Patrick joined the private Facebook group “Bring Integrity Back to Alexandria” at the request of several members after announcing his candidacy for Alexandria City Council. Since joining he has responded to policy questions from the group organizer and others.
Question: What curriculum updates would you like to see to the Alexandria City Public Schools Curriculum?
Patrick’s Answer: In addition to increasing capacity, making format more flexibility to continue to incorporate project-based learning, work-study, and credited internship opportunities matching and cycling students with non-profits, small businesses, and large businesses in our city, I believe our students need to be equipped with personal financial literacy, small business accounting, and introductory tax strategy.
This knowledge base makes it possible for more young people to exercise their skills, pursue their passions, and generate income independently with confidence. There are so many fabulous resources available online, but often having a discussion and the ability to ask questions of an educator is the difference needed to retain knowledge and gain essential confidence. Summed up, it would be an entrepreneurial boot camp for financial resilience that at its very least would better equip our young people to weather cyclical ups and downs of a job market, and at it’s best would better equip our young entrepreneurs to start their own businesses and not have to develop these skills on the fly.But that’s not it.
I would also love to see and have discussed it with some of our proudest local historians on incorporating Alexandria’s history interactively into the curriculum through walking tours and research projects that take place in our parks, along our streets, and in our historic building.It would cover a time beginning pre-colonial to provide context for the injustices experienced by native peoples and extend through the American Revolution, Underground Railroad, Secession, Civil War, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, Civil Rights of the mid-late 20th century and reach to incorporate many of the same Civil Rights that are still being fought for in the 21st century.
Alexandria’s students ought to possess a thorough understanding of where our City has been and the values that have steered its ways to bring us to today. In essence it would be a class that offered America’s history seen through Alexandrian’s eyes—past and present.
My hope is that it will foster additional educational investment in our public spaces, while also informing our young people so that they may be more involved in securing our Alexandria’s best, most vibrant, prosperous and most just future. It would also give greater purpose to the efforts we make as a community to protect some of our historic neighborhoods.
Lastly, I will push to see the same interactive experiences within our parks and public water ways in order to foster ecological awareness and encourage stewardship responsibilities of the Chesapeake Bay, the Potomac River, and it’s many tributaries. This is something we should feel and acknowledge as Alexandrian’s.
Follow Up Question: You are running for City Council, not the School Board. Should you be commenting on school board matters?
Patrick’s Answer: I’m not on City Council. It’s not my intent to micro manage and step on toes of the school board. All I am at this point is a concerned citizen and parent who wants to see Alexandria and her schools be the best they can be.Fortunately, I believe that there are members of the school board that share my vision.To implement it, it’s a matter of connecting the dots between Alexandria’s historians, our library, our city departments (RPCA and T&ES).
On Council, I would be in a far better position to ensure it was given its due consideration by staff. But for it to be successful, like anything else, it has to be collaborative. There has to be buy-in from stakeholders, and there has to be funding.