Zargarpur puts student success at forefront of Coles District School Board campaign

With many years of experience as a teacher for Fairfax County Public Schools, Lisa Zargarpur wants the focus to be on student success and better funding in Prince William County.

She lives outside Manassas and is running for Prince William County School Board for the Coles District.

Name: Lisa Zargarpur

Party: Independent

Town: Manassas

Running for: School Board, Coles District

Website: lisazargarpur.com, Twitter, Facebook

Work: General Music Teacher for grades K-6 in Fairfax County Public Schools

Education: Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts from George Mason University, Master of Education from University of Mary Washington

Community Involvement: Lisa Zargarpur was one of the founders of the Old Bridge Chamber Orchestra. She is part of the Dale City Civic Association and sits on the board of BEACON for Adult Literacy. She is a member of the PACE committee at Dal Al Noor and has been involved with events with Unity in the Community and VOICE. As a music educator she has run musical honors groups and enrichment groups at schools for her students.

Questions and Answers

PL: What are the top three major issues facing the district you wish to represent? 

Zargarpur: Student success is my top priority. We do this by making sure we have secure schools with reasonable class sizes. This, in turn, creates a lighter workload for teachers who are then better able to meet the needs of our students.

PL: What concrete solutions do you propose to address these issues?

Zargarpur: Class size reduction comes with some hefty considerations. We need to ensure that the School Board is advocating our legislators for better funding and working along with the Board of County Supervisors on making sure we find solutions for the student we have today and plan for the students we will have in the future. I’m concerned about student projection numbers when it comes to rezoning and building new schools. The Board of County Supervisors has so many developments and housing units planned that our schools cannot keep up with the pace of growth- as such, there are trailers and modular buildings at our schools which help create teaching spaces. These are temporary solutions that become part of the PWCS landscape. I think the school division needs to work with the county planning office closely to make sure that community needs and public school space needs are matched better. The school division should also look at any renovation or new construction project by asking if the building could have flexible space to accommodate the needs of the community in 5, 10, and 20 years. With more teaching spaces we can hire more teachers which will help reduce class size so that they can make sure they meet the needs of our students.

School security includes improvements to our buildings that move visitors into an office space where they can be checked in. PWCS also received some grant money to be able to hire extra security. Students and staff are required by the state to do monthly fire drills and 4 annual lock-down drills. But safety is an everyday practice. We can build a supportive school culture through entire school pyramids if we harness the power of community. Programs like The Positivity Project work for K-12 and build resiliency and kindness in our students. I am hopeful that the hiring of the additional counselors will help our students and staff meet more of the needs of our students. I am still concerned about the potential administrative workload on counseling staff so I will be interested in an evaluation after their first year. I’m also concerned about how fast our world has changed with technology and we need to help our students navigate through it through a lens of best practices and safety. Partnering with police and FBI, we can educate our children and our families (bonus: these programs are already paid for through our taxes).

By training all staff in cultural competency and diving deep into the practice, we will also be able to meet the needs of all of our learners. This work is already being done in PWCS and I will support this program so that it can meet the needs of our diverse district.

Though Prince William County Schools has a billion dollar budget, the school division talks about how well we educate our children for that price tag (lowest dollars spent per student in the region). But we can’t accept that as our standard. We need to make sure our students are learning in safe spaces in classes that aren’t too big from teachers who do not feel stress from the workload. We need to empower our leaders to be able to motivate our students to be life-long learners who have a plan for their next step whether it is college, career, military, or moving right into a job.

PL: From your perspective, what is the job description of the office you’re seeking?

Zargarpur: School board members should be champions for public education. They hire the superintendent, work on policy and the budget, and make sure that all students receive a high-quality education while adhering to the state and federal laws and guidelines.

PL: What expertise will you bring to the office?

Zargarpur: I am a teacher who has walked the walk. I know what it is like to teach both in sub-standard rooms and in amazingly equipped spaces. I know what large class size feels like. I know what ready-to-learn truly means for a student. As a mom, I know what it is like to worry about your child and how you could possibly pay for college. I’m also a self-proclaimed education geek who takes professional development for fun. I have advocated about public education issues to local, state, and federal elected representatives. I’ve organized and attended forums and roundtables to discuss education.

PL: Do you feel that the average citizen is well-informed and understands the workings of local government?

Zargarpur: I think when you have a child in public school, you pay more attention to what the school issues are. I’m not sure how many families reach out to their school board members. I think school board members who show up to various school events or meetings tend to make connections with their community. I’d love to hold community roundtables and education town halls.

PL: Have you ever made any mistakes in your public life? How have they affected you?

Zargarpur: I have always learned from my mistakes though sometimes that process can give you growing pains.

PL: Our readers want leaders in local government. Why should they vote for you?

Zargarpur: I was raised to be a helper. My parents modeled it. As a private citizen, I’ve always helped when asked and I value the relationships I’ve built with others. I’ve been an advocate for public education for a long time and made sure that my representatives know what issues affect our schools and offered to be part of the solution. I also believe in the intersectionality of issues, so I try to learn about other things and work with the experts in those spaces. Local government leaders should empower people to work together.