Alison Priscilla Dough
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Alison Priscilla Dough was a candidate for at-large representative on the Arlington Public Schools school board in Virginia. Dough was defeated in the at-large general election on November 7, 2017.
Dough participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 school board candidate survey. Click here to read her responses.
Elections
2017
One of the five seats on the Arlington Public Schools school board in Virginia was up for at-large general election on November 7, 2017. Incumbent James Lander did not file to run for re-election, which left the seat open for a newcomer. Alison Priscilla Dough, Monique O’Grady, and Mike Webb ran for the seat, and O'Grady won election to the board.[1]
Results
| Arlington Public Schools, At-large General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Monique O’Grady |
70.35% | 50,734 |
| Mike Webb | 17.55% | 12,659 |
| Alison Priscilla Dough | 10.30% | 7,427 |
| Write-in votes | 1.8% | 1,296 |
| Total Votes | 72,116 | |
| Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "2017 November General," accessed November 21, 2017 | ||
Funding
Dough reported no contributions or expenditures to the Virginia Department of Elections in the election.[2]
Campaign themes
2017
Ballotpedia survey responses
Alison Priscilla Dough participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates.[3] In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on October 18, 2017:
| “ | My top priorities are: 1) Inclusion. Special needs children need to be included in the general education setting 80-100% of the day. We need to pull our children with special needs in - not push them out. This is imperative for these children to learn to function in society and also provides them access to the full education they are entitled too. Inclusion provides social and emotional growth for general education students as well - teaching them to include others that are different - which ensures a better future society. 2) Recess. We need more recesses and longer recesses. Under the "No Child Left Behind Act" recess time disappeared and studies are now showing this was not the right answer. Physical activity is important to hormone and brain development - our children and teenagers need this. More recess is showing a positive impact on classroom behavior, learning, focus, health, and social development. Studies have also proven that recess reduces anxiety in children and teenagers. 3) IEP Process. We need to fix the IEP process. It's overly burdensome and parents are often not aware of the important role and the control they have in the process which often leads to a one-sided IEP that only partially benefits the child. We need to ensure all the right players are included in the meetings as well. 4) Year-round schools. In my county, most families have dual incomes. Year round schools help solve the need for expensive summer camps and offers the working parents a chance to take regular breaks and vacations with their children throughout the year. It also helps keep the kids engaged year-round in their academics. 5) Immersion. Arlington county offers only Spanish immersion. With our various cultures and languages in our county along with our need for diversity in the schools - we need to expand our immersion programs to include Mandarin, French, Arabic, Hindi or other languages - we need to give parents a reason and desire to diversify the schools and at the same time - giving parents' a reason to fix the boundary issues that weigh on our area. 5) Parent Involvement. So many parents don't know what's going on and they want to know. Partnerships between parents & teachers and parents & schools are key to the educational, social and emotional development of our kids and teens. Everybody needs to be part of the picture in order to create the best work of art possible - our children's future. Vote Alison Dough for Arlington County School Board.[4][5] | ” |
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues based on how they should be prioritized by the school board, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. Each ranking could only be used once.
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in Virginia. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| “ | Arlington County is below average in Virginia's Inclusion Policy for children with special needs. My special needs child and meeting his needs was my inspiration to run for office. Parents and teachers NEED to partner together to ensure a successful education for our children. These are my top two priorities on this list.[5] | ” |
| —Alison Priscilla Dough (October 18, 2017) | ||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer eight questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are highlighted in blue and followed by the candidate's responses. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions. The candidate was also provided space to elaborate on their answers to the multiple choice questions.
| Should new charter schools be approved in your district? (Not all school boards are empowered to approve charter schools. In those cases, the candidate was directed to answer the question as if the school board were able to do so.) |
|---|
| No. No, our public schools are fabulous and we should continue to embrace and improve our public schools. |
| Which statement best describes the ideal relationship between the state government and the school board? The state should always defer to school board decisions, defer to school board decisions in most cases, be involved in the district routinely or only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| The state should be involved in the district routinely. I think it depends on the issue. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| No. No, they are not. We definitely need a tool to measure the general education students' achievement - but my child with special needs is smart - but doesn't test well - especially not on the standardized testing. And this should not be the only measurement of achievement. My other child in elementary school reads on a high school level but is rejected from testing for the GT program because her English scores are low on her standardized testing. She hasn't realized the importance of the test at this age - so saying she is not eligible for being tested for GT based on her standardized testing to me is completely ridiculous. |
| How should the district handle underperforming teachers? Terminate their contract before any damage is done to students, offer additional training options, put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve or set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district? |
| Terminate their contract before any damage is done to students. Offer additional training options. Offer additional training options. Put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. Yes. Teacher performance should be the most important part of the pay system to ensure we have fully-engaged teachers. This is important in the business setting and should be important in the school system as well. Children are the future! The merit pay programs need to be effectively modeled though, taking into consideration professional growth and performance. Often these pay systems, in business settings, turn into a COLA system or "favorites" system -- and we need to make sure the merit system is used to its full potential as a positive tool to motivate our teachers. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. I think the state should focus on their public schools. The public schools have no way to raise tuition other than taxes - and those taxes should feed back into the public school system. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Expulsion should be used in a situation that has or could have significant impact to students or teachers welfare or safety. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Parent involvement. I feel everything on this list is highly important. Speaking to my county in particular - I think parent involvement is key in the classroom. So often other parents express concerns about not being able to be involved and not knowing what is going on. We need partnerships between parents & teachers and between parents & schools. We have a wealth of intelligence in our area and parents WANTING to be involved that aren't or don't know how and we need to take advantage of building and partnering with these relationships for the growth and development of our children and teenagers. |
Vote411 Voter Guide
Dough participated in the following survey conducted by the Vote411 Voter Guide. The questions provided by the guide appear bolded, and Dough's responses follow below.
How would you improve the process for realigning school district boundaries to help deal with the projected overcrowding and improve diversity?
| “ | Realigning school district boundaries may not necessarily be the answer. Targeting specific schools with potential overcrowding issues the next couple of years may need to be addressed – but looking to either expand current schools or build new schools are more apt to solve the problems. Something that has surprised me about Arlington county is the lack of subject variety in immersion schools especially in an area that is so diverse in languages and cultures. We have Spanish immersion schools – what about French, Mandarin, Arabic, Hindi or others? If I had the opportunity to send my daughter to a French or Arabic immersion school on the other side of Arlington – I’d take that chance in a heartbeat. If we want to diversify schools – let’s give the parents a reason and desire to want to diversify. We know which schools in our county aren’t as crowded and which ones could be more inclusive – let’s expand our children’s cultural opportunities and access to other languages.[5] | ” |
| —Alison Priscilla Dough (2017)[6] | ||
What changes, if any, are needed to ensure students develop the critical thinking skills to evaluate political and civil discourse including "fake news"?
| “ | This is an area I think adults are still trying to decipher – let alone children. I always tell my children there are two sides to every story – and what you hear from one person – may not be the complete story because everyone has (and is entitled to) their own opinion. Research is so important – having everything at the click of a Google search is so much different for the rising generation. But they can’t stop there. They need to learn to verify their news by seeking multiple sources, studying history, and questioning everything.[5] | ” |
| —Alison Priscilla Dough (2017)[6] | ||
How would budget cuts to education at the national level impact Arlington schools and curriculum?
| “ | Schools should be a priority at the national and state level. The children are the future. Arlington is one of the few counties in the nation that has not been impacted by real estate struggles and weakened local economies.[5] | ” |
| —Alison Priscilla Dough (2017)[6] | ||
What will be your top two priorities for your term of office and what data supports these priorities?
| “ | Increasing recess time. Various studies have shown that increasing the amount of recess time improves classroom behavior, learning, health and social development. Because of the 'No Child Left Behind Act' schools are reducing that time to focus on reading and math. Studies are proving that if you give the kids a chance to get their energy out – the result is better focus. Kids are growing – their bodies crave the outside, fresh air, and the need to practice their social skills. During my ballot petition process, I learned about the use of social media for bullying in schools and its impact on adolescent depression. We need to teach our children to use social media appropriately. This is not only a liability issue for Arlington to be concerned about – it also takes away a child's sense of safety at school and removes the positive learning environment. Parents aware of these situations should have a complaint process in place where they can advocate confidentially for their children.[5] | ” |
| —Alison Priscilla Dough (2017)[6] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Alison Priscilla Dough Arlington Public Schools. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Arlington County Voting and Elections, "2017 Elections," accessed June 14, 2017
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "Campaign Finance Reports: Search Committees," accessed January 17, 2018
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "Alison Priscilla Dough's responses," October 18, 2017
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Vote411 Voter Guide, "Alison Priscilla Dough," accessed October 16, 2017
| Arlington Public Schools elections in 2017 | |
| Arlington County, Virginia | |
| Election date: | November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Alison Priscilla Dough • Monique O’Grady • Mike Webb |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
