board?
Montgomery County Public Schools’ ongoing steep decline requires an urgent solution. As an experienced and passionate teacher and parent, I pledge to be the independent voice on the Board of Education to eliminate failed practices in Montgomery County Public Schools and to provide a high-quality education to all students throughout the county.
As a longtime resident of the City of Gaithersburg, teacher, founder and director of an educational program, and as a mother who raised my three children in this county, I am personally invested in our community and in our schools. I aim to transform Montgomery County Public Schools by championing academic excellence, focusing on restoring safety, empowering students, families and teachers, and ensuring responsible resource allocation through diligent oversight of our schools.
Through collaboration with parents, students, educators and the community, we will provide immersive learning experiences that inspire critical thinking, celebrate diversity and ignite a passion for lifelong learning. My belief in the transformative power of education to uplift individuals and communities is based on my own experience as a part of the gifted and talented program in a Bronx public school and as a Prep for Prep student. It drives my passion for serving on the Board of Education. Together with all stakeholders, we will create an educational environment where every student has the opportunity to thrive and reach their full potential.
What makes you a good candidate for the board?
Brenda M. Diaz is a veteran educator with over two decades of experience teaching children across various educational settings, from pre-kindergarten to high school, English for Speakers of Other Languages to Advanced Placement. Her journey in education began as a Spanish teacher at a progressive private school in Washington, D.C., where she played a pivotal role as curriculum coordinator in designing innovative curriculum for grades 3 to 6 and presenting at regional foreign language conferences.
With a solid foundation in American history, government and Latin American studies from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, Brenda equipped herself with a breadth of knowledge to inspire and empower her students. Her commitment to fostering critical thinking and promoting diverse perspectives is evident in her teaching approach, where she seeks to amplify all our communities’ voices and instill a deep appreciation for cultural heritage.
Brenda is a James Madison Memorial Fellow, was selected two years in a row as a participant in the competitive National Endowment for the Humanities Landmark seminars, and was trained by Harvard Business School’s Case Method Project to deepen students’ understanding of American democracy.
Brenda’s professional career has taken her through various educational communities, including nursery schools, parent-led cooperative schools, her own farm and forest program, and public and private schools across the District of Columbia and Maryland region. Through these experiences, she gained valuable insights into the multifaceted landscape of education and emerged as a champion for academic excellence.
What is the most important issue facing your school board and what would you do about it if elected?
We need to implement academic rigor in our k-12 curriculum. As predicted by many, Montgomery County Education Association and Montgomery County Public Schools joint COVID policies resulted in significant learning loss and other long-lasting physical, social and mental harm to our children, especially our most vulnerable. Chronic absenteeism now afflicts nearly all of our schools. Reading and math scores dropped precipitously despite thousands of hours dedicated to tutoring. Literacy readiness dropped 35% for second-graders year over year from 2018-2019 to 2020-2021. Math readiness for fifth-graders was down 25%. Literacy for Black second-graders decreased by 38%. Hispanic second-graders had a 46% drop. At Kennedy High School, only 9% of students meet math proficiency standards. While we welcome the small improvements in scores since, parents must remember the role Montgomery County Education Association and union-endorsed board members played in causing this decimation of our students’ learning.
As recommended in "The Opportunity Myth," these are the actions I will take: "Every student should have access to grade-appropriate assignments, strong instruction, deep engagement, and teachers with high expectations, every day, in every class — regardless of their race, ethnicity, or any other part of their identity. We will continually investigate the extent to which our students receive this access and report on our progress."
"Every student and family is an authentic partner and should have real opportunities to shape the experiences students have in school, receive accurate and accessible information about students’ progress, and have a legitimate role in decision-making. We will continually seek feedback from all students and families about whether we’re living up to this commitment."
Please name a public leader you admire and explain why.
James Madison, known as the Father of the Constitution, is a historical public leader I admire. He served on both the local and national stage, crafting the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom as well as the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. He also authored many essays contained in the Federalist Papers and served as president of the United States. I appreciate his dedication to outlining Enlightenment ideals such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom of the press. I admire the amount of studying he did in order to attain a profound knowledge of Greek and Roman governance. His dedication to the American people is one I care to emulate as a member of the Board of Education. He said, “The people are the only legitimate fountain of power, and it is from them that the constitutional charter, under which the several branches of government hold their power, is derived."
The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, passed by the General Assembly in 2021, is a 10-year plan that includes increased education funding to support early childhood education, increased teacher starting pay, college/career-readiness standards for high school graduates, and expanded services to multilingual and impoverished families, among other goals. Please tell us your views on the Blueprint and how it will affect your school district.
Rebuilding the foundation of academic excellence is necessary within Montgomery County Public Schools. Unfortunately, enacting the Blueprint without bringing accountability to the Board of Education and the school district will only worsen academic outcomes for our children. Lawsuits and costly scandals plague Montgomery County Public Schools, stealing precious resources from our children. From the Beidelman debacle leading to the departure of former Superintendent Monifa McKnight, Montgomery County Public Schools cannot move forward until it responsibly dedicates resources to improve reading and math scores in the district.
As such, the Blueprint's goal of providing more resources to ensure all students are successful will require diligent oversight by Board of Education members. We need programs that aim to close the achievement gap, in particular ones that emphasize a student's agency by giving students and their families greater responsibility over their learning through the K-12 years. When academic rigor is introduced and high behavioral expectations are in place, students and their families have goals they can actively strive for.
Making sure that students have the opportunity to participate in apprenticeship programs no matter where they live in the county is also important. It should not matter if you live in Poolesville or Silver Spring, Montgomery County Public Schools resources should be available to all students. College and Career Readiness goals are for every school in every corner of Montgomery County.
Some school districts nationwide are placing new limits on the use of cellphones in middle and high schools. What do you think should be the policy on student use of cellphones in your district, and why do you support that policy?
Montgomery County Public Schools should implement a phone ban in all schools. Currently, there are a number of schools participating in a pilot phone ban policy to determine effective methods to put this ban in practice. At Quince Orchard High School, for example, students do not have access to social media apps even during their lunch breaks, when they are allowed to use their phones. Studies show that cellphones in the classroom serve as a major distraction to learning. As a former Gaithersburg High School social studies teacher, I have firsthand experience watching students struggle with content and skills taught in class, not because they lacked the ability, but because they were focused on their phones instead. In addition, cellphones can inhibit peer-to-peer interactions. We want our children to grow intellectually, socially and emotionally. Restricting cellphone use will help ensure that happens at a proper developmental pace.
Are you satisfied with your school district's efforts to ensure the safety of its students? What, if anything, should be done to improve school safety in your district?
Since the removal of school resource officers, a string of major fights broke out at Clarksburg High School, a student was arrested for bringing a loaded gun to Gaithersburg High School, another student was charged with threats of mass violence at Wootton High School, and there was a violent brawl at a Montgomery County Public Schools football game. A Kennedy High School teacher testified before the Board of Education about rampant vaping and drug activity, quoting a police officer who referred to the school as an “open air drug market.” Knife-wielding vandals have easy access to campus. Students have overdosed on campus, as the county has experienced a +120% increase in youth fatal overdoses.
Parents, the data is clear – Restorative Justice and the Community Engagement Officer paradigms don’t work. They put our children’s safety at risk. We know that school resource officers served as mentors and role models to our students. We know that their presence in the schools was a positive contributor to school safety, and thus the learning environment.
Fraternity Of Police Lodge 35 Vice President Lee Holland agreed with parents on their importance. He cited "countless examples" of school resource officers confiscating guns and drugs, preventing sexual assaults and discovering sexual predators within the public school system. We need to bring back our school resource officers.
Do you think there are circumstances when books should be removed from school libraries? If so, what kind of books should be removed, and who should make those decisions?
Maryland state law provides for parental involvement in sex education and allows parents to review instructional materials related to sex education and to request exemptions for their children from certain portions of the curriculum. I would extend these same provisions to our school libraries. Montgomery County Public Schools should respect the religious freedoms of families as protected by the First Amendment by restoring this policy. This would be consistent with Montgomery County Public Schools' Memorandum from the Superintendent at pp. 5-6, adopted by the Board of Education on June 17, 2014. Each school should be able to determine with their body of parents which books should be removed.
Some school districts enact policies allowing transgender and gender nonconforming students to use their preferred pronouns while at the same time not informing those students' parents about that decision. What is your opinion of such policies?
Teachers should absolutely be supportive of students who are struggling with their gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation and family/parental status by providing an environment where the child is welcomed and loved. Concurrently, in order to preserve and protect the integrity of the family unit, Montgomery County Public Schools should share any information with parents if Montgomery County Public Schools becomes aware that a student wishes to transition to a gender other than his biological sex. Parents play an essential role in their child's overall health, and we must respect that. Of course, at all times, we will do our best to care for our children who are vulnerable and ensure that we do our best to prevent bullying, threatening and harassment.
