(10/2022) Following the results of the recent primary election, Board of Education Candidates Ysela Bravo, Rae Gallagher, Dean Rose, and Karen Yoho formed the "Students First Slate" in order to consolidate resources and make clear our plans for Frederick County Public Schools.

Our slate is made strong by our diverse backgrounds and experiences. Our differences are reflective of the community we hope to represent. We understand that we may not agree on every issue, but our shared fundamental values make us the best candidates for the Board of Education. We embrace creativity in problem-solving, collaboration, teamwork, and productive dialogue to reach the best solutions for the FCPS community.

As the name implies, we will always put the needs of our 45,000 students first. Every decision will be grounded in the belief that the needs of our students come first, and we are committed to allocating resources, considering curriculum, and making decisions based on meeting the unique and varied needs of Frederick County students.

We are all committed to ensuring that all FCPS employees are provided competitive compensation, benefits, training, and the resources necessary to allow them to do their jobs to the best of their abilities. We believe that FCPS employees should be trusted to do the jobs they are hired to do and that their education and professional training best positions them to meet the needs of our students. We are committed to exploring creative ideas to reduce class size and increase planning time to ensure FCPS educators can meet the needs of students.

We also believe in the importance of building trust through transparency with parents, central office staff, educators, and students by providing open communication and making all FCPS resources easily available.

As Board members, we vow to hold ourselves and all FCPS employees accountable for ensuring that all our students are provided a safe, welcoming, inclusive, and world class education. Together with other Board members and FCPS staff, we will work with all stakeholders to ensure that not only are our students career and college ready but life ready in our ever changing world.