Red Clay School Board Candidate letters

See all so Fix Red Clay

April 13, 2009

To Family, Friends and Red Clay Citizens:

I am officially running for a Red Clay Consolidated School District board of education position and would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to you. I am a husband, father of three children and a licensed Delaware school psychologist. My daughter, Madisen, is a 4th grade student at Brandywine Springs School; my son, Jack, is a 1st grade student in the Meadowood Program; and my youngest son, Sean, will turn two years-old this summer. My wife, Jennifer, a long-time Kindergarten teacher, is now a stay-at-home mom caring for our disabled son and youngest child.

As a professional educator working in the New Castle County Vocational-Technical School District, I chose to dedicate my career to the support and advocacy of children. I helped form the Meadowood Program PTA in 2007 when the district’s financial crisis resulted in cuts to special education programs serving Red Clay’s significantly disabled students. I currently serve as the PTA president and work collaboratively with Meadowood Program staff and parents to help ensure the best possible educational experience for these wonderful yet needy students. As a school psychologist at Howard High School of Technology in Wilmington I spend my days working with teachers and staff supporting the complex learning needs of a diverse student population.

My experience as a father raising both a non-disabled and a significantly disabled child, my work as the Meadowood Program PTA president, and my school psychology career afford me a unique perspective and a firsthand understanding of the many issues facing our Delaware public school system. As a board of education member, I will continue to address these issues in order to improve our education system for all students, staff, and parents in the Red Clay community.

Like many of you with children in Red Clay schools, I have a vested interest in promoting positive changes in the district that directly support classroom level initiatives. As a school board candidate with children in the schools, I will continue to push for reforms that provide greater opportunity for all of our children and grandchildren to compete and succeed in today’s global environment.

For further information you can log on to HYPERLINK "http://www.parentleadersofredclay.blogspot.com" www.parentleadersofredclay.blogspot.com. I can be reached via email at HYPERLINK "mailto:ericsrandolph@yahoo.com" ericsrandolph@yahoo.com or by phone at (302) 547-0274 to answer your questions or discuss your concerns.

Your support for me and my running mate, Kim Williams (nominating district “E”), in the upcoming Red Clay school board election on May 12th would be greatly appreciated. And, if you decide to support my candidacy, I also would welcome a small financial donation or your volunteer time.


Thank you,


Eric S. Randolph


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Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Kim Williams
Kim Williams is a mother of two school-aged children who attend Red Clay public schools (Forest Oak Elementary and Conrad Schools of Science), and a parent leader/volunteer. She and her family currently live in Klair Estates.

Personal Background
Kim is a lifelong Wilmington resident, having graduated from Wilmington High School. Her husband, Carl has been employed at the General Motors plant on Boxwood Road for 28 years. Prior to becoming a stay at home mother, Kim worked for an electrical contractor for twelve years. When she resigned, she was the Office Manager, responsible for millions of dollars in accounts payable/receivables.

School Leader
Kim has volunteered for years in her children’s schools in a wide variety of roles --- the HOST Program, the lunchroom, and as Treasurer for the Forest Oak PTA. She chaired many PTA committees including: Program Assemblies, Teacher Appreciation activities, Family Nights, and membership drives.

She is concluding her fourth year as President of the Forest Oak PTA. The Delaware PTA awarded Forest Oak PTA its “Outstanding Membership Award” in 2006-07 for achieving a 202% increase in membership and reaching parent membership equal to 93% of student enrollment!

When Kim’s daughter entered middle school at Conrad Schools of Science, Kim was elected vice-president of that school’s PTO, she served as secretary for the Red Clay Consolidated Grant Parent Advisory Council, and she currently serves on the Conrad’s Building Leadership Team.

Parent Activist
Kim Williams is co-founder and co-editor of the respected “Fix Red Clay” blog which she started in 2008 with another Red Clay parent, Anne O’Malia. The establishment of this blog was created for people who wanted to discuss issues and join together to make a difference in our public education system.

“Fix Red Clay” blog has received over 105,000 ‘hits’ since its inception, an incredible degree of popularity for a website run by two volunteer parents. The blog has provided the Red Clay community with a forum for the exchange of opinions about the Red Clay School District and its leadership.

“I ask Red Clay voters for the opportunity to serve on our school board. My experience as a parent and a school leader qualifies me for this position. A school board made up of individuals who do not have children in the schools that they represent is not in the best interest of our school system. We need to have someone who will actually be affected by the decisions of the school board. I have had the opportunity first hand to see how those decisions affect the students, teachers, staff, and parents and I believe it is time to have parents be a part of those decisions. If elected, I will work diligently to restore your faith in our school district and to serve, as I always have, with honesty, integrity, and a commitment to transparency.”

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William T. Hall
Red Clay Consolidated School District Board Candidate



Background and Qualifications

I am a Red Clay parent. Both of my children presently attend the Cab Calloway School, one in middle school and one in high school.

I am also a Red Clay Husband. My wife is a teacher in the district at the Brandywine Springs School. We are residents of Red Clay for twenty-six years.

I am a PhD Chemist employed by the DuPont Company for 28 years. My job involves working in a collaborative team environment to develop innovative, multimillion-dollar products on time and on budget.

I, along with my wife, have been involved in many school activities over the thirteen years we’ve been Red Clay parents. I chaired the parent committee that wrote and gained approval of the bylaws that established the PTO at Brandywine Springs when that school reopened in 2000.

I have been attending Red Clay School Board meetings for more than ten years and have a have good knowledge of board operation. I was, for ten years, a member of the board of the Greater Hockessin Area Development Association (GHADA), an umbrella civic group.

Some of my other civic activities include participation in the Science Alliance (an industry group whose mission was to promote science education in the public schools) and service as a judge for the Texaco-Star Academic Challenge (a “College Bowl” style contest open to all high schools throughout the state).

The Red Clay district serves over 17,000 students and has an operating budget of 163 million dollars. My background, experience and commitment to community service make me well qualified to serve on the board.


Objectives as a Board Member

My objectives as a board member would include at least the following:

Stay focused on the Red Clay mission: to deliver quality education in a safe and secure learning environment.

Operate in a way that taxpayers have confidence their tax dollars are being accounted for properly and spent wisely.

Find the right structure and curriculum for each school so that all are high achieving.

Make district schools a great place to work so that we attract and retain talented teachers.

Eliminate burdensome, non-value adding requirements. As we are called upon to do more with less, all of our efforts must be value tested against educational benefits.


Contact Information
Email: whall.rccsd@comcast.net
Address: 14 Staten Drive, Hockessin, Delaware 19707

Of note : We are not endorsing any of the candidates we called & or emailed all of them & this is what we received