Querijero, Ernesto - Ann Arbor Public Schools
Are you an incumbent?
Yes
Brief Intro of Candidate
I am a husband, father of two AAPS students, and a career educator. I earned a B.A.in English from Michigan and an M.S. Ed in Secondary Education from the University of Pennsylvania. I taught high school for 8 years at Tecumseh High School and am a full time faculty member at Washtenaw Community College in the English and College Readiness Department college at WCC, where I have been teaching for the past 13 years. In my professional career, I’ve presented at national conferences about my work on student success initiatives with the Gardner Institute and led WCC faculty professional development workshops on course design. I believe in public education and that all kids deserve enriching educational experiences.
Endorsements
Yousef Rabhi, Washtenaw County Commissioner Rima Mohamad, Ann Arbor Public Schools Board Trustee Krystle Dupree, Ann Arbor Public Schools Board Trustee Jacinda Townsend, Former Ann Arbor Public Schools Board Trustee Jeanice Townsend, Ypsilanti Community Schools Board Trustee I am seeking the endorsement of the MEA, Washtenaw County Democratic Party, and the Anishinaabek Caucus of the Michigan Democratic Party
Top financials Contributors
Website and social media links
The top supporters of my campaign are constituents, friends, and family.
How would you engage and include parents, caregivers, community members and students in decision-making in your district around things like curriculum, budgeting and district policy?
If re-elected, I would engage students and community stakeholders in the same way I do now - by holding regular open office hours that are free and open to the public. This has allowed me to hear from different school communities and look for common areas of concern. Other ways I’ve engaged with the community is through community-wide events and school volunteerism, like reading in classrooms or volunteering at community social events. I’ve also engaged the community by joining advocacy groups, like the PTOC Council and the APISA/A Parent Advisory Group. This ensures that I am hearing concerns from a cross-section of the community.
What are your thoughts on school discipline and the way it is exercised in your school district? What are your thoughts on restorative practices?
District-wide discipline reports should be presented more frequently, and enforcement of school discipline policies should be consistent across schools. Reports need to show the frequency of discipline incidents with demographic information of both the victim and the offender. This will help better identify areas of improvement in both policy and enforcement and inform where professional training is needed. In general, schools should scale back and eventually stop punitive discipline policies. I believe in restorative justice practices when they are done in earnest and with proper training and facilitation. Students who make early mistakes should be able to make amends free of retribution and long-term consequences that prohibits future learning. To add, restorative justice practices allow communities to come together.
What are your thoughts on how to improve student mental health
Improving student mental health is paramount to student success in both the classroom and in life. We need to develop and implement a social emotional learning curriculum that is inclusive, culturally sensitive, and gender-affirming. Supporting student mental health includes creating learning environments that are consistent and safe, providing a variety of support resources that are easily accessible, and instilling confidence in students to self-advocate for help without fear, shame or embarrassment. Ultimately, supporting student mental health looks differently for every student, and school communities must meet students where they are.
What are your thoughts on ways to improve Black student achievement in your district and in Michigan schools overall?
Improving Black student achievement in Michigan schools and in AAPS overall requires multiple interventions and actions, starting with advocacy for increased funding for Black communities with Title I schools. In these communities, expanded Pre-K opportunities and early Head Start Programs have also shown to be successful for long term success. Other state-wide initiatives, like access to free breakfast and lunch, will also raise achievement in Black communities with the most need. Implementing restorative justice practices can also improve Black student achievement and slow the school to prison pipeline, which directly hurts Black students. Ultimately, raising Black student achievement must be intentional with multiple interventions of programming and support.
What are your thoughts on how to ensure that all students and their families, regardless of race, gender identity, sexuality, disability, religion, income status, etc., feel safe and included in your district?
To ensure that all students and their families feel safe, all Districts need Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion officers to help guide decision-making, all the way from the bus stop to the Board room. A professionally trained DEI officer can offer an equitable lens on policy-making and practices. This isn’t a new concept; many Districts in Michigan have taken this necessary step to facilitate honest conversations that help under-represented and marginalized students (and their families) feel included. While it is true that DEI is the work of everyone, a DEI officer ensures that all stakeholders are heard and that students and their families across the District are having equitable experiences.
What are your thoughts on how to recruit and retain staff, particularly staff of color, in your district with regard to pay, benefits, and working conditions?
AAPS should aspire to retain and recruit staff so that the demographic breakdown of District employees mimics the demographic of the student population as closely as possible. In AAPS,, Caucasians are over-represented in the teaching staff, and Blacks are overrepresented in the administrative staff. By contrast, both Asians and Hispanics are underrepresented across our employee groups. Our District should consider offering incentives to have a closer alignment; this should be done with more strategic and intentional recruiting.