Tiffany Mapp Franklin

Why did you choose to run?

I chose to run because, through the last 10 months, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time on the board. We work hard for the district, and I’m learning so much. You really can’t accomplish a lot in 10 months, so I felt that I needed to run to keep the momentum of the work I was doing. Some of the things that we have been working on is reviewing our disciplinary data and really trying to understand what improvements we can make to it so that all of our students are getting the things that they need so they can stay successful and in school for as long as possible. We’re starting on our Project Parkway 3.0 for the next five years of strategy. Part of Project Parkway 3.0 is going to be the Equity Task Force recommendations, so we’re going to start moving into the implementation of those recommendations with our strategic goals over the next five years. Another thing I’ve been working on is with our Student Services subcommittee, and right now, they are working more on their comprehensive reviews, so I would like to see the outcome of that and be a part of the next steps in their outcomes. 

What is your connection to Parkway?

I am a parent, volunteer and school board member. I have three children that attend three schools in Parkway School District: Claymont Elementary, West Middle and West High.

What qualities can you bring to the school board?

I think that the knowledge of being a teacher — having been in the classroom as a substitute [teacher] and as a [regular] sixth through eighth-grade teacher at a private school — can bring a perspective that the current board members do not have. I also think that being a Black woman brings a perspective to the board that, once again, the current board members do not have as well, especially when we start looking at the data that’s out there that’s not positive for Parkway — things like the disparities in our disciplinary [data] as well as the gaps in the subgroup scores versus the general average scores in various evaluations. There are obviously things that our district works really hard on to mitigate, but bringing in other perspectives is helpful. In addition to that, I’m [the] type of person who is a collaborator. I enjoy working with others, and I’m not adversarial, [I] really want to make a difference for all kids and not just a subset of kids. 

What kind of role model will you be to the students in Parkway?

I’ve looked at our district and over the last couple of years, we have done an amazing job with getting more diversity in our principals and our administrative staff, but we still need more diversity within our teachers. One thing about being on the board and being the only Black person in this race and the only person of color in this race is that there’s another person of color in a leadership role, which shows all students in this district that you can be a leader and you don’t have to be a certain race or gender to do that.

What do you do for work, if anything? How would that apply to your position on the school board?

I’m a project manager for an aerospace company here in St. Louis. Some of the skills that I think translate well to my board position is the ability to communicate with a wide variety of people, and the ability to focus on the customer — in this case, our customer would be our students; that’s what schools are about, our students — and the ability to manage a lot of moving pieces. Nothing in a district is done solo; there are a lot of moving pieces and many things that are going on at different times. There are a lot of meetings, and you have to be able to manage all those different pieces and understand how all of those things are interconnected.

Are there any changes, big or small, that you would like to see happen in the district?

The biggest change I’d like to see — and something that I’ve been expressing since my daughter was a student in elementary school — is a more diverse staff. I want my children to be able to look at their teachers and see themselves in them. Diversifying our staff with great, well-qualified teachers of color would be one of the biggest things I’d like to see. The other thing I would like to see is improvements in how we discipline here in Parkway. I want us to be innovative in [keeping] students in school instead of putting them out of school. Those are probably the two sticking out in my mind right now. Overall, Parkway is a great district: we have great resources, we have great teachers [and] great administrators. We’re in a really good position for all students to succeed, and I just want to keep pushing Parkway to be more innovative so that more and more students can see themselves as leaders so that all of our students can be the best that they can possibly be.

Why should people vote for you?

I am committed to Parkway. I have entrusted my children to be educated by Parkway, and I see Parkway as a great district. I know there’s no perfect district, so there’s always room for improvement, but I believe we have a good foundation [and] we have really good administrators. I think the other reason people should vote for me is [that] we need a diverse board. Currently, we only have two women on the board and one person of color. We need a diverse board to ensure that all voices are represented. Furthermore, I’m a helper by nature. I strive for excellence in all that I do and push for excellence in what others do.