Mary Kadera for Arlington School Board
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  • Home
  • About
    • My Story
    • Work Highlights
    • Being an Ally
  • Issues
    • Competent + Committed Educators
    • School Culture
    • Authentic Engagement
    • Good Governance + Data
    • Equity
  • Endorsements
  • Volunteer
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Donate
A career in education. A real vision for our students and schools. Proven leadership.
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Young people spend more than 15,000 hours in school, from the first day of kindergarten to the day they graduate from high school. What do we want our them to experience during those hours? Are we providing engaging and relevant teaching and learning that will equip them for full and productive lives? Is every child getting the services, care, and support that shows them they are valuable and capable?

We can build a system where every child at every level of income is known, loved, challenged, and inspired. Where
every child in our charge graduates with the knowledge and skills they’ll need to thrive in their adult lives and participate fully in our democracy.

By January 2026, at the end of the four-year School Board term, I want us to be able to look back and say that
not only did we dig out of this pandemic and the pain and losses it created for so many in our community--I want us to be able to say that we built something better in its wake.


Based on my career in education and my experience as a parent and community activist,  I know we need the five essentials listed below. I invite you to check out my specific action plans for each of these essentials:​

  • support and agency for our highly competent and committed educators
  • healthy, more inclusive school culture
  • authentic community engagement with all voices heard and no predetermined outcomes
  • good governance + data to guide planning, investments, and improvement: information and careful questioning, not assumptions
  • an equity mindset in everything we do.

The School Board’s job is to ensure that APS is grounded in a strong, instructionally-focused, student-centered vision for our schools--and then to ensure that there are policies and resources in place to get us there.  

For me, the School Board is not a stepping stone to a larger political goal: it is my goal, and I promise you I’ll give it everything I have.
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My husband Fraser and I have been married since 2004. We're both graduates of Fairfax County Public Schools and Virginia's public universities. Our kids Ian and Ruby attend Yorktown High School and Kenmore Middle School.

What I'll Bring to the School Board:

  • 25+ years’ experience in PreK-12 education
  • ​Organizational leadership
  • Openness, empathy, and careful listening
  • Decisions based on data, not assumptions
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Mary Kadera for School Board
PO Box 5803, Arlington, VA, 22205
info@maryforschoolboard.org
Authorized and paid for by
​Friends of Mary Kadera