Millicent Rogers, currently the incumbent representative for Consolidated District B on the Durham Public Schools Board of Education, grew up in Durham and holds the philosophy that all families matter in this town where she grew up.

Her grandmother, Reathie Mae Rogers, was president of the McDougald Terrace Residents Association and worked with the North Carolina Fund to try to end poverty in the state. Rogers, 39, is a single mother who has volunteered for People’s Alliance and the North Carolina Parent Teacher Association.

Southpoint Access asked Rogers to answer some questions for our readers. The same invitation has been extended to other candidates for Board of Education. We will publish their responses as soon as possible after they are received.

Please share your educational background and any professional or personal experiences that qualify you to serve on the DPS Board of Education.

Millicent Rogers: I have been involved with Durham Public Schools through PTA at my child’s schools and the NCPTA as advocacy chair. During my time as chair of the People Alliance’s education action team, I was able to work with DAE to fight for a $15 minimum wage for all Durham Public Schools employees. As Co-President of the PA, I continued my advocacy for our public schools by advocating for greater funding from the county going to our public schools. In the 18 months that I have served, I have sought out various training opportunities and completed a fellowship with School Board Partners.

What do you think of how the board and administrators handled the classified pay situation?

Millicent Rogers: It is my opinion, that the board and administrators are doing the best they can in a challenging period. There are lots of calls for more transparency and clarity, but sometimes, on time, still can take a little while. I would rather err on the side of caution and have a slow response than be hasty and cause more harm.

What is your vision for the future of Durham Public Schools, and how would you help to achieve it?

Millicent Rogers: I am here to advocate for all families – families of color, families of children with disabilities, literally all families – to be in the places where decisions are being made within our schools. According to census data, 44% of families in Durham are single-parent households just like mine. We all need a seat at the table. I truly believe that we can make Durham a place where all families matter. I intend to make sure our policies keep people at the center, that families are able to have language access, and are given every opportunity to ensure student success. There are programs in place supporting Instructional Assistants to becoming certified educators, I would like to see that expanded to supporting our students to find jobs within DPS right after high school and to make sure that we have students entering college to become educators and bus drivers, facilities workers, and more being work ready upon graduation from high school.

Durham Public Schools, like many districts, faces challenges with achievement gaps. What strategies would you use to address these gaps?

Millicent Rogers: I proposed that the DPS Board of Education do a call to action for our administration to prioritize transparency of how they are educating Black students from a place of excellence with the Black and Hispanic Student Achievement Plan. I learned of the Black Student Achievement plans in LA Unified School District and Culver City United School District which have Black student achievement plans that have financial backing and full-time positions that help to advance Black students’ connectedness to school and their academic progress. I worked with my colleague Jessica Carda-Auten to create a Durham-centered plan and realized that these gaps in Durham apply to more than just Black students. This plan also will allow the district to more transparently evaluate DPS programming and curriculum district-wide and at each individual school. This plan will measure student outcomes and program effectiveness alongside the financial investment required to sustain the program. It is important that our students get the educational outcomes that they deserve and that residents and taxpayers are able to see an adequate return on that investment.

How would you engage with and incorporate feedback from diverse communities in Durham into your decision-making process?

Millicent Rogers: I like to hear all the perspectives and acknowledge as many varying experiences as possible. I need to seek out the perspective of the most marginalized to give their input, we are often overlooked and do not always have the means required to overcome circumstances imposed on us by policy and practices. It is also really important to me to understand that some policies are made with the best intentions in mind and can or should be modified based on the true impact they are having on the community. Some people believe that we should make decisions that serve the most people, but I think we should make the choices that cause the least harm to the most marginalized subgroups being served by that policy.

What are the greatest challenges that you think DPS faces and how should the board address those challenges?

Millicent Rogers: The greatest challenge facing DPS right now, is that we have to work to build a better DPS for the future. Rebuild trust from the ground up to ensure a successful implementation of Growing Together–the district’s most comprehensive redistricting plan to be implemented since I was a student in this system 30 years ago. Navigating before and aftercare, transportation, and ensuring all hiring is complete in time to serve families efficiently and effectively will be important. DPS has to be making the correct investments and allotments that will allow every single student to have access to the educational programming and expertise that they deserve.

What policies or initiatives would you support to enhance the safety and mental health resources available to students at our schools?

Millicent Rogers: I would like to see more initiatives that support the humanness of everyone in Durham Public Schools buildings. Support systems should dismantle institutional racism, homophobia, and transphobia, and implicit bias that are manifested within Durham Public Schools when communication is not made available in the necessary languages, when schools play Christian music during announcements, and when educators or staff violate any of the laws and policies in place to support the most marginalized communities. Some practices can be stopped and replaced with more inclusive practices.

DPS staff and educators should be reminded annually of tools and techniques that have been implemented district-wide to educate all students from a place of excellence and self-worth. We should be implementing the use of the Compassion Resilience Toolkit for Schools to help educators rejuvenate themselves throughout the year. This toolkit has helped educators find a better work-life balance across the country. It has provided an increased awareness of their biases and given them more capacity to meet students and families where they are.

Every school in our district deserves to have an educator community that is able to break through the barriers of trauma and use their acquired skillset to demonstrate a better understanding of how all members of a school community that identify as LGBTQIA+, Black, Latinx, or members of other marginalized communities deserve access to an inclusive and culturally responsive education.

DPS should also reset the restorative practice methods and ensure that all schools have the tools and resources to implement proper restorative practices and begin educating students on how to create restorative atmospheres during their transition years (Kindergarten, 6th, and 9th grades). Teaching students how to create more inclusive and restorative classrooms will help with their ability to think critically and begin navigating these skills sooner and more independently.

Would you like to add anything else for consideration that hasn’t already been touched upon?

Millicent Rogers: I look forward to serving Durham and our families for the next four years.

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