Citizens Advocate For City's School Board Applicants At Public Forum

By Amber Lester Kennedy Friday, December 10, 2010

The Williamsburg City Council will choose its next school board member from a pool of three applicants: a lifelong educator, a mother of two and community advocate, and a former executive-turned-English teacher.

Council will vote on Dec. 17 to decide who will fill John Alewynse’s seat on the Williamsburg-James City County School Board. Alewynse, who has served on the board for a decade, chose not to reapply for his seat, which is appointed by council. Three people applied for the spot: Oscar Prater, Kyra Cook and Pamela Arnold.

Council interviewed each of the candidates on Nov. 30 and by state law, is required to wait seven days after a public hearing to announce a replacement. The city appoints its school board members, while the county holds elections within members’ districts.

During a public forum at Thursday’s meeting, Prater and Cook received endorsements from friends, colleagues and former students. Prater’s supporters emphasized his lifelong work in education, his research and scholarly work and the need to have an African-American member on the board. Cook’s supporters spoke of her wide scope of work in the community and how being a mother of two students at Matthew Whaley makes her a true stakeholder in the WJCC school division.

Prater is a career educator who currently teaches saxophone as an adjunct professor at Hampton University, where he has also served as an assistant to President William Harvey. He is a former president of Fort Valley State University, a historically black college in Georgia, and has held several positions at Hampton University. He started his career at Bruton Heights High School, then earned his master’s degree in physics and doctorate in higher education administration from the College of William and Mary.

His advocates spoke of his devotion to Williamsburg since returning to the area after his retirement, of his research in education, of his ability to listen and laugh at himself and of the new perspective he could bring to the board as an African-American. Bobbie Alexander, a former co-worker at Bruton Heights High, said his appointment would not be “diversity for diversity’s sake” and her husband, Hubert, said, “If the city is serious about closing the gap between minority students and white students, Oscar Prater is uniquely qualified to help.”

Clarence Wilson, president of the York-James City-Williamsburg branch of the NAACP, highlighted Prater’s research, which has included publishing articles about predictors of academic success, how a teacher’s perception of a student affects how he or she teaches, intervention techniques and more.

Toby Lane spoke of Prater’s sense of humor and ability to laugh at himself. “I think Oscar’s sense of humor will serve him well in this position,” he said. “I think he’ll be comfortable enough to avoid taking what happens on the school board personally.”

Sarah Linda Howard, speaking more to the audience than the board, tried to rally support for Prater. She shared memories of his first year of teaching at Bruton Heights, when she was a 13-year-old student in his homeroom class. “He came with a zeal,” she said. “He taught us, worked with us and has never left us.”

Supporters of Cook highlighted her years of service in the Williamsburg area, most recently as coordinator of the Historic Triangle Collaborative. Cook, a potter, moved to Williamsburg to attend the College of William and Mary and has remained in the area ever since. She is a member of the Parent-Teacher Association for Matthew Whaley Elementary, where her two children are students.

Sarah Stafford, a member of the Williamsburg Planning Commission, reminded the board that Cook has teaching experience as a teacher of pottery. Stafford took classes from Cook, and said she has experience in one-on-one instruction and is a strong advocate for arts education. She said Cook’s wide range of experience in business has given her an understanding of budgets and how to do much with limited resources.

Tyler Trumbo, a member of the Young Professionals of Williamsburg, spoke of the importance of having a voice for young families. He shared that Cook reached out to his organization and encouraged its members to become more involved in the city. “She opened the door for us by widening our perspectives,” he said. “She bridges gaps.” He said her experience as a mother of current WJCC students is “invaluable.”

Arnold is an educator and retired executive. She spent most of her career in Chicago, where she worked as a director of engineering support for wireless systems for AT&T. After retiring, she moved to Williamsburg and taught at all three of WJCC’s high schools. Currently, she teaches English Composition part-time at Thomas Nelson Community College.