Ryan Scott
Ryan Scott was a candidate for at-large representative on the Appoquinimink School District school board in Delaware. He lost his bid for the one open seat up for election on May 12, 2015.
Scott participated in Ballotpedia's survey of school board candidates. In his campaigning, he described his perspective on the value of education, saying:
| “ | I believe education is the key to a great community. Today's students are the backbone of tomorrow's MOT. We're training and preparing not only our future leaders, but all those with whom we'll live, work, and depend upon in the years to come. Every student from every background and situation deserves the best possible education. I promise to work hard so that every member of this community has a voice. I want to improve openness and communication. I want to make sure we're on top of future growth and development before it happens. I want to prioritize the resources available in classrooms to students and teachers. I hope to be a key part of the Appoquinimink School Board moving forward.[1] | ” |
| —Ryan Scott (2015)[2] | ||
A first time candidate for the board, Scott faced the most competitive election in the past 16 years for the district. It was also the most competitive election among Delaware's largest school districts in 2015.
Biography
Scott earned a B.A. in history from Eastern Nazarene College in 2003 and an M.Div. from Nazarene Theological Seminary in 2009. An ordained minister in the Church of the Nazarene, Scott works as a freelance writer and editor in addition to being a stay-at-home parent. His wife, Katelynn, is a seventh grade teacher at Redding Middle School. They have one daughter.[3][4]
Elections
2015
Opposition
One of the five seats on the Appoquinimink Board of Education was up for election on May 12, 2015. At-large incumbent Julie Johnson's seat was up for election. Newcomer candidate Michelle Myers Wall won the election.
While Johnson did not file to run for re-election, the following eight candidates filed to seek the open seat: Joanne Christian, Tara Greathouse, Michelle Myers Wall, Debbie Harrington, Dainelle Hampton-Morton, Mark Heck, Ryan Scott and William Weller.[5] However, Hampton-Morton and Heck withdrew from the race in time to have their names excluded from the ballot.
Results
| Appoquinimink School District, At-Large General Election, 5-year term, 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Michelle Myers Wall |
55.9% | 609 | |
| Nonpartisan | Debbie Harrington | 19.8% | 216 | |
| Nonpartisan | Joanne Christian | 10.7% | 117 | |
| Nonpartisan | Tara Greathouse | 8.9% | 97 | |
| Nonpartisan | William Weller | 2.4% | 26 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ryan Scott | 2.2% | 24 | |
| Total Votes | 1,089 | |||
| Source: Department of Elections for New Castle County, "Appoquinimink School District: May 12, 2015 School Board Election," accessed May 28, 2015 | ||||
Funding
Scott reported no contributions or expenditures to the Delaware Commissioner of Elections as of May 7, 2015.[6]
Endorsements
Scott received no official endorsements as of April 1, 2015.
Campaign themes
2015
Ballotpedia survey responses
Scott participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display his responses to the survey questions. When asked what his top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:
| “ | Improving communication would be my top priority. Increasingly our community does not trust district leadership; the district needs to do more to involve the community in the mission and purpose of the school district. Additionally, we need better communication from the classroom to the district decision-makers. I will be available to any teacher, student, or parent who wishes to voice concerns or comments; I will seek out these comments in open and honest means.[1] | ” |
| —Ryan Scott (2015), [7] | ||
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. This table displays this candidate's rankings from most to least important:
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in Delaware. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving college readiness | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding career-technical education | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer 10 questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are in the left column and the candidate's responses are in the right column of the following table:
| Question | Response |
|---|---|
| "Whatever the standards, we should allow teachers more freedom to teach them creatively as appropriate for their own students." | |
| "Sadly, our district doesn't have the ability to approve or deny charters. I am all for charter schools, so long as they supplement and complement the overall educational outcomes of the district." | |
| "No." | |
| "Testing is a valuable piece of overall achievement measures, but they must be taken in context, not as raw data." | |
| "A more focused vision can help streamline our efforts to provide challenges and support appropriate for students of all abilities. I am in favor of doing fewer things well than many things without full commitment. Improving diversity and working to prioritize classroom spending over administrative costs will go a long way towards reaching all students in appropriate ways." | |
| "Expulsion should be an extreme last resort. I believe the district should make every effort to implement positive incentives, alternative educational options, and creative strategies involving students and parents before expulsion is even considered. Issues of student safety should have a higher priority, but even then we should do everything possible to keep students safe and in school." | |
| "I have great faith our district and our community would make appropriate interventions before we reached a level of school failure. We can do better in helping our under-resourced population, but overall our schools are doing exceptionally well." | |
| "I don't have strong feelings about merit pay either way, but I don't believe it is the best way to improve teacher or student performance. We should try other methods before moving in this direction." | |
| "I'd like to see a positive, personal professional development plan in place for all employees to promote continual growth and improvement, including mentoring and observations that aren't related to job security. We can and should be doing more to help our teachers, both successful and struggling, to improve their skills and abilities." | |
| "I would work to institute more public listening sessions for questions and feedback. I'd move for increased support to our communication and public relations staff as well as concerted efforts to recruit volunteers from a diverse group of community interests. Our community needs to be more knowledgeable and involved and the district needs to make more of an effort to seek out and include those outside the parent population." |
Middletown Transcript Q&A
Scott participated in a candidate question-and-answer from the Middletown Transcript. The questions and his responses are below:
| “ | Q Why are you running for the school board seat?
A My whole adult life has been devoted to helping students, through tutoring and mentoring. I care about the quality of education we offer and want to ensure we provide as much support as possible for the students in our district. I want to make sure we have as many perspectives as possible represented on the board and I believe I have some unique skills and experiences to bring to this task. I’ve worked with children and teenagers in a variety of settings, in rural and urban areas. I’ve moved a lot in my life, for school and work, but Middletown is the first place we’ve chosen just for us. We love the town and I’ll be happy to be here the rest of my life. I want to contribute where I can. In every placed we’ve lived, I’ve been involved with the school system. I’ve seen a lot of approaches to education. My strengths are in strategic planning and finding creative solutions to difficult problems. I believe all of these would be beneficial to service on the Appoquinimink School Board. Q What are the three most important issues that you think are affecting the district? A Long term planning. Our district has operated on a series of five year plans that are simply not sufficient to properly position us for the future. If projections are correct, Appoquinimink will be two to three times bigger in just 15 years, we need to have one cohesive vision and measure the rest of our actions against that long term plan. Communication. There is a real problem getting the most immediate classroom needs on the agenda of decision-makers in the district. I see this as a problem of internal communication. There needs to be a better connection between the board and the classroom. Additionally, rightly or wrongly, the district has a reputation for being secretive. If we’re really keeping the best interests of our students and community in mind, there is nothing to fear from transparency. Emphasis on testing. I am all for standardized tests, but this Smarter Balanced scheme was poorly designed, it takes away too much instructional time and it’s too big a focus for students and teachers. I know the state is pushing it hard, but it’s not in the best interests of our students and we should be working harder for change. Q What would you do as a school board member to address those issues? A I want to be open and available to all ideas and perspectives. If elected, I’ll be in the schools at least weekly and as involved in the community as I possibly can. I have set up a website to interact with the public, answer questions, and keep the debate moving. I will advocate for more discussion, more forums and more inclusion in the decisions made regarding how we educate our kids. I will encourage the board to set some longer term goals as a framework for the regular five year plans, helping us to look to the future and set a foundation for where we need to be. Some things take longer than five years to put in place; we need to be at work preparing now. I will press hard for a district-wide vision that focuses more on the educational process than test results. If our students get the highest scores in the state, but don’t learn to love learning and how to continue learning on their own, then we’ve failed them. Strong instruction, with well-rounded accountability systems, and positive support for teachers and students will lead to success in all areas.[1] |
” |
| —Ryan Scott (2015)[3] | ||
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Ryan + Scott + Appoquinimink + School + District"
See also
- Appoquinimink School District, Delaware
- Appoquinimink School District elections (2015)
- Analysis of incumbency advantage in the 2014 school board elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ryan Scott for Appo, "Election Day - May 12th," May 5, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Middletown Transcript, "Q&A with Appoquinimink Board of Education candidate Ryan Scott," April 23, 2015
- ↑ Ryan Scott for Appo, "About," accessed May 7, 2015
- ↑ New Castle County Department of Elections, "May 12, 2015 School Board Candidates & Filing Dates," March 6, 2015
- ↑ State of Delaware, "Campaign Finance Reporting System," accessed May 7, 2015
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Ryan Scott's responses," May 8, 2015
| 2015 Appoquinimink School District Elections | |
| New Castle County, Delaware | |
| Election date: | May 12, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Joanne Christian • Tara Greathouse • Michelle Myers Wall • Debbie Harrington • Ryan Scott • William Weller |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
