Excellence in Education

There is still work to be done to recover from pandemic-related learning loss. Reading and math proficiency scores are better, but they are still not where they should be.

• • Promote early literacy using evidence-based methods and high-dosage tutoring programs
  • Push for a thorough assessment of the math curriculum
  • Broaden career and technical education (CTE) offerings to prepare students for employment

Support and Retain Teachers

The current shortage of teachers and support staff is threatening the quality of our children’s education.

• • Advocate to state legislators to increase teacher pay to combat the rise in cost of living
  • Expand Future Teachers Program to nurture young people to pursue teaching
  • Recruit professionals from outside of public education to become teachers

Parental Engagement

Parents are the best experts of their children’s learning and know how to bring out the best in them. Meanwhile, teachers can be important mentors to the children while at school.

• • Support initiatives to improve parent/teacher communication and collaboration
  • Create more volunteer opportunities for parents to provide help in school
  • Take school board meetings on the road to make it easier for parents to voice their concerns directly

Curriculum Transparency

Parents have the fundamental right and moral obligation to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their children.

• • Preserve the freedom of teachers to design curriculum in keeping with state standards
  • Support parents’ right to know what their children are being taught
  • Maintain parents’ final authority to opt out of material that they find objectionable.

Special Education Reform

The state’s special education funding has not been revised since 1993. Funding shortfalls and staffing shortages are undermining the children’s right to a free appropriate public education.

• • Advocate to overhaul the funding formula to reflect current costs and increasing needs
  • Strengthen support for teachers to prevent burnout
  • Ensure timely and efficient IEP referral process
  • Improve availability and reliability of special transportation

Ensure School Safety

Parents, teachers, and students all need to feel that their school is a safe place for learning. This includes a sense of physical safety and a sense of emotional well-being.

• • Modernize aging facilities to provide a secure and comfortable place for learning
  • Improve school safety by installing effective security solutions and providing annual emergency response training for all school staff
  • Ensure School Resource Officers receive comprehensive training in their role at school
  • Review how schools address bullying and other misconduct, making sure disciplinary procedures are clearly communicated, fair to all parties, and effective in reducing future incidences

 

Product of Public Education and the American Dream

At the age of eight, my family and I immigrated from Hong Kong to the United States and settled in Texas, to seek a better life for ourselves. We were very poor in the beginning, but we knew that education was our way out of poverty. I did not know much English at first, but I soon overcame the language barrier with the help of a few dedicated teachers. In middle school, my teachers saw the potential in me, and I was tapped to be a part of a pioneering gifted and talented program. High school was filled with tough classes that challenged me and prepared me well for college. I support public education wholeheartedly because I owe all my success in life to the excellent education I received.

 

A Life of Service and Advocacy

I have been a physician in Raleigh for over 19 years, and I have dedicated my career healing, restoring, and serving people with disabilities. I was appointed by the governor to serve on the North Carolina Council on Development Disabilities, helping to set policies that positively impact the disability community. I am active at my church and sit on the board of a missionary organization serving in El Salvador. However, my greatest joy and achievement is being a devoted husband and father to two wonderful girls, one of whom has Down Syndrome. Raising a child with a disability has taught me so much about putting another person’s needs before my own. In fact, this has been the inspiration for my desire to serve the people of Wake County.

 

Focus on Education

Education has always been a major emphasis in my life. During college, I worked as a math and science tutor for other university students. In my early medical career, I was a clinical professor, teaching the next generation of physicians. Even now, I am a regular lecturer to the hospital staff. I may not have a degree in education, but my passion for teaching and sharing what I know runs deep. It is wonderful to see students’ eyes light up with excitement when they learn something new. The great motivating factor for serving on the School Board, and the reason I am running for re-election this year, is to help foster the best learning environment for both teachers and students.