Meet your candidates: District 4 board of education

Along with Birmingham’s upcoming mayoral race and election for city council, Birmingham City Schools is also holding elections for new Board of Education members. This year, there are 32 candidates in the running for a total of nine seats.

Of the current nine board members, four are seeking re-election: District 4 representative Daagye Hendricks, District 6 representative Cheri Gardner, District 7 representative Wardine Alexander and District 9 representative Sandra Brown. District 5 representative Randall Woodfin is not seeking re-election but instead running for the mayor’s seat.

District 4 includes Hayes K-8 School, Hudson K-8 School, Inglenook PreK-8 School, Woodlawn High School and Kennedy Alternative School.

Elections are on Aug. 22. To learn more about the candidates, click on the links below.

Amber Courtney 

“We are not and cannot, by virtue of our various roles, only be mothers and parents —we all work to contribute to a thriving, diverse society that spurs community and economic growth,” said Amber Courtney, who is running to represent District 4 in the Birmingham Board of Education. “As such, when I have children, I want this educational system to be prepared to teach them on a global level, which is why I am preparing for them today by, if elected, humbly taking on the responsibility of providing a path for success for the 25,104 children already enrolled in our schools.”

Although Courtney has never held an elected position before — which she does not see as a negative — she has had experience with the school system through observation and research done for her doctoral dissertation in education from the University of Alabama and through observations of school board meetings. In addition to the educational field, she also has experience in national and international governmental agencies and understands municipal procedures.

Courtney believes that using an educator’s perspective is helpful to understand curriculum and program development, and as a public servant working daily for neighborhood stabilization and revitalization programs, she understands how education can have a role in economic and community development.

She believes that in order to help the city grow and have students succeed, “… the narrative needs to change, and that starts with vision, leadership and folks that have the capacity as well as genuine desire to stand up for our children — current and future,” she said.

Courtney decided to run for election when she heard the statement, “…when I got here, we only had 20 failing schools. Now, we only have 13…” from a current representative at a recent neighborhood meeting, and she felt one challenged school was too many.

“As such, I decided to run because I wanted to be someone that stopped complaining about the state of our community and attempted to do something—and do it right with the capacity and genuine intention it takes to make something work well while applying my passion for children and education,” she said. “What we’re currently doing isn’t working for our students and families and I want to help steer us in the right direction.”

She is looking to help create a board that does not look at the system district by district but rather as a whole, and one that supports the current superintendent.

If elected, she wants to make sure that board members are creating a path for success for students with “blanket programming that is communicate and partnership-based,” she said. Courtney believes trade education and language programming, as well as access to technology beyond computers are an important part of a child’s schooling and that students should have the opportunity to learn from one another.

Courtney would also like to work on rebuilding bridges between students, stakeholders, leadership and residents. “A lot of trust has been breached and that needs to be repaired through a sense of transparency and a clear understanding of procedures in order to move forward together in changing this system for the better,” she said.

For more information about Courtney and her campaign, visit ambercourtney.com and facebook.com/ambercourtneyforschoolboard, or contact her at 578-2458 or amberforschoolboardd4@gmail.com.

Daagye Hendricks 

Current District 4 representative Daagye Hendricks has worked within the Birmingham community for many years, including previously at the Wee Care Academy, a 25-year family business. Now, Hendricks works as patient navigator at UAB, serves children from ages six weeks through high school and mentors college students in the area.

She has also served on the Birmingham Pledge, National Council for Community Justice and Norwood Resource Center boards and is a founding member of the Birmingham Urban League Young Professionals group. Currently Hendricks is a member of the Birmingham Chapter of the Links, Inc. and the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She received bachelor’s degree in business from Clark Atlanta University and her executive MBA from the University of Alabama.

While serving as the District 4 representative, the school system’s reserve fund balance increased from six months on hand to one year and seven months of reserve/emergency funds.

Also, the schools listed as “failing” in District 4 was reduced by 50 percent and accreditation was restored for all 44 schools.

A mother to Noah Harvill, Hendricks is as an active member of the PTA at Phillips Academy and her motto is, “All children can succeed, provided the tools and opportunities to do so,” according to a submitted biography. She supports one-to-one technology for all students and has worked to increase wi-fi availability for all Birmingham residents.

Find Hendricks on Facebook.

Other candidates who qualified in District 4 include:

• Edward Maddox

Editor’s note: This is an ongoing article that will be updated as more information becomes available.