This fall, residents of the Little City will choose from a pool of five candidates for the elections of the next School Board. Two candidates are running for the first time, and three are running for re-election. Each week, The Lasso will be profiling the candidates to provide a forum for their ideas and perspectives. The second candidate profiled in our interview series is Anne Sherwood, who is running for her first full term.
Last November, Sherwood ran in a special election to replace former board member David Ortiz, who moved out of the district. Prior to being elected, she served on the School Board Advisory Committee as the Advanced Academics Advisor for three years, on the Elementary School International Night Committee for two years, and was the scholarship coordinator for the Choral Boosters.
By starting her term in the middle of the school year, Sherwood jumped right into the thick of the board’s work with the process of hiring a new superintendent.
“It forced me to learn quickly, and was a really great opportunity to learn because we held listening sessions and had surveys to collect feedback from the community,” she said.
An integral part of Sherwood’s campaign is its focus on Falls Church’s tight-knit community, as represented by her slogan, “Because strong schools mean a strong community.”
“A lot of people move to the city because of great schools and education, and a lot of people have stayed here even after their kids have graduated,” she explained, “This is in part because they feel a sense of community having been here and heavily involved.”
Maintaining educational excellence is very important to the people of Falls Church City. Sherwood’s primary focuses are keeping small class sizes, remaining attentive to all types of students and their needs, and adapting to new changes.
“I want us to be future focused in the sense that we are able to meet these new challenges and thrive,” she commented.
Sherwood advocates for attention and awareness to the issue of AI. Recently, the school board put together an ad hoc committee composed of students and community members with expertise on the subject.
“AI is here, so I don’t think we can have a policy that does not allow students to use it,” she elaborated, “It’s got to be a policy that requires students to use this tool responsibly and creatively.”
Last year, the school board received feedback on what a cell phone policy should look like. The policy established guidelines for phones to be away during instructional time at Meridian and phones to be kept away all day for Henderson. This policy is set up to be revisited every year.
“I think this is really important, not just because technology is changing, but because the date on the effectiveness of these sorts of policies has been developing a lot.”
Both technology and the Falls Church population is rapidly evolving, and Sherwood wants to emphasize that a growing student population means greater diversity of needs.
“What makes us attractive is our small class sizes and the care that teachers give to students, and it is our responsibility to preserve that,” she observed.
She greatly values listening and understanding every perspective on each issue that she comes across.
“My goal is not to push an agenda that I already have, but to understand what the community needs and values, and how I can help make that happen.”
