Candidate Seeking More Involvement, Choices for Parents
Sunny Weigand, candidate for Greenville County School Board, District 17, that includes the northernmost part of Greenville County, has a broad range of education, training and experience.
She has experience in public private and home schooling. She has taught in elementary schools, special education programs, and worked as a tutor for public and private school students. She has also served as education consultant to parent groups, school administrators and elected officials.
Her motivation and desire to serve the education needs of District 17 are best expressed in her own words.
I moved to Greenville from Georgia with my family in 1991. My husband went to work at Bob Jones University. I became the first homeschool consultant for Bob Jones University Press advising new home schooling families, seasoned home schooling families, and participated in home school conferences. I also traveled across the country with BJU Press and a team of educators meeting parents and conducting workshops to equip parents to teach their children by using excellent curriculum and academic methods that would provide their children with academic success. I also traveled on educational teams conducting workshops for private school teachers.
During that time, I began receiving an increasing number of calls from parents of public, private or home schooled children who were struggling with learning difficulties. I knew what had worked for me, but I wanted to be a credible educational consultant so I began to work on a degree in special education. I did my practicums, student observations, and eventually student teaching in the public schools. I received my degree in Special Education in May, 2000, and was honored and humbled to receive a Student Teacher of the Year award in Special Education. In September, 2001, I was asked to teach at Bob Jones Elementary School in their Learning Resource Center. The LRC was set up to help students who struggle academically and who need more one-on-one teaching. It was my privilege to teach at BJ Elementary for seven years. During those years, I also tutored children after school to help them keep pace with their subjects. I tutored students during the summer months reviewing subject content as well as helping some students prepare for their next year. After teaching at BJ Elementary, I began to tutor home school, private school, and public school students full time. I just love working with students. I love encouraging and challenging students to accomplish great things with the gifts and talents God has given them. I love partnering with parents to help their children achieve academic success.
I am running for School Board District 17 because I want to encourage more parental involvement in their children’s education. Parents should have a choice as to which school their child attends that best meets the needs of their children. I want to establish better public/private school partnerships. And most of all, I believe that we need to clearly focus on student performance. We complain that our State ranks among the lowest in the United States in the academic arena. We need to address this issue head on and find out why this continues. We need to shine the spotlight on our children’s academic needs and our teachers’ abilities to provide the environment and tools to deliver an excellent educational experience rather than on administrative accomplishments and agendas.
