Honoria Middough, candidate for Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education

Voters who live in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district will fill four open seats on the Board of Education in November.

Incumbent board members Rani Dasi, Deon Temne and Ashton Powell are running against 10 challengers in the Nov. 7 general election.

The challengers are Meredith Ballew, Vickie Feaster Fornville, Barbara Fedders, Jane Gabin, Solomon Gibson III, Mariela Hernandez, Honoria Middough, Michelle Rissling, Taylor Tally and Allison Willis.

Another challenger, Renee Peet, announced Oct. 10 that she would be dropping out of the race. Peet’s name will remain on the ballot, however, because it was printed before she made her decision.

It may be one of the largest group of candidates to ever run in a Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board election. Five other candidates who filed in July, when the conservative Moms for Liberty group was said to be fielding potential candidates, withdrew before the November ballots were printed.

Board member Jillian La Serna is not running for re-election.

Early voting in the nonpartisan Nov. 7 election starts Oct. 19 and runs through Nov. 4.

To find polling places and full details on early voting, visit co.orange.nc.us/1720/Elections or contact the Board of Elections at 919-245-2350 or vote@orangecountync.gov.

Name: Honoria Middough

Age: 42

Occupation: teacher

Education: Master of Arts in English, concentrating in Technical and Professional Communication

Political or civic experience: N.C. Association of Educators (member since 2014 and organizing worker); parent and supporter of the local Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP Youth Council; poll standing; public community advocacy over the years regarding issues of interest such as: affordable housing, equitable education/district meetings, food insecurity, etc.

Campaign website: Middough4SchoolBoard.com

Why are you running for school board and what makes you the right candidate? Current board members: Please also explain the delay in announcing your re-election campaign this year.

I am running for school board because I believe it is important to have an educator’s perspective when considering the important policies that shape the daily operations of our public schools.

What are the three top challenges facing the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools? Choose one and explain how you would address it.

Challenges facing CHCCS include:

▪ equitable teaching and learning environments aimed at the growth of all students;

▪ community buy-in regarding the CHCCS Strategic Plan, coupled with a willingness to perceive it as an opportunity forward; and

▪ representation and reflection in positions of leadership within our school halls.

I’d aim to recruit and retain more educators of color going beyond those essential roles held by classified staff, focusing on certified teachers, understanding that our students need to see themselves at the head of the classroom, and it is important that other students experience the same, by way of interacting and receiving instruction from diverse academic minds.

What do you think about the state’s 2021 Science of Reading law and Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling training, and how both initiatives are being implemented in the district? What would you do to improve student reading and literacy outcomes?

Theoretically, the 2021 Science of Reading Law, and the Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling training (LETRS) is an initiative validating the development of young learners’ neural pathways, which is a great thing. However, if the state’s intent was to stipulate districts utilize one vendor for implementation, then the state goes further, expecting districts to implement initiatives with integrity, yet the state fails allocating teachers with time, funding, staff (i.e., IAs/TAs, IFs, etc.). Then I would say the state legislators should be held accountable to step up funding and ensure positive outcomes! That would be a start.

What do you think about the district’s work to close the achievement gap? What would you do if elected?

I’d encourage policies incorporating the respective towns’ efforts to reduce socioeconomic inequities and present evidence correlating livable wages districtwide as a conduit of family engagement with student’s academic experience. I’d also encourage transparency similar to Orange County’s Racial Equity Index Dashboard, which does have a tab for education, but this would specifically house data on individual schools (suspension rates, diversity in advanced courses, etc.), as a way to ensure growth and stand in a certain truth of being a district of distinction with an awareness of areas we are actively seeking to do better in.

How can the school district bring people with different viewpoints together to find common ground and workable solutions?

Innovation as a school district, regardless of socioeconomic status, political affiliation, spiritual beliefs, gender identity, and such, is the key. I believe the majority of our community members want the best for our students. Innovations like strategically placed community gardens, informal spaces or other initiatives that are non-intimidating invite conversations that engage people to see their shared human experiences. From there, and so long as folx are willing to enter conversations understanding their biases and with the willingness to have those ideals respectfully challenged, we’ll be able to develop workable solutions because we will have broken down certain walls.

This story was originally published October 10, 2023 at 11:52 AM.

Tammy Grubb

The News & Observer

919-829-8926

Tammy Grubb has written about Orange County’s politics, people and government since 2010. She is a UNC-Chapel Hill alumna and has lived and worked in the Triangle for over 30 years.