School board member Ricardy Anderson vows to fight for Mason District schools

School board member Ricardy Anderson told the crowd at her re-election campaign kickoff on April 16 that she will work hard to ensure Mason District schools get enough resources.

Anderson is one of just four members of the Fairfax County School Board running for re-election. Before she was first elected in 2019, Anderson was a principal and teacher in Loudoun County.

Mason District has 13 schools designated by the federal government as Title I schools, meaning they have a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students. More than half the students in Mason District – 55 percent – are considered economically disadvantaged, Anderson noted.

“We know the impact that has on academic learning,” she said. Before the staff can even get to instruction, they have to consider whether children had something to eat and a place to live. This means “we are starting from behind.”

“My goal for the Mason District is need-based allocation of funding and human resources,” she said. Merely giving each school the same resources isn’t equitable. “Our needs here are so great. I think we must do a much better job of addressing that.”  

In some Mason District schools, 90 percent of the students are eligible for free and reduced-price meals. “I don’t have a lot of patience when people are complaining about places where the FRM is 6 percent,” she said.

Related story: School board member Ricardy Anderson announces re-election plans

Anderson lauded the FCPS Trust Policy, which was approved by the school board last May, to ensure families can access school services without fear of being turned over to immigration officials. “We have to make sure they feel safe here,” she said.

Parents are seen “as a collaborator when it comes to your children’s education,” Anderson said. “It’s a false narrative that parents don’t have rights.”

She stressed the importance of teaching students accurate history and described how upsetting it was when someone called her the N word at a recent meeting with the Bren Mar Park Elementary School community. “What impact would we have had if we had a space where our students understand the true history of that term, of the contribution of Black people to this county?” she said. “Would that increase tolerance? Would that decrease hate? I truly believe that.”

If re-elected, Anderson would work to continue to ensure Mason students have the same opportunities as everyone else. “The narrative that has been happening that our kids cannot succeed is one I do not accept.”

Rep. Gerry Connolly lauded Anderson for seeking to stay on the board when school board members are being attacked by those who want to burn books.

Most school board members here and across the country are “highly motivated people who care about our kids and our schools,” Connolly said. “They didn’t sign up for people savaging them on social media, storming meetings, and calling them names. and worse – making threats.”

He said, “Ricardy wants to continue in that environment and make sure the light doesn’t go out.”