2020 Candidates

Christina Diaz-Torres

As a teacher, an education policy professional and an active member of the community, I have shown that I can not only advocate for our students, but also deliver results.
As a Board Member, I will focus on three things:

• First, I will ensure we have transformative educators with the support, resources and skills they need to serve every student.
• Secondly, we must improve how we share data with the public so that all  can see who our systems impact, and how we improve instruction for all.
• Finally, I will bring an equity lens to budget and construction, particularly as the district evolves to welcome and effectively serve our growing community.

I have over 10 years of education experience where I initially started working in a Title 1, high poverty school.  I saw first hand the impact that the weight of an entire system has on students in the margins of our educational system.  After teaching in the classroom, I moved on to more fully understand how policy is formed and created at the federal level where (in Senator Sheldon Whitehouse's Office) I specifically worked on the 'Every Student Shall Succeed' Act, college and career readiness, and overall workforce development.  Presently, I sit on 3 important county commissions where I review both the county and school budgets.  Professionally, I spend my days supporting education organizations and system leaders through strategic consulting where I help them create policies that benefit students of color and students from low income communities.

Steven Krieger

Steven Krieger has been an Arlington resident for over 10 years and is the father of a 3^rd grade student and 3 year old. He graduated with a business degree from the University of Michigan and law degree from UCLA. Throughout his career, Steven has been a problem solver.  He opened his own litigation firm, Steven Krieger Law, PLLC, to provide high-quality legal counsel to people who could not afford market rate attorneys.  A few years later, to make a larger impact, he founded Access to Justice Lawyer Referral Service, a non-profit 501(c)(3) dedicated to helping middle class people find affordable legal representation by matching attorneys willing to accept clients at a reduced rate and sliding scale based on the client’s income. Steven is also a Guardian ad litem for children, which is a court-appointed lawyer for children involved in the court system. Steven is running for School Board because he believes that our school system could benefit from his problem solving approach: Practical Solutions. Honest Answers. For Everyone.  Steven is a social justice advocate and father of two school-aged children who has been directly impacted by the decisions of APS, which were not informed by data or the community. Steven is looking forward to meeting you, learning about your community (what you’re most proud of and what challenges you’re facing), and earning your support and vote because you believe in his ability to work with you in collaboration with APS to solve problems and replicate our successes for years to come.

It’s time we elect an experienced educator to the Arlington County School Board.

Why?

Because policy decisions about what happens inside our schools should reflect the realities of what it is like to teach and learn in our schools, day in, day out. With 40 years of experience inside and outside the classroom --- twenty of them in Arlington Public Schools (APS) --- I have lived the impacts of School Board decisions.

My strengths include:

• A demonstrated ability to successfully communicate with and influence constituencies in both the schools and the community
• Proven skills on the “business” side of schools, managing technology infrastructure planning, acquisition and budget for my schools in both Prince William County and Arlington Public Schools
• Thought leadership in instructional design and integration of technology with curriculum, which I have shared locally, regionally and nationally

As a Board member, I will use my unique perspective as a lifelong educator to focus on:

• Smart services planning to grow and optimize the support necessary for success in the classroom, such as more counselors, psychologists, and reading specialists
• Smart instructional planning to ensure that we prioritize professional development for any new initiative
• Smart fiscal planning to guarantee that we can recruit and retain the best teachers, while maintaining the quality in infrastructure and other services that Arlington deserves
• Smart capacity planning to respond to the new growth, shifting populations, and diverse needs of our students

Finally, I believe it is important to have an expectation of success for all our students. But as a teacher and parent, I know that each child may need something a little different to achieve that success. That is the definition of equity for me. Everyone, from the School Board down to every person in our buildings, must be committed to teaching each child --- your child.

It is time to elect an accomplished educator to the School Board, so that the policies enacted by the School Board acknowledge the realities lived in the classroom.

My name is David Priddy. I am a native Arlingtonian brought up through Arlington County Public Schools. I graduated from James Madison University in 1996 with a degree in History. Most of my professional career has been in the elevator industry where I helped manage multimillion dollar budgets for branches in Santa Barbara, Burbank, and Northern Virginia. Currently, I have the honor of being a stay-at-home dad to my two wonderful sons who attend Fleet Elementary and TJ
Middle School.

I am running for School Board because I can add a voice and perspective that is not currently represented on the board. My business experience coupled with being the only candidate with both elementary school and middle school age children currently in APS uniquely positions me to represent the APS experience and to provide direction moving forward. I have had a front-row seat to four decades of positive changes, as well as to the remaining challenges that Arlington County Schools face. Currently I serve as President of Thomas Jefferson Middle School PTA and various other organizations/committees within
APS and the greater community.

My vision for being a member of the School Board is as follows: Achieve equity across APS, proper planning for future growth, and transparent communication. I’ll help continue building a stronger foundation for education in our county with a
detailed plan for my vision.

To learn more about the details of my candidacy, visit https://priddyforschoolboard.com

I look forward to seeing you on the campaign trail.

When I moved to Arlington in 2005, I immediately immersed myself in Democratic politics, becoming active with AYD, ACDC, the 8th CD, DPVA, and the DNC.  For several years, I led ACDC’s outreach efforts, winning its annual outreach award for two consecutive years and starting its tradition of having a booth at Green Valley Community Day. 

Since 2006, I have tutored and mentored in programs at Hoffman-Boston, Drew, Williamsburg, Wakefield, and Harvey Hall, along with the Teen Network Board. I have served on various APS and Arlington County committees, currently co-chairing the Superintendent’s Committee on Equity and Excellence.  Becoming a stepfather in 2018 has provided me an additional perspective on APS’s operations. 

In recent years, I shined a light on APS’s inequities within the Drew graded program and, working with community groups, was able to secure a dedicated building for the Montessori program.  In so doing, we were able to fully return Drew to the Green Valley community and reverse bad desegregation policy.

Our role as educators is to provide every resource possible to our students for them to attain success as they define it, whether it be college, the trades, the military, or entering the workforce. Doing so will require partnering with our unions, local businesses, and government agencies, along with creating operational and budgetary efficiencies within APS. Educating our students is a challenging reward – one that I enthusiastically and proudly undertake as a volunteer and look forward to continuing as a member of your school board.