Mikayla Arciaga

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Mikayla Arciaga

Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 2, 2021

Education

Bachelor's

University of South Florida, 2016

Personal

Birthplace

Utah

Profession

Policy and research analyst

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

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Campaign Instagram

Mikayla Arciaga ran for election to the Atlanta Public Schools school board to represent District 4 in Georgia. She lost in the general election on November 2, 2021.

Arciaga completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Mikayla Arciaga was born in Utah. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of South Florida in 2016. Arciaga's career experience includes working as a policy and research analyst with the Urban League of Greater Atlanta.

Elections

2021

See also: Atlanta Public Schools, Georgia, elections (2021)

General election

General election for Atlanta Public Schools school board District 4

Jennifer McDonald defeated Mikayla Arciaga in the general election for Atlanta Public Schools school board District 4 on November 2, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jennifer McDonald (Nonpartisan)	69.3	11,778
		Mikayla Arciaga (Nonpartisan)	30.1	5,118
		Other/Write-in votes	0.5	90

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 16,986
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Campaign themes

2021

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Mikayla Arciaga completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Arciaga's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Mikayla Arciaga is an educator, coach, and advocate for the public education system. After graduating from the University of South Florida, she began working as a high school math teacher and swim coach. Mikayla has worked closely with students, parents, teachers, and community leaders to establish a culture of inclusion and support and ensure that students find success both in and out of the classroom.

I have worked with multiple school districts in a variety of roles including community engagement, curriculum improvement, teacher development, and policy analysis. She worked for Atlanta Public Schools with the Office of Engagement compiling and analyzing compliance data for the district’s school governance (GO) teams. This role highlighted some of the inequities with the district's transition to a decentralized charter model - many communities had vacancies on their boards or lacked accessibility to crucial information about school budgets and strategic plans.

I want to ensure that we are creating policies that engage our community at every level, and also develop a culture for innovation that keeps this district at the forefront of learning. We can empower our students, families, and educators to deliver the high quality equcation that our students deserve.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• We need to improve curriculum and support innovative teaching practices so all students have the opportunity to be successful
• I will be responsive and accessible to all community stakeholders but especially parents, teachers, and students.
• Develop a blueprint to synchronize and maximize the effectiveness of our many community and non-profit partners

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Curriculum and pedagogical development and implementation

Diversified and equitable procurement policies

Comprehensive wrap-around services across the k12 continuum

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Humility and commitment are the most important characteristics of an elected official. We must recognize that our role is one of service, and that it is our responsibility to ensure that we are accessible, familiar, and making the effort to reach all of our constituents throughout the term of our service. It is also important that we recognize where our expertise lends itself to our role, and when we should be leveraging the expertise of others to ensure that we are making the best decisions for the children and families that we serve.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was working as server at Applebee's. I worked there my senior year of high school until I left for college. I learned many lessons from this job, but most importantly the value of a customer service mindset. I also learned a lot about living wages and the effects on those in food service, especially tipped workers.
When I worked, the minimum wage for tipped workers was just over four dollars, and at our particular location, tips were inconsistent. While I was fortunate that I was not dependent on my income to provide for my household, I watched many of my coworkers work additional shifts or even additional jobs to make ends meet.

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.

Campaign website

Arciaga’s campaign website stated the following:

“	PRIORITIES Improve curriculum and support innovative teaching practices so all students have the opportunity to be successful. The Atlanta Public Schools has an abundance of world class educators. We need to do more to capture and share their expertise to the benefit of all our students. I want to encourage and retain the talent in our district by identifying and centering our most effective teachers as mentors and development leaders. Virtual learning highlighted the disparities not only for our struggling students, but also for our high achieving students who often don’t have access to appropriately rigorous coursework. I will advocate for more comprehensive virtual and dual-enrollment options for acceleration as well as remediation. Be responsive and accessible to all community stakeholders but especially parents, teachers, and students. I'm an ardent believer that education is a collective effort. High quality education can only be achieved when schools work in full partnership with their families and students. Further, that it is the responsibility of our board members to facilitate that partnership. I will actively solicit the input of our parents, teachers, and students to ensure that their voices are heard. I will work with schools to encourage recruitment and candidacy for school governance teams and ensure that every school's team is adequately prepared to provide oversight and guidance to their community schools Develop a blueprint to synchronize and maximize the effectiveness of our many community and non-profit partners We have a broad network of community organizations that provide much needed support to our students, but we have an opportunity to increase our efficiency by strengthening our systems of communication and coordination. I will work to develop these connections that will allow students to be better served through comprehensive and equitable support. While students in District 4 are some of the most successful in Atlanta Public Schools, half of our schools are still demonstrating less than 60% proficiency in ELA and Math. On top of that, less than 70% of those students report that they like their school. We can bring joy back to learning while still equipping our students with the skills they need to find success.	”
—Mikayla Arciaga's campaign website (2021)

See also

2021 Elections

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Candidate

Atlanta Public Schools school board District 4

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