What is your name?

Franchesca Warren

Tell us more about yourself.

As the current Fulton County school board member, Franchesca Warren is the mother to four children who all attend (or graduated) from District 4 schools. As a former teacher, instructional coach, literacy coordinator and district administrator, Franchesca has spent the last 16 years advocating for students who live South of I-20. In 2016, she founded South Fulton Parents for Education, a think tank dedicated to helping parents understand how systems level frameworks and using it to advocate for their students.

What office are you running for?

Fulton County School Board, District 4

What is your party affiliation?

Democrat

Attach a photo of yourself

Attach your resume or CV.

Where did you go to school?

- Ed.D., Educational Leadership, Georgia State University, (in progress) - Certificate Program, School Turnaround Leaders Institute, Harvard University - M.A., Instruction and Curriculum, University of Memphis, 2005 - B.A. English, University of Memphis, 2002

Provide the link to your campaign website.

www.electfranchesca.com

What is your job/occupation?

Educator

What city/neighborhood do you live in?

City of South Fulton

Is this your first time running for office?

No

What experiences have best prepared you to hold elected office?

My time as an educator and parent advocate have helped me to not only understand what it's like to be in front of a classroom, but to use that experience as I sit in the seat as a school board member. In addition, as a mother and current Fulton County Schools parent, I have a responsibility to help move the district forward while utilizing my experiences and expertise.

What is the most critical issue currently facing your district and how would you address it?

Fulton County Schools is facing several issues that impact our district. First, we are seeing the COVID-19 pandemic-era federal funding is ending. It's critical for the district to ensure students and staff still maintain our commitment to educating children at a high level while being fiscally responsible for our $1 billion budget. To address this pitfall, it will take us moving some of the programs, positions and initiatives into our general funds and looking for more grants to continue to provide these programs for our students and staff.

What are your thoughts on the role of public schools in educating students about potentially controversial topics?

Public schools have a responsiblity to teach students the Georgia standards which include teaching accurate history. What one person deems as controversial is another group's history and it's important that we not silence history to make others feel comfortable.

What’s something the district isn’t doing now that you think it should do?

There needs to be an overhaul on the teaching of mathematics, just like we've done literacy. Students need more time with manipulatives, time on mastering concepts and time to process mathematics that does not include more standardized testing. Just like we've revamped the teaching of literacy using evidence-based practices, we should do the same for math and with the same intensity. We've invested $90 million dollars for the science of reading due to federal funding and we need that type of funding to revamp how math should be taught.

What would you suggest so your school board can work better together?

The current FCS Board, spends a lot of time working together so we can do what's best for all students. This takes a collaborative approach where we have to tackle hard issues (budgets, COVID-19, divisive concepts, etc.) with even harder conversations.

What do you think about a parental requirement to “opt in” if they want their child to receive sex education?

An opt-in for children to receive sex education is practical in case parents want to "get in front of" topics or go deeper into sex education. However, opting in/out, of sexual education should be a personal decision between a parent and child — not a consequence for all students.