My name is Johnny Winston, Jr. and I am seeking to become elected to seat number four of the Madison School Board (soon to be vacated by Ray Allen). I am a long time Madison resident who attended Madison schools and graduated from West High School in 1986. I also have two teenage daughters attending Madison schools. Currently, I’m a firefighter with the City of Madison fire department; however, I have a long history working in education and social services.
Some of my past professional positions include Director of Vera Court Neighborhood Center, Home/School Coordinator at Leopold Elementary and youth worker for the Neighborhood Intervention Program. My experience working with youth makes me a good candidate for the Madison School Board.
It is very easy to get discouraged by looking at local media headlines that show standardized test scores and graduation rates for racial and ethnic minority students. It is disheartening to know that our community is losing the battle for the primary right to educate our students. Without education, these students face a life of greater challenges to attain upward advancement and economic security. These are the facts. However, I implore the Madison community to not give up. Do not give up on our school district. In doing so, we give up on our students. They need us, parents, teachers and the community to lead the way. Our school district needs your help. They need leadership to help generate real solutions to real problems.
As an elected member I will be a leader that provides oversight, accountability and support for teachers and students. I will be an active member of the board by studying the information and issues. I will make decisions based on knowledge and not an agenda. I will assist in developing policy that will help all of our students be successful in the Madison Metropolitan School District. I want to facilitate building relationships linking together groups that have not worked together before to collaborate on addressing district-wide concerns. This includes building partnerships with our local university and colleges, business community, and not for profit groups working with our young people. Consistent with the focus of the Madison School Board, I want to see African American students and students of all ethnicities, socio-economic levels and backgrounds succeed in our school system.
How do we do this? We do it together. In the spirit of working together, I pose several questions to our community. What are you doing to help students to be successful in Madison schools? Are you an involved parent? Do you go to your child’s school and meet teachers (especially when things are going well)? Doing this builds relations that are needed to be successful not only in schools but in life in general. If you don’t have children in Madison schools can you become a mentor? Can you afford to buy extra school supplies for students that can’t afford them? Do you assist in after school homework clubs or reading programs at schools or at neighborhood centers? There are many ways to become involved in the lives of our young people. If everyone in our community becomes involved we can see more success stories in our students. Remember, they are the future.
This is why I’m running for seat number four on the Madison School Board. I believe in focusing on possibilities to address problems. Don’t get discouraged. Get involved.
Hi Johnny, I saw you at the sock hop last Friday night, but I was distracted and not prepared to coherently ask you a few questions I have about your platform. Sorry about that. (I like much of what I see on your flyer). Here they are:
Who are you running against? I'm sorry to confess my ignorance of local school politics. My daughter just started public school here last fall and I have a lot to learn. What is "restorative discipline"? How do you feel about banning books? Also, I visited Memorial HS, my alma matter of 20+ years ago, and I was appalled and saddened at the dirty and run-down condition of the building!! The lights were missing covers, lockers were rusty and damaged, graffiti, new and evidence of old, was on the brick walls, and the bathrooms needed total renovation...If I were a student there, I'd not want to go every day!! Huegel, Lowell and Glendale, the public schools I've been inside of in the last year or two, are relatively clean and kept-up. What's wrong at Memorial? Thanks for taking time to reply.