Laura Stewart
Running for school board in Montgomery County District 4
How old will you be on Election Day (Nov. 5)?
53
Are you currently employed? If so, where, and what is your job title?
I am currently a full-time volunteer. Pre-COVID I privately taught piano and music lessons. Previously I worked for a telecommunications company in government markets.
What is the highest level of education that you completed, and where did you get that degree?
Associate's degree in paralegal studies from Prince George's County Community College.
Why are you running for the school board?
I am running for the Board of Education to ACT, which stands for bringing more accountability, collaboration and transparency to Montgomery County Public Schools. After I read the Office of the Inspector General’s report in January 2024, which detailed the lack of action from Montgomery County Public Schools and the board on making important changes in the Office of Human Resources and Development, I decided to run for office. As an active parent-teacher association member and children’s advocate for the last 10 years, I asked for more transparency many times, and too often was told either that these requests were too much work, not possible, or we were given a very small step forward. I watched County Council meetings and saw the frustration they have had in getting information from Montgomery County Public Schools, especially around their budgeting and tracking where dollars are going. I will work hard to collaborate with the county council, state representatives, advocates, and school communities and work to improve those relationships.
The other reason I am running is to work on the equity issues we have in the county, resulting in uneven experience from school to school. I want to see a more active central office in providing support to principals so that they can support teachers and staff effectively. This will improve classroom conditions. We also need to work on improving safety and climate in schools. Bullying goes unreported, and not all children feel safe going to school, and that will be a priority if I am elected.
What makes you a good candidate for the board?
I have worked tirelessly as an education advocate for over 10 years. This experience will give me the knowledge and connections I need to be an effective board member. I’ve held positions both in the parent-teacher association and other community boards that work to improve young people’s lives. I’ve also had experience in joining boards during an unsettled time and working toward stability and reform. For example, I joined the Montgomery County Council of PTAs executive committee after I chaired the ad-hoc audit committee, which helped to bring to light the financial malfeasance by the treasurer at that time. I know how important rebuilding trust is to the integrity of systems.
I have a unique set of personal attributes that will help me be successful as a Board of Education member. I have a strong sense of values, which will guide me through difficult times, and I don’t deter easily. Montgomery County Public Schools must provide an equitable, excellent education in safe, healthy, environments. That is the lens in which I will view my job. I am NOT the expert on how to achieve that, but I value and seek out expert opinions who have invaluable knowledge. I have the ability to absorb this information and make a plan of action that is achievable and pragmatic.
I'm also a mom of recent Montgomery County Public Schools graduates.They benefited from excellent opportunities, but it took too much personal advocacy on my part. I want to improve systems in order to open more opportunities to all of our kids.
What is the most important issue facing your school board and what would you do about it if elected?
The most important issue is the lack of transparency and accountability at Montgomery County Public Schools. First, we need to collect and share accurate data to the public. I would ask that Montgomery County Public Schools participate in Open Data just like the rest of the county has done since 2016. Bullying and hate speech data needs to be collected with more fidelity. Too often they are not recorded, for many reasons. I will ask that all schools have a full school safety and climate assessment, including reviewing how we can improve reporting mechanisms. On the accountability front, I will ask for a central office position that would oversee all large contracts and report to the board on their delivery, including any failures of delivery and what actions are being made to mitigate failures. We need to consistently review programs and school-to-school data to see where our dollars can make the most impact. The board and Montgomery County Public Schools have much work to do in rebuilding trust, so I will ask for town halls in different geographic areas and also student town halls that include direct engagement. We must know where we are in order to improve. Paramount to all of this is effective communication to the community. This has been a weakness, and I would work to improve communication policy.
We also need to be held accountable to our special populations, especially our special education community. We are too often checking boxes once a child is identified. If elected, I will also ask that we assess what special education teachers need in order to be successful. We need more accurate information about what is exactly happening in the classroom so that we can implement positive change.
Please name a public leader you admire and explain why.
I admire Rep. Jamie Raskin for so many reasons. He is an extremely prepared legislator. I admire his attention to detail, and his work ethic is something I strive for in my own work. He is also constantly in the community, listening to concerns, taking them seriously, and working toward addressing them in a pragmatic way. I appreciate his courage to stand up for what will make a difference to the least of us. I recently attended a Tommy's Pantry Fundraiser and truly admire the way he honors his son, providing needed support to those facing financial challenges. Jamie Raskin serves us every day with grace and unrelenting determination, and I hope to model my own service after his excellent model.
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.
I advocated for the Blueprint in Annapolis and helped lead a town hall to get it passed. It helps to fund community schools that provide wrap-around services, and it includes the WHOLE community in shared leadership with the principal. A policy should be written to ensure it is implemented with fidelity and that the state-provided positions are being used well. Our students need these services more than ever, including mental health support. I testified for the School Telehealth Bill in Annapolis and will encourage access.
College and Career Readiness is an important pillar. Many kids do not enter college right after graduation. Access to certificates, apprenticeships and internships should be expanded. Communication about these opportunities is key, especially in middle school. We also need to ensure that students have the opportunity to be college-ready, and it's important that they are able to stay on track by 10th grade, but in actuality we need to assess throughout their school years and provide tutoring or other supports. The curriculum and training leading up to and including algebra will be a focus of mine.
The other pillars are important as well. Pre-kindergarten must be expanded in order to improve outcomes. Montgomery County Public Schools needs to work with private partners and also look to use open space in some of our schools. We need a well paid, well educated, diverse workforce. I would like to have teacher and staff focus groups to identify strategies on keeping our diverse workforce employed here in 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?
I am for an age-appropriate policy. At the elementary and middle school level, I believe they should be put in lockers during the entire school day. I am open to talking about high school-age-appropriate storage. Cellphones should not be allowed during instruction, except on the rare occasion that they could aid in instruction. For instance, my son used a measuring feature during IB Physics class as directed by a teacher in order to aid in a hands-on project. I would talk to teachers in order to understand what would be lost if the cellphones were banned in all classrooms. In general, cellphones need to be off and away during instruction in high school. In my opinion, the current cellphone policy is not strong enough.
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?
I have touched upon the need for full safety assessments. In addition, I would like to evaluate the effectiveness of the weapon detection pilot. In general, our funds should be used to offer mental health support and implement programs to help shift any harmful culture, like hazing or hate towards certain groups. I experienced antisemitism as a child and understand that we must address any hate in our schools so that all children feel safe and wanted. After the safety and climate assessments, the school community, along with Montgomery County Public Schools and other community groups, should identify concrete actions to improve the safety. The community engagement officers should be included in these assessments.
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?
There is a current policy in place to review books on shelves at Montgomery County Public Schools that could and has resulted in books being removed. One such book is the “Jack of Hearts (and other Parts)”. This book was challenged and removed. The policy should be reviewed so that there is adequate notice to the full community if a book is challenged so that all voices are heard before a removal. Only professional librarians should be making those decisions. I supported the Freedom to Read Act and strongly believe in access to age-appropriate books. There needs to be extremely strong proof that the decision to put a book on a school library shelf was a professional mistake. We should always err on the side of the need for diverse books on our shelves.
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?
I support these policies. Students need the ability to express themselves in appropriate ways without fear of family retribution. Students also have a right to privacy. The current policy states "staff will support the development of a student-led plan that works toward inclusion of the family, if possible, taking safety concerns into consideration..." I support this approach. Using preferred pronouns has been shown to decrease mental health problems in children, including reducing suicidal thoughts, according to the American Medical Association.
