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Donna Johnson Geist (Capital School District, At-large, Delaware, candidate 2025)
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Special state legislative • Municipal • All local elections by county • How to run for office |
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Donna Johnson Geist ran for election to the Capital School District, At-large in Delaware. She was on the ballot in the general election on May 13, 2025.[source]
Geist completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
[1]Biography
Donna Johnson Geist provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on April 15, 2025:
- High school: Dover High School
- Bachelor's: Wake Forest University, 1993
- Bachelor's: Delaware State University
- Graduate: Wilmington University
- Gender: Female
- Profession: Educator
- Incumbent officeholder: No
- Campaign slogan: Taking Capital to New Heights
- Campaign Facebook
- Campaign Instagram
Elections
General election
General election for Capital School District, At-large
Donna Johnson Geist and Mozella Richardson Kamara ran in the general election for Capital School District, At-large on May 13, 2025.
Candidate | ||
 | Donna Johnson Geist (Nonpartisan)  | |
| Mozella Richardson Kamara (Nonpartisan) | ||
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Election results
Endorsements
Geist received the following endorsements.
Campaign themes
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Donna Johnson Geist completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Geist's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Donna has led transformative initiatives addressing today's critical education challenges: developing statewide school quality frameworks, launching the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, and co-chairing efforts to strengthen educator recruitment and retention.
Her distinguished career includes serving as Executive Director for the Delaware State Board of Education for seven years, where she collaborated with state and national leaders to implement successful education policies. As Director of Accountability at DC's Office of the State Superintendent of Education, she created the first DC School Report Card, enhancing transparency for parents.
Currently Vice President for Strategic Partnerships at Cognia, a leading education non-profit with 130 years of school improvement experience, Donna brings extensive expertise in standards, assessments, accountability, teacher development, educational equity, and career & technical education.
Donna lives in Dover with her husband Rob, three adult stepchildren, two rescue dogs, and one opinionated cat.- Fiscal Responsibility & Community Partnerships
Our current funding model has not kept pace with the complex needs of today’s learners. It lacks the flexibility needed to meet the unique needs of our students and district. I will advocate for systemic changes to allow greater flexibility to align resources with educational priorities and maximize the impact of these funds for our students. At the district level, we must be transparent in funding allocations and do a thorough needs-based review.
Community partnerships are critical to fostering a shared responsibility for supporting the growth of our schools and students. Improved partnerships can help address issues from Chronic Absenteeism to Career readiness to leadership training. - Improved Learning Environments Better learning environments will help not only attract and retain quality educators, but it will also improve student engagement in learning. With chronic absenteeism rates in the district at 30% and statewide teacher surveys showing that 75% regularly face significant classroom disruptions, it is imperative that the district take action to address this issue. We must have safe schools where students can succeed. Quite simply, our students cannot learn if our teachers cannot teach in their classrooms. We should do regular surveys of students, staff, and parents to inform the creation of our strategic plan and then use the updated data as a factor in assessing progress and revising initiatives.
- Academic Excellence Capital’s recent state assessment data shows both Math and ELA significantly behind the state average as well as a nearly 20% difference between those meeting college and career readiness goals and those graduating. Capital must use data-driven strategies to improve student achievement, invest in research-based interventions, and develop short- and long-term goals related to academic performance. I believe in our teachers, leaders, and students - together we can elevate Capital to be among the best in the state.
My mission is clear: to ensure that Capital School District becomes a beacon of educational innovation, opportunity, and excellence. This means:
• Investing in resources that unlock every student's potential
• Supporting our teachers and leaders
• Creating learning environments where every student can thrive
to three years. I graduated up from that job to the morning daily newspaper, which I used to deliver from my 10-speed bike which I got when I turned 10.
Top 3 Responsibilities of a Board Member:
1. Policy Development and Governance - School board members are responsible for creating and maintaining comprehensive policies that guide all district operations and ensure all students receive a high-quality, equitable education.
This includes curricular and instructional oversight, addressing achievement gaps, supporting diverse learning needs, reviewing and approving curriculum aligned to standards, enacting contracts and policies that help staff grow and meet the needs of all learners, and engaging the community in developing district-wide strategic plans. Recent data emphasizes the importance of policies directly impacting student learning, safety, and overall educational quality.
2. Financial Oversight - Financial oversight is more than balancing spreadsheets—it's about strategic investment in our children's potential. Each dollar we allocate is a promise: a promise of better classrooms, more supportive learning environments, and expanded opportunities for every student, regardless of their background.
Board members play a critical role in budget development and oversight, including: Approving annual budgets, allocating resources effectively, ensuring fiscal responsibility and transparency in budget management, and balancing educational needs with financial constraints/capacities
3. Superintendent Selection and Evaluation - One of the board's most significant responsibilities is hiring, supporting, and annually evaluating the district's superintendent. This involves:
o Setting clear performance expectations and goals
o Providing professional development support
As a Board member, I will:
1) Advocate for the district to regularly conduct a school climate and satisfaction survey of students, staff, and families. Use this data to inform policy and resource allocation/funding decisions to address necessary improvements for learning environments, instructional practices, safety, student engagement, and staff satisfaction.
2) Regularly host events in the community to gather feedback, suggestions and hear what people are experiencing within our schools. Use this to outline how we can improve as well as celebrate what is working well. I believe strongly in meeting people where they are and want to engage with the community beyond just the school or meeting settings.
- Push for transparent financial decisions with community input, regularly evaluate program effectiveness, and ensure qualified staff are distributed equitably across schools. Additionally, I support evidence-based interventions tailored to specific student populations.
SROs and Constables help create safe learning environments where students and staff feel secure. Having trained professionals who understand both security protocols and the unique dynamics of a school community provides an essential layer of protection for our students and staff. Beyond security, SROs and Constables build positive relationships with students, serving as mentors and trusted adults. These connections can be particularly meaningful for students who may not have such relationships elsewhere in their lives.
I am committed to ensuring that our SROs and Constables are properly trained in youth development, de-escalation techniques, and community engagement skills. The goal should always be to create a supportive school climate, and SROs and Constables are valuable partners in creating schools where students feel both safe and supported—environments where both learning and positive development can flourish.
I will work diligently with our district to ensure our disciplinary practices are fair, effective, and supportive of all students' success. We can achieve this with a balanced approach that maintains classroom order while addressing underlying issues that lead to behavioral problems.
This will include:
1. Reviewing current disciplinary data to identify any patterns of disproportionate impact on particular student groups
2. Supporting evidence-based alternatives to suspension and expulsion that keep students engaged in learning without negatively impacting the learning opportunities of other students.
3 .Advocating for increased behavioral health resources and counseling services to address root causes of disruptive behavior
4. Ensuring teachers receive proper training and support to manage classroom behavior effectively
“What did 0 say to 8?
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Several other endorsements will be released in the coming weeks.
We can build community/business partnerships to develop programs to attract new teachers to the district with housing and living incentives/benefits.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Other survey responses
Ballotpedia identified the following surveys, interviews, and questionnaires Geist completed for other organizations. If you are aware of a link that should be added, email us.
- First State Educate
- Bay to Bay News
- Citizens for Delaware Schools
- League of Women Voters
- First State Educate
- ACLU Delaware
- DETV
See also
2025 Elections
External links
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Candidate Capital School District, At-large |
Personal |
Footnotes
