Jane Gabin, candidate for Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board
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 11 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, Renee Peet, Michelle Rissling, Taylor Tally and Allison Willis.
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: Jane Gabin
Age: 73
Occupation: Independent educational counselor
Education: Bachelor of Arts, Queens College (CUNY); Master of Arts, UNC-Chapel Hill; PhD, UNC-Chapel Hill
Political or civic experience: Presented free college admissions workshops, Chapel Hill Public Library, 2021 and 2022; teacher, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, 2020 and 2022; volunteer speaker on college admissions for NAACP Youth Council; coordinator of events, Chapel Hill Bicentennial, 1993; business owner, Carr Mill Mall, 1987-1991
Campaign website: Gabin4SchoolBoard.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.
My long experience with the local school system makes me want to effect change. I see the SAME problems as there were when I was a full-time teacher, the SAME problems as when my own children were in school, the SAME problems now as a sub. While there has definitely been some improvement, the rate of improvement MUST be stepped up.
What are the three top challenges facing the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools? Choose one and explain how you would address it.
▪ The racial achievement gap must be closed
▪ Teacher pay must be improved (a local assessment should be added to support this)
▪ Class size must be reduced — administrators MUST take on this task.
One of my son’s best memories of his time at East Chapel Hill High School was having the principal, Mr. David Thaden, as his English teacher. If ALL administrators were to teach, it would lower the average class size and enrich the entire experience at each school, for teachers and students alike.
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?
I approve of the “Science of Reading” program but am unsure of how it has been implemented in our system. I wrote to the person in charge of literacy in our schools and am awaiting a response. We need to add numbers to our corps of tutors.
What do you think about the district’s work to close the achievement gap? What would you do if elected?
Inasmuch as the gap still exists, after so many years, the work is ineffective. Have there been small discussions in each neighborhood? Have school officials and parents had regular meetings to discuss the gap? I would start in the elementary schools and work up — smaller classes, with the resulting increased attention to each student, would reveal more children who can be inspired to take more challenging classes. And “each one teach one” efforts can be strengthened.
How can the school district bring people with different viewpoints together to find common ground and workable solutions?
With a sustained program of honest discussions. Food helps!
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