JOSHUA FERRARO Martin County School Board, District Five. . .
Experience Local Knowledge Passion for Education Consensus Building
Dear Neighbors: My name is Joshua D. Ferraro and I am a candidate for the Martin County School Board, District Five. Thank you for taking the time to visit my website and for your commitment to ensuring that our community continues to provide a top-notch education to each and every child that has the good fortune to grow up in our county.
As a life-long resident of Martin County and a proud member of the MCHS class of ’98, I have a vested interest in ensuring that our education system meets and exceeds your expectations. I will do this by advancing effective policies, practicing vigilant oversight and setting the highest possible standards for our teachers, staff and administration.
Toward that end, both my candidacy and my time on the School Board will be dedicated to four overarching principles:
100% Reading Proficiency within 10 Years
Right now in Martin County, more than forty-two percent (42%) of students are unable to read proficiently by the third grade. As a citizen, a taxpayer, a parent and a candidate, I find this statistic to be both alarming and tragic.
Third grade reading performance is a vital indicator of success because that is the period where students transition from reading-to-learn to learning-to-read. In other words, a child who cannot read proficiently by the third grade will fall further and further behind as he or she is unable to understand text books and class assignments. In fact, third grade reading levels are so important that social scientists can use them to predict the number of teen pregnancies, high school drop-outs and even prison populations that will occur as students get older.
The good news is that we have the ability to fix this problem without the need to expend a great deal of resources. We can do so by creating practical programs that educate parents on the need to communicate with their children before they enter Kindergarten and providing them with the tools to do so. We know that 85% of a child's brain develops between ages 0-5 and with a small investment of time and effort we can use this fact to our advantage by giving future students a leg-up right from the beginning of their lives.
Fiscal Accountability
Individuals and institutions do their best work when they are accountable for their success and failures. In the private marketplace, companies are accountable to their customers, their shareholders and the bottom line. Government agencies lack these natural protections and therefore the School Board must practice vigilant oversight to ensure accountability for every penny spent on your behalf. When elected, I will ensure that every financial decision is scrutinized to ensure that Martin County is receiving fair value for its money.
Political Advertisement paid for and approved by Joshua Ferraro for Martin County School Board, District Five