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 fourth candidate profiled in our interview series is Sharon Mergler, who is running for her first term.
Mergler graduated from Ohio State University with a bachelors in early childhood education. She moved to Fairfax shortly after graduation and has worked within the FCPS district. She worked at a preschool program for autistic children at Franklin Sherman in McLean. Later, she taught an independent preschool program, working privately with kids at other schools. Now she is a preschool resource special education teacher and works with students and IEPs in FCPS.
“I love early childhood special education and creating a team of people to help students and families that I get to know throughout the process of creating IEPs,” Mergler explained.
Mergler’s background in public education helps provide insight into the effects that some school board policies have on school communities
Put in place last year, the cell phone policy is an integral part of the day-to-day lives of students and staff alike. Data from researchers on the effects of technology on adolescent minds, coupled with feedback from parents, goals of teachers, and the opinions of students all provide different perspectives. Mergler’s position on the school board would require listening to these voices and taking all information into account when revising the policy this year.
“I think the most important thing is to have input from students and families and create a plan to move forward,” she added.
The board must also begin the process of drafting a policy aimed at addressing the issues of AI in the classroom. The goal is to create a policy that is revisited each year and reflects the feedback and requests of the teachers, students, parents, and other community members.
“It’s a tool, but I think we need to teach students and educators what’s appropriate in terms of what’s our objective with our students,” Mergler commented.
With new apartments being built readily throughout Falls Church, our school system is and will be receiving more students now and in the coming years. A growing student population and a more widespread spectrum of needs are both addressed by the school board. Mergler believes her perspective as a teacher in a classroom would bring an integral viewpoint for the board to take into account.
“I think diversity is wonderful, and I think it does help education,” she commented. “I think it’s something that we really need to have an open mind and consider for the possibility of how we’re going to grow and be able to maintain those low class sizes.”
In order to provide the same excellent levels of help to a greater number of students, a solution would include hiring new teachers and ensuring that current teachers receive what they need to operate with as much support as possible. Mergler’s experience as a teacher and as a member of the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers helps to bring a helpful perspective and voice to advocate for FCCPS teachers.
“I want people to see me as an advocate, someone that they can approach and that I’m very accessible. I want to have that communication.”
