Isle of Wight County School Board interviews Stella Bradshaw to fill District 5 vacancy

Stella Bradshaw, a recently retired educator, told the Isle of Wight County School Board on June 16 that she would bring her 35 years of teaching experience and long-standing advocacy for special education to the District 5 seat the board is preparing to fill temporarily.

Bradshaw, a county resident for more than 45 years, said she spent 16 years at Westside Elementary and five years at Carrsville Elementary and that those experiences have given her ‘‘a unique and comprehensive understanding of our school system.’’ She described her daughter’s needs and her own work pushing for occupational, physical and speech therapy and for trained special-education instructional aides to be provided closer to students’ homes rather than by bussing them to other schools.

‘‘They were going to take my three-year-old baby and bus her to Carrollton Elementary School for OT, PT and speech,’’ Bradshaw said, recounting why she began advocating for local services. She told the board that after sustained effort ‘‘they finally conceded and provided services at Carrsville Elementary School for all sped students.’’

Board members questioned how Bradshaw would separate her prior classroom and advocacy roles from the board’s oversight responsibilities. A board member noted that many long-serving educators on boards can become ‘‘rubber stamps’’ for superintendents and asked how she would define a board member’s role in operations, policy, finance and community relations. Bradshaw said communication and representing each district’s needs would guide her work and that she did not expect difficulty ‘‘turning that switch off’’ from educator to board overseer.

When asked whether she intended to seek the seat in the next general election, Bradshaw said she has ‘‘already filed papers and started the process to run in November.’’

Officials also pressed for specifics about what her advocacy entailed. Bradshaw said she worked with teachers, principals, the superintendent and the district’s special-education director to broaden services, increase trained aides and adapt classroom testing so students with disabilities could access instruction and demonstrate learning without being overwhelmed.

Asked about district priorities, Bradshaw said supporting teachers and continuing to expand special-education services would be central. She added that Westside needs a new school and that work is already underway on that project.

On student discipline, Bradshaw said classroom management and strong relationships reduce problems and that administrators set the tone for discipline; she advocated individualized approaches rather than blanket policies. To evaluate programs beyond test scores, she suggested tracking graduation, employment and postsecondary training as measures of success.

The board did not vote on an appointment at the June 16 session. Members said they plan to hold a public hearing and make the appointment at some point between the meeting and the July 15 board meeting; Bradshaw said she will be on a Mediterranean cruise on July 15 and expects to be introduced to the board and begin serving in August. The board had earlier voted unanimously to approve the meeting agenda.

The board adjourned after the interview.