Schools are community anchors, just like our parks and libraries. In Cabell County, these entities work together to better our childrens' education, mental, and physical health. This issue is what brought me to educational advocacy initially, and it remains close to my heart. I believe our schools should continue to suppport and expand on these relationships to optimize our students' access to library and park resources, both in and out of school.

Cabell County, like all of WV, has high rates of childhood disability, foster care, and trauma exposure. As a PICU doctor, I take care of many medically complex and differently abled children. These kids are blessings to their families and communities. They deserve early intervention, and IEPs that are not just written, but followed. They deserve classrooms where they are not just safe, but nurtured. This requires supporting teachers so they can support students. I promise to fight for every child, and to advocate for more funding for special needs students.

Cabell schools are under financial strain. Schools are closing across our state at alarming rates. Students in rural communities feel these impacts the most, but they affect all of us.

I strongly advocate for the state to revisit the education funding formula for WV, to account for increased transportation and special education costs in the setting of decreased enrollment.

I believe in the constitutional right to a free and effective public education and that public funding should benefit public schools.

Our community has suffered, and so have our children. We see high rates of substance use disorders in families, foster and kinship care, and adverse childhood events, all of which affect child wellbeing as well as school attendance. We must meet the mental and emotional health needs of our students, which will take creativity and persistence.

Public school teachers and staff take care of our future. They educate and feed our children. They keep them safe. They deserve our support, respect, and a strong voice in the decisions that affect their classrooms, working conditions, and students.

I believe teacher unions are partners, not obstacles, in building strong public schools.