Omega Curtis Parker, candidate for Durham School Board of Education District 1, 2014 People's Alliance PAC Questionnaire

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Omega Curtis Parker
PA-PAC Questionnaire for Durham Public School
Board of Education 2014
When answering this questionnaire, please repeat the questions in your response
document with their numbers as they are organized here. Type your responses in italics
or a different font to distinguish your responses from the questions.
Candidate Name: _Omega Curtis Parker____________________________________
Address: ________111 Oakmont Avenue, Durham, NC 27713_________________
E-mail address:___ocparker@yahoo.com_______________________________
Phone: _________(919) 544-3455_________________________________
School Board
1. Why do you want to serve on the Durham Public School Board of Education? What is
the role of a board member? I want to serve on the Durham Public Schools Board
of Education because I want to continue to share my knowledge and experience
in educating our students. The role of a board member is to: set goals, allocate
resources, create policy and oversee management of the district.
2. The board will be involved in the hiring of a new superintendent. What should be the
search process look like? What qualities should the successful candidate possess?
The search process for the hiring of a new superintendent should be one that
seeks input from the community and provides the community the opportunity to
express their ideas of what they seek in a superintendent. The successful can-
didate should be knowledgeable, honest, flexible, adaptable, confident. He or
she should have integrity, good communication skills, and the ability to inspire
and motivate.
3. How should teachers and administrators be evaluated? Are the current state standards
effective? Teachers and administrators are evaluated on the standards set forth
by the state; however, this does not necessarily give a true picture of the teacer’s
or adminstrator's performance. In my opinion, there is much left to be desired
with our current state standards. It is my belief that too much emphasis is placed
on standards that do not adequately and fairly evaluate the performance of
teachers nor administrators. It is not fair to evaluate administrators on the per-
formance of the teachers and students if all other things are not equal.

2. 4. How should students be assessed? What role should standardized tests play in evalu-
ating students? Students should be assessed based on their understanding of
the content of the subject and the grade level. The role that standardized tests
should play in evaluating students is to ascertain what students should know at
a specific point in their school life. The information gained from the tests can be
used to determine what measures should be taken to bring them to their proper
level.
5. In spite of the introduction of magnet schools, it appears that Durham Public Schools
have become increasingly segregated by socioeconomic status and race. What are
your thoughts on this situation? Although magnet schools have a purpose, magnet
schools are being used (in my opinion) as a method of escape from attending the
student’s assigned school. In order to keep the students in their assigned school
district, all of Durham's schools must be equal and balanced racially and eco-
nomically. Resources and classes should be distributed to meet the needs of
the students which are served by the district. An example of this would be to
make AP classes, honor classes, foreign languages, and the arts equally acces-
sible to all students.
6. Does DPS need to make changes to its school suspension policy? If so, what changes
would you work for as a Board Member? DPS definitely needs to make changes to
its school suspension policy. I would continue the series of public hearings to
get input on ways of reducing suspensions. It would also be helpful if parents
are encouraged to review policies regularly. I would recommend that parents and
students be given a copy of the policies at the beginning of each year and asked
to sign indicating that they have read and understand the policies. Also, we need
to work for consistency in policy and enforcement throughout DPS.
7. What is your opinion about the Charter School movement? The Charter School
Movement seems to be another method of re-segregating the schools. Charter
schools have fewer mandates and can pick and choose the students that they
admit. Public schools should and do teach whoever is in the school district.
I think that it is unfair for the charter schools to receive public funds and when a
child is sent back to his assigned school, the money does not go back with the
child to the school district. This leaves the public schools with fewer funds for
the number of students which they serve.
8. What is your opinion about school vouchers? I believe that school vouchers are
unfair because it takes money from the school district which could be used to
improve the schools in the district. If the funds are kept in the district, addi-
tional resources, staff and services could be provided to public schools.
9. As a board member how would you lead the decisions addressing the needs of the
students who are at risk for low achievement and dropping out? As a board mem-
ber, I would advocate providing more services for students who are low

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achievers and potential drop-outs. More teacher assistants could be used to
give additional guidance and help to the students. From my experience, as a
teacher, I have been able to see how having an additional adult in the class-
room is an asset. When a student is struggling to grasp a concept, the teach-
er has to devote extra time to that student, and the other students often be-
come bored and playful, thereby, slowing the progress for the rest of the
class. If an assistant is available, that “extra help” could give more direct at-
tention to the ones who need extra help in bringing that child up to pace with
the of the rest of the class. I would advocate providing information to parents
and students on services available, such as health, housing and alternative
educational programs.
10. Why do you think that parents choose to take their children out of the public schools
in Durham or don’t choose them at all? How would you address this issue? I think
that parents choose to take their children out of the public schools because
they do not believe that the schools provide an adequate education for their
children. I would address this issue by advocating to provide highly qualified
teachers in every classroom, and supply them with adequate resources and
support.
11. If you could do three things to improve Durham Public Schools, what would they
be? The three things that I would do to improve Durham Public Schools are:
(1) assure that each teacher has resources to make them successful; (2)
make sure that each classroom has a highly qualified teacher and (3) provide
a safe, attractive, clean and a nurturing environment in each school.
Personal Information
12. Please describe your educational background, noting any degrees and honors you
have earned. (skip if resume included) Resume included
13. Do you have children? Where do they or did they attend school? I am the parent
of two adult children who attended Hope Valley Elementary, Pearsontown El-
ementary, Githens Junior High, and Jordan High School. Both received de-
grees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I have a grandson
who is currently a student at Charles E. Jordan High School
14. Please describe your adult employment history (skip if resume included)
Resume included

4. 111 Oakmont Avenue
Durham, NC 27713
(919) 544-3455
ocparker@yahoo.com
OMEGA CURTIS PARKER
Objective: Seeking reelection to Durham Public Schools Board of Education
District 1A
Education:
1954 Hillside High School
1958 Bachelor of Arts – North Carolina Central University
1965 Master of Science in Library Science – North Carolina Central University
Employment:
1959-1960 Teacher/Librarian – Berkley High School, Aberdeen, N.C.
1960-1961 Elementary French Teacher – Central High School, Hillsborough, N.C.
1962-1969 Teacher/ Librarian – Little River High School, Bahama, N.C.
1969-2002 Media Coordinator – Little River Elementary School, Bahama, N.C.
2002-2006 Substitute Teacher in 28 Durham Public Schools – Grades PreK-12, Durham, N.C.
Special Skills:
Leadership and Organizational skills
Strong written and oral communication skills
Working knowledge of computer applications, including Microsoft Word and Excel
Organizations:
Member:
• St. Mark A. M. E. Zion Church – (Lifelong member) Member of Steward Board
• Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. – (Life member)
• Durham Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority – Past President, Journalist, and
Parliamentarian
• Charms, Inc. Past: National President, Historian and Parliamentarian
• Durham Chapter of Charms – Charter Member
Past: President, Vice President, Recording Secretary,
Corresponding Secretary, Financial Secretary and Treasurer
• Progressive Sertoma Club – Charter Member – Past Parliamentarian
• Tau Gamma Delta Sorority, Inc. – Past President, Past Southern Regional Director
• Delta Kappa Gamma Society
Previous Involvement:
National Education Association
North Carolina Teachers’ Association
North Carolina Association of Educators
North Carolina Librarians’ Association
Durham County Teachers’ Association
Durham County Association of Educators
Durham County Librarians’ Association
Durham County Mental Heath Board