CNN’s “Schools of Thought” blog has featured UMBC students David H. Murray ’14, economics, and Edward Burroughs, who made headlines last week after strong wins in the Prince George’s County Board of Education primary election (districts 1 and 8).
“At the end of the day, it’s about student success,” Burroughs told CNN. “My number one priority is going to be hiring and retaining highly-qualified teachers…and the ones that are struggling we need to provide them professional development. If they’re not able to be successful after that, they have to exit our system.”
Reflecting on criticism that the candidates are too young to be effective leaders, Murray argued, “We’re the ones that can really make a difference, because we’ve been there and we understand what’s working and what’s not.” Emphasizing the importance of diversity on the school board, he continued, “It doesn’t help to have a room of 10 people if they all have the same background and the same set of ideas.”
This feature follows a front-page Metro story in the Washington Post on the students’ electoral success. Both received the most votes in their districts by wide margins.
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