Wing Ng, candidate for Wake County Board of Education District 3
READ MORE
District 1 candidates for Wake County Board of Education
Heather Scott is not running for another term in 2022. Those running to replace her are Cheryl Caulfield and Ben Clapsaddle. Get to know the candidates with our 2022 NC Voter Guide.
Expand All
Name: Wing Ng
Political party: Republican
Age as of Nov. 8, 2022: 54
Campaign website: https://wingforwakeschools.com/
Occupation: Physician
Education: B.S. in Biology from University of Houston; M.D. from Baylor College of Medicine
Have you run for elected office before? No
Please list highlights of your civic involvement: Former member and vice chair of N.C. Council on Developmental Disabilities, vice president of N.C. Asian American Coalition, board member of Hannah’s Hand missionary group and active member at Christ Baptist Church
Why do you want to serve on the Wake County Board of Education?
Coming to this country as a child, I owe my success to the American dream and an exceptional public education. I want the children of Wake County to have the same opportunity to succeed that I was given. I want them to be critical thinkers when they become adults. I want to raise the bar of what we expect from them, so they can be competitive in getting into college or into the job market. Lastly, I want them to grow up to be productive, responsible citizens of this great state.
What are the Wake County Public Schools doing well?
I believe that Wake County Public Schools have done a great job in creating a diverse environment for learning, where people from all walks of life and backgrounds can learn together and learn from each other. We still have work to do in building acceptance and tolerance as part of character formation in our children.
What would be your three top priorities if elected? Choose one, and explain how you would address it.
My top three priorities are 1) expect excellence in education 2) support and retain teachers and 3) empower parents. They are all interconnected priorities. In order to help our children to excel in school, we need to push early literacy and use time-tested curriculum. We need to fully support our teachers so they can focus on teaching, and parental engagement in the classroom through volunteerism can help both the students and the teachers.
What should the district do in response to calls to remove books from schools that some say are inappropriate for students?
We need to be honest with ourselves and think about not just our rights but also our responsibilities. Yes, we all have the rights to access books of all kinds, but are we being responsible to our community to allow children to have access to books that are not appropriate for their age or development? If movies, TV, and video games have rating systems for parents to decide appropriateness of content, perhaps it’s time to look at books in the same way.
How should schools discuss issues involving discrimination based on race, gender and other factors?
As a minority and a father of a child with Down syndrome, I am keenly aware of the reality of discrimination in our society. However, before we blame one another for discrimination, let’s make sure we are not guilty of it ourselves. While the school is where children work out their character formation, it is family’s job to provide that foundation at home. I value full-inclusion in special education exactly because it helps children to develop acceptance of people who are different from them.
How would you go about making schools safer in the aftermath of school shootings such as in Uvalde, Texas?
I believe that having school resource officers is only one piece of the puzzle. SRO’s can be first responders to our school in the event of a safety threat. We need to improve the structural safety of our schools against external threats, especially older ones. We can retrofit them to be safer with current technologies. We can utilize resources already available to us. The Center for Safer Schools, within NC DPI, provides funding and training, so everyone can have a safe place to learn.
What would you do to try to address student learning loss that was exacerbated by the pandemic?
Learning loss is real. To prevent it from happening, we need to push early literacy programs that use evidence-based reading instruction methods. I am a big proponent of bringing back textbooks, which will allow parents to reinforce learning at home. Tutoring programs to help with learning loss should be accessible to all. I propose tapping into our community for help. Churches and other community organizations can donate time to help children who need that extra help and attention.
What’s the appropriate level of funding that should be provided to Wake County schools?
We will need to look at the funding of schools with a fine-tooth comb, to make sure that all programs and line items are ultimately promoting the goal of giving our children a solid education. We need to recalibrate our priorities. Do we need another new program, when an existing program works just as well? I will place high priority in supporting teachers with resources that will help them to teach, and funding transportation to ensure children have a reliable way to get to and from school.
This story was originally published October 20, 2022 at 5:23 PM.
