Arnette McSwain

I am very persistent. You can't tell me no and think I'm gonna just sit down. I actually ran 3 times for election. With politicians, a lot of times, people back those they can guide, they can basically tell what to do, and I wasn't that person, so I was like an underdog. So the first two times I ran, I lost, but I got closer the second time - I lost by only 12 votes. I said, okay, one more time. Of course, I'm a Christian, so I prayed over it, and I was directed to continue to run one more time, and I ran, and I strategized, and I ended up winning. You can't tell me no. My mother raised 3 kids and she worked - my mother couldn't get any public assistance. I watched her raise us off of her hard work. With that, you can't tell me there's nothing that I can't do.

To be honest, I wouldn't say it was advice. It was an insult that changed it. One of my teachers, because she knew I didn't want to go to college, made the comment to my sister: 'Are you going to cop out like your sister and go in the military?' Yeah, and I never forget that. It seemed like every day, when my sister told me that, every day, I worked hard to show this lady that even though I did not take that route, I was still going to be successful. And that's what really motivated me. It worked, because, like I said, it just kept me going. I was like, this lady doesn't know me. She didn't know our situation. My mother was a single parent. I was the oldest. So, I chose that route also to help my mom.

I would tell her that she can do anything if she just keeps pushing. Just keep pushing, and you'll get there. May take small steps. May have to crawl to get there. That tenacity of never giving up. Never give up.

I believe that there are a lot of opportunities in education, but it does take funding for a lot of it. Do I believe that we can do so much more? I do, but I think that the parents have to be more involved as well. So I think it's an opportunity for more parental inclusion, because I know that with me, it was my mother that pushed me a lot when it came to education. I see it as being difficult if it's only the school employees or the educators pushing a child, but they go home and they're just left to do whatever they want to do, which means they're not studying, not doing their homework. I see more parental inclusion as a plus for education, just showing, getting the parents involved. We do have a parent center where parents get educated. We just need more parents to take advantage of that.

We want to put out productive citizens. I want our kids to have more than just two choices between college and military. I'm big on protecting our students and our staff - I'm all about security. I would go up to the schools and see if the security would let me in, just because I'm one of the board members, and when they stop me, sometimes I'll go back and take them a gift because they did their job. I don't believe that you should waver in doing your job. I'm known for the reading piece - I want to make sure that our kids are reading on their grade level. Everything is not black and white, so you have to have some empathy. I believe that to be a leader, you have to know what they're doing in the trenches. You have to go down and talk to these people. You can't just be at the top and assume. So I get out, I go talk to teachers, I go to their luncheons. I do listen - they do know me for being a listener.