Brandie Edelen
Running for school board in St. Mary's County At Large
How old will you be on Election Day (Nov. 5)?
52
Are you currently employed? If so, where, and what is your job title?
Adjunct professor at College of Southern Maryland and small business owner.
What is the highest level of education that you completed, and where did you get that degree?
Master's degree, human services, Argosy University.
Why are you running for the school board?
I am running, first and foremost, because I want kids to focus on a positive learning experience and not worry about a curriculum geared toward repeatedly highlighting our differences. I want parents to trust in the curriculum, and many do not. I am running because our curriculum is lacking in areas that students need: real-life skills (budgeting, resume writing, how to fill-out a job application, what credit is, interest rates; basic financial literacy.) I am running because increasing amounts of disruptions in the classroom cannot facilitate effective learning for students. I am running because as a current educator at CSM, I see areas where dual-enrolled students and recent St. Mary’s Public School DIstrict graduates are struggling. They are not prepared for college. I am running because I have consistently achieved highly effective ratings as a college professor, in addition to earning the respect of my students and colleagues. I have seen and been a part of what works, and it involves a collaborative effort.
What makes you a good candidate for the board?
• Wife and mother of six children, all graduated from St. Mary's County Public Schools, one still a student.
• Former public-school teacher.
• Certified Special Educator.
• Own a small business in Mechanicsville.
• I have degrees in psychology and an M.S. in human services.
• Adjunct professor at College of Southern Maryland (primarily Leonardtown), but I teach at all three.
• Student PhD (in progress).
• Began teaching as a para MBMS and ESP while working on my degree.
• Certified and taught for Charles County Public Schools.
• During my time at Charles County Public Schools, case manager w/caseload of students advocating for them and their parents.
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 current data that reports that our students are not as proficient in reading, writing and math as they should be. I believe cellphone usage is a big disruption impeding learning, and it is imperative that our school board, superintendent, teachers, and school administrators enforce the cellphone policy. I would hold them accountable to do so. Disruptive behaviors seem to be at an all-time high and with little to no consequences for disruptive students. These disruptions deny students who are conducting themselves appropriately their right to a quality education. I believe in strongly enforcing discipline policies and procedures. Eliminating these major distractions can only help our students academically excel.
Please name a public leader you admire and explain why.
I have a great deal of respect for Maryland State Delegate 29A Matt Morgan. Matt fights hard to protect our personal freedoms and constitutional rights.
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.
On paper, the Blueprint looks great. The teachers in St. Mary's County needed an increase in pay, as they were behind in pay in comparison to surrounding counties. The problem with the Blueprint is that the state of Maryland mandates that we comply with supplying the funding to accomplish the 10-year plan, but it provides very little in funding to help us meet the funding requirements. This is putting an enormous strain on our citizens, leading our commissioners to have to raise taxes.
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?
Elementary and middle school students should be encouraged to not bring phones to school, but if they do, it needs to be powered off and put away until the end of the school day. High school students should power off their phones before entering the school building in the a.m. They should be permitted to use them during their lunch and then power them back off until the end of the school day, once outside of the building.
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?
Yes, to a certain degree. All of our county middle and high schools have an assigned student resource officer, and each school is required to follow safety procedures, i.e., checking visitor IDs, etc. Improvements should be routine checking of all exterior doors, making sure that they are locked from the outside; administrators increasing their presence in the halls during class changes; teachers standing outside their classroom doors during class changes; and for students to be encouraged to say something if they see something.
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?
The selection and use of books and other materials must be age and grade appropriate.
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?
Parents should always be informed/contacted of such policies and decisions. Most students are minor children; therefore it is not their decision to be made.
