Curtis Hrischuk, candidate for Durham school board
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Candidates for Durham County School Board, District 1
Candidates in the nonpartisan race for Durham County School Board will be elected to four district seats and two consolidated district seats, based on where they live in the county. District 1 candidates are Emily Chavez, Jasper Fleming and Curtis Hrischuk. Get to know the candidates in our 2022 Voter Guide.
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Name: Curtis Hrischuk
Email: curtis@betterboardbetterschools.com
Political party: N/A
Age: 58
Campaign website: https://www.betterboardbetterschools.com/curtishrischuk
Occupation and employer: Principal product manager
Education: B.Sc., B.Eng., M.Eng. Ph.D.
Have you run for elected office before? No
Please list highlights of your civic involvement: I became a US citizen last year.
Who are your top three campaign contributors?
The community who believes the education system is in crisis.
What are your top three priorities for Durham Public Schools?
Safety and good mental health so the students can focus on learning. Academic excellence so the students are prepared for a career or college. Enabling parents or guardians to participate in the student’s education.
What does DPS do well? In what areas does it need to improve?
DPS is failing in its core mission to educating the students: in District 1, 4 out of 5 students are not prepared to go to the next grade and succeed . This is across all schools and grades. This is education injustice.
What about your life experience makes you the best person for the school board?
I have been successful in initiating and implementing positive changes in large bureaucratic institutions like the school board. I have taught university for a while so I have experience as an educator. I work in the high tech industry so I understand the skills that our students need to get a job where they can earn a living wage.
How should the school board evaluate the superintendent and make that process more transparent to the community?
Let me highlight the educational injustice and inequity. The superintendent must be graded based on the core mission of educating the students so they can succeed in the future. The overall academic proficiency is a measure of this and can be used to compare with the neighboring district. For example:- the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district spends $13,000 per student and their academic proficiency is 74%.- Durham district spends $18,000 per student and their academic proficiency is 30%. So, Durham is spending more for a much worse result. Throwing more money at education won’t solve the problem (I’m OK with a higher budget for other reasons). The current policies need to change to begin to solve the problem.I think the current board bears responsibility for this poor performance too which is why a new board and new approach are needed.
Should anti-racism education be taught in the schools, and is DPS doing an adequate job teaching Black history?
It depends what this question is asking. Obviously, any form of racism should be exposed. However, If the question is presupposing that “all whites are racist and they can’t help themselves” then this should not be taught because this statement is itself racist since it judges people (white people) based on their skin color. All history needs to be taught and a portion of that must be Black history. Another negative example is the relocation of Japanese-Americans into internment camps in 1946. This should be balanced with the good things in history that America has done, like the Marshall Plan in 1948 that rebuilt Europe.
What strategies would you advocate to raise the academic achievement of Black boys in the school system?
There are successful educational programs from other school systems that can introduce Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) while making learning fun. For example, bring simple robotics into the classroom. The local companies will gain from this so I would seek for them to provide contributions towards this. Alternatively, there are government funding programs that can help with this. In particular, there are funds available for initiatives during the summer. I do think that a first step is to review the strategies, policies, and programs to make sure they align with the core mission or student learning.
How can DPS reverse enrollment losses and de facto segregation in its schools?
Based on conversations with parents the enrollment losses are because of the bad academic performance, the overemphasis on race politics, and safety concerns. These are all things the three initiatives above address. This loss is because families are sending their children to private schools. I think the implication about “de facto segregation” needs to be challenged and investigated before any action is taken. The current ethnicity population is quite mixed at: 44% African American, 39% Hispanic, and 19% white. Some analysis would need to be done to understand what the mix is in each school to understand the causes of de facto segregation or what is meant by that phrase.
How can DPS better support teachers and other staff and reduce turnover?
People who have left teaching can tell us that:
▪ They were not equipped to succeed so they need to be provided with that equipment.
▪ They need textbooks, lab equipment, etc.
▪ They were distracted from their main mission of teaching by being asked to incorporate politics into their courses.
▪ They also don’t believe that this political agenda is good for the students so they cannot, in good conscience, teach it.
▪ They don’t feel safe so the schools must be a safe place.
Describe one idea you would like the school board to consider even though it might not be universally popular.
Evaluate all of the different agendas and nonprofit interactions so that only those that have a direct connection with student learning continue in the partnership. Let’s remove distractions until this learning crisis is over.
How can DPS partner with charter schools or learn from their examples?
Charter schools act as an incubator for new ideas. DPS should partner with charter schools to find their best practices and bring them back into DPS.