Ahead of the Oct. 5 municipal election, the Empire is also partnering with the League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan organization that does not endorse parties nor candidates. Candidate bios and answers to six questions that the league developed will appear online as well as in editions of the Empire. School board candidates Thomas Buzard and Wiljordon V. Sangster did not respond to multiple messages seeking responses to the league’s questionnaire. In cooperation with the Empire and KTOO, the League will hold a virtual candidate forum at 7 p.m. on Sept. 8. This biography and questionnaire is for Juneau School District Board of Education candidate Ibn Bailey
• Name: Ibn Bailey
• Date and place of birth: March 26. Banbury, United Kingdom
• Length of residency in Alaska and Juneau: 30 years in Juneau
• Education: Attended Cal State San Bernardino and University of Alaska Southeast
• Occupation : Self-employed
• Family: Wife, Maria; son, Ezekiel (senior at JDHS),; nephew, James (eighth Grade Dzantik’i Heeni)
• Community service: Volunteer with Mendenhall Flying Lions, Helping Hands, Juneau Black Awareness Association, member of the CBJ Human Rights Commission and Americans with Disabilities committee.
• Other experience: 2021 DOE Education Grant Peer-Reviewer, Case Manager with REACH Inc, Equal Employment Counselor U.S. Department of Commerce, National Committee Member NOAA Equal Employment Advisory Committee.
[Bailey seeks school board seat]
School Board Candidates’ Questions
• What interventions do you support to help students who may have fallen behind during the pandemic?
The districts’ decision to temporarily reduce graduation requirements by half a credit, the distribution of Chromebooks for students to have access to virtual learning, Peer to Peer learning, mentoring, afterschool study groups, classroom volunteers from community partners/members.
• What evidence-based instructional practices used by the district do you believe are most effective? If you would suggest changes, what would they be?
STEM/STEAM programs: I would like to see a renewed emphasis on the arts component of STEAM ie. Drama, theatre, debate and music. These areas have shown to foster creativity, confidence, self-expression, improved cognition, and communication skills that will benefit students not only through school, but throughout their lives.
• What role, if any, do you see for pre-K education to help improve student achievement?
Pre-K education is a critical component for a successful transition into school: positive group interaction (peer to peer or student to teacher) in age-appropriate settings, team building, group socialization, conflict resolution and responsibility for themselves as well as their class setting-community.
• What curriculum modifications do you support to integrate an accurate history of Alaskan Native and other minorities’ roles/contributions in/to Alaska in furthering the district’s strategic objectives for achieving equity?
The renaming of schools in the district with gifted Tlingit names, ongoing support of the extracurricular-activity Native Youth Olympics and developing community partnerships with BIPOC stakeholders such as Seaalaska Heritage Institute, Filipino Community Inc, and the Juneau Black Awareness Association to name a few.
• What are three strengths of which our District should be proud?
The development of the robust 2020-25 Strategic Plan, the educational support compact the district entered into with the USCG 17th District in 2019, and the districtwide free breakfast/lunch program that provides meals for all students throughout the district no matter their social/economic status.
• How do you feel your experiences in life have prepared you for this position? Give examples of qualities you possess and ways in which you would use them to serve as a School Board member.
Ten primary schools attended as a military child, worked with children and adults with disabilities and for the school district. I have a unique insight as to what challenges military families and students face in transition. This and many other experiences give me a wider perspective on matters relating to family engagement, student achievement and partnership that I believe will bring a positive dynamic to the district.
