Five Questions for Matt Clapham, School Board Trustee candidate for District 3
In March, all candidates for local and state positions filed their intention to run for office, in everything from the senate to the school board.
The 2022 Nevada Primary Election will be held on Tuesday, June 14.
*Early Voting begins on Saturday, May 28 and runs through Friday, June 10.
The 2022 Nevada General Election will be held on Tuesday, November 8.
*Early voting begins on Saturday, October 22 and runs through Friday, November 4.
Each candidate will be asked five questions relating to their position as a part of the Five Question series from Carson Now.
Matt Clapham is running for School Board Trustee of Ward 3.
1) What is the greatest challenge our schools are facing currently?
Teachers are not given the credit for what they do. They are the individuals that make this District what it is. They are the "boots on the ground." The individuals that do the educating. They do the day-to-day work: teach, grade, interact, set an example and inspire our children and youth to think on their own. They prepare our kids for their future.
In society right now, especially in Nevada, there is not much support for the "boots on the ground" teacher. Many want to blame our teachers for what children are not learning, children's shortcomings or better yet, what they are learning.
If society continues to place blame on teachers, it's going to drive them away to other careers that will acknowledge them for what they do bring to the table. We need to partner with our teachers, encourage them, supplement what they are instructing and build on the strengths they are imparting on our children.
2) What do you think is the solution to that challenge?
As I said in question #1, we need to partner with our teachers, supplement what they are instructing and build on the strengths they are imparting to our children. As parents, we need to continue our part at home. Take responsibility for what we control at home. Sit down with our kids, read to them, read with them each day, challenge them, and get them thinking and talking about what they are learning.
3) What is the best decision the Carson City School Board has made in the past year, and why?
The School Board is faced with making many decisions. In the past year, they've been confronted with immensely difficult topics to decide on, and they will continue to be. That is their role. But the thing I admire most and would say is their best decision is not pertaining to any one concrete topic. It's more about their decision to listen, learn, become informed and then make the decisions they need to make.
4) What in your background makes you an ideal candidate for the school board?
Most important, I'm a parent of two kids in this District. I see the day-to-day life of a typical student. I see the work their teachers put into them and what the return is on my child's education. I'm a regular parent like everyone else. What separates me from another candidate is the view I have from the Juvenile Probation perspective. I'm able to see multiple aspects of how the education system works. For example, the personal interactions of teachers with the individual student, how they teach with passion and love, how they handle the "troubled" student as well as the "good" student. I see administrators' interactions with the students and how they discipline, counsel, and mentor students who enter their offices. I have seen how the School Board interacts and handles the "troubled" youth who, at an expulsion hearing, is given another chance for success, and allowed to remain in school.
5) What is the top priority project or idea that you like the school board to implement in the next five years?
The idea I'd like to see our School Board, the School District and our State Legislature partner in is the ability to impel parents to take responsibility for their child's education. Parents must understand that they have the greatest impact on their child's education and future. The idea that every parent would be responsible to have their child at school, prepared, ready to learn and to do it each and every day.
You can follow Matt on social media on his Twitter page.