THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 3, 1995 TAG: 9512020149
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: WHO WILL LEAD OUR SCHOOLS?
SOURCE: PROFILES BY ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
Donald Bailey knew what he was getting into when he decided to run for Chesapeake's School Board.
He served for four years on an elected community school board in New York City. He won even though he didn't have the support of the power structure - two school employees' unions and two political parties.
``We beat the tar with our little shoes and got elected,'' he said.
After that experience, he has an interesting observation about Chesapeake:
``It's a little different in New York,'' he said. ``It's nowhere near as political as it is here.''
In Chesapeake, he said, political power is dispersed among many different groups and individuals. It's difficult for candidates to decide who to court. In New York, everyone knew where the real political muscle was.
``Politics is very important to a lot of people here,'' he said.
That's OK with Bailey, though. He doesn't like being beholden to any group or individual, he said.
He'd rather concentrate on improving Chesapeake's schools, he said. He thinks his New York experience could be valuable.
For example, many parents in Chesapeake are concerned about the number of portable classrooms that dot school grounds.
But ``I think portables are not the worst things you could have,'' Bailey said. They are not too unsightly, he said, and they are an easy solution to a space crunch.
Chesapeake's school crowding is minor compared to New York, he said, where schools were grossly over capacity but where there was no room on the school grounds even to place portables.
Bailey also thinks Chesapeake schools lack a good system of communication from students and teachers up to administrators. He wants students to feel comfortable with the education they're getting, particularly students who are not on the college track.
Those kids should not be labeled into programs called ``alternative'' or ``vocational,'' he said. Labeling is hurtful. Students who are not going into college and white-collar jobs after high school should be made to feel that their contributions are valuable, he said.
He favors grouping kids of all abilities into classrooms together.
``I think that improves everyone's intelligence, because intelligence is not only what you learn from a book,'' he said. ``It's what you learn from people also.''
Bailey also would push for putting trained aides into early childhood classrooms, to help teachers concentrate on giving those kids the help they need.
``That's where we lose them,'' he said. ``If you don't catch them in their younger years, you lose them later.''
Donald J. Bailey
Age: 61
Occupation: Retired from the New York/New Jersey Port Authority
Born: New York City
Years in Chesapeake: Two
Residence: Great Bridge
Family: Wife, Egira; sons Anthony, 23, and Donald Jr., 15
Education: Bachelor's degree in management and communications, Adelphi University, Garden City, New York, 1978; Federal Aviation Administration flight dispatcher's license, 1967; license to teach industrial safety, 1982.
Community Service: Member, Great Bridge Kiwanis Club; coach, Great Bridge Baseball Association; coach, Great Bridge basketball, city Parks and Recreation department; Member, board of directors, Children's Kiwanis Emergency Room, Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters.
Official endorsements: None
How to reach: 548-4889
Major campaign issues: School safety, quality education and more focus on early childhood education ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MORT FRYMAN
Donald Bailey favors grouping kids of all abilities into classrooms
together.
KEYWORDS: CHESAPEAKE SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION CANDIDATES CHESAPEAKE SCHOOLS
PROFILE by CNB