Sarah McMurrough

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Sarah McMurrough

Nonpartisan

Arlington Independent School District, Place 1

Tenure

2021 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

4

Predecessor

Polly Walton

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

May 4, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Texas State University-San Marcos, 2008

Personal

Religion

Christian

Profession

Literacy coach

Sarah McMurrough is a member of the Arlington Independent School District in Texas, representing Place 1. She assumed office on May 20, 2021. Her current term ends in 2027.

McMurrough ran for re-election to the Arlington Independent School District to represent Place 1 in Texas. She won in the general election on May 4, 2024.

Biography

Sarah McMurrough earned a bachelor's degree from Texas State University, San Marcos, in 2008. Her career experience includes working as a districtwide literacy coach for third through fifth grades at Mansfield Independent School District in Texas. She also worked as an elementary school teacher from 2008 to 2020.

Elections

2024

See also: Arlington Independent School District, Texas, elections (2024)

General election

General election for Arlington Independent School District, Place 1

Incumbent Sarah McMurrough won election in the general election for Arlington Independent School District, Place 1 on May 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sarah McMurrough (Nonpartisan)	100.0	8,029

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 8,029
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for McMurrough in this election.

2021

See also: Arlington Independent School District, Texas, elections (2021)

General election

General election for Arlington Independent School District, Place 1

Sarah McMurrough defeated incumbent Polly Walton, Watson Robinson Jr., and Sam Abu in the general election for Arlington Independent School District, Place 1 on May 1, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sarah McMurrough (Nonpartisan)	51.6	12,799
		Polly Walton (Nonpartisan)	29.8	7,398
	Submit photo	Watson Robinson Jr. (Nonpartisan)	11.7	2,914
	Submit photo	Sam Abu (Nonpartisan)	6.9	1,706

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 24,817
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

To view McMurrough's endorsements in the 2021 election, please click here.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Sarah McMurrough did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2021

Sarah McMurrough completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by McMurrough'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.

I am a proud wife, mother of two beautiful boys, lifelong teacher, and community servant. After growing up mostly here in Arlington, I couldn't wait to return "back home" after college so I could start my career and family. I am a dynamic, award-winning educator who will lead with energy, innovation, integrity, a listening ear, and solutions. As an Arlington native and mother of two young children (including a first grader at Little Elementary in AISD), I am personally committed to the success of our school district. I will put children at the forefront of every stance I will hold as a board member, and that means putting teachers at the forefront as well.

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?

• I am a current districtwide educator, AISD mom, and AISD graduate ready to serve the children, teachers, and staff of AISD.
• I am in classrooms every day directly supporting teachers with their literacy instruction, so I will be able to bring much-needed insight straight from the classrooms into the leadership decisions.
• We must improve student learning, enhance the quality of our curriculum resources, increase instructional time by lessening emphasis on standardized tests, and strengthen family engagement.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Education (specifically early literacy, early intervention for students with learning difficulties, and preparing our students for college and career readiness).

What legacy would you like to leave?

I have always lived by this quote: "The purpose of life is to discover your gift. The meaning of life is to give your gift away." I strive to do that each day and hope to do so in a greater capacity as AISD School Board Trustee so that each and every one of our students can graduate with college and career readiness.

What is your favorite book? Why?

My favorite book is The Old Man and the Sea because it inspires perseverance, even under the most challenging of circumstances.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Growing up in a low/middle income single-parent household, our family struggled financially. I was a first generation college student, and my mom did not always know how to tap into opportunities for me or have the resources to do so. Throughout my journey as a student in AISD, it was my teachers who inspired me to become a teacher myself and further my education by going to college.

What is the primary job of a school board member in your view?

As school board trustee, my primary job would be to govern and oversee our school district. I would do this effectively by leading with energy and a lifelong passion for education, a listening ear, and integrity. I am also ready to partner with our other school board trustees, superintendent, all AISD staff and families, city officials, and the Arlington Council for PTAs.

Who are your constituents?

My constituents would be all the residents of Arlington whose households exist in the Arlington ISD zone.

How would you support the diverse needs of your district’s students, faculty, staff, and community?

We are the 13th largest school district in Texas, so we must honor the individual needs of each campus community. As a current educator, former AISD teacher of 12 years, PTA parent, and former family engagement representative, I would be able to draw upon my own knowledge and connections throughout the community so we could be more proactive in meeting their needs. I would also be highly visible at school events and keep an open line of communication with all stakeholders.

What constitutes good teaching? How will you measure this? How will you support advanced teaching approaches?

Student engagement and relevant, age-appropriate content are the two most important components of good teaching. I will lend my insight as a districtwide literacy coach to our Chief Academic Officer so we can better support our teachers in delivering top notch instruction so our students can be successful.

In what areas would you like to expand curriculum? For example, do you see a need for advanced technical training or apprenticeships? What sort of innovative programming would you advance if given the opportunity?

As a district, we must offer more virtual-friendly resources to our teachers so they do not have to continue to create them on their own. As with our students, our teachers must be engaged in learning as well for it to be meaningful and take flight. I also believe in continuing to expand our offerings to ready our students for the work force based on their specific interests and skills.

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.

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