Two of the five finalists vying to become Fayette County's next superintendent took questions from the community in hour-long online forums Wednesday night.
Drs. Tawana Grover and Demetrus Liggins gave their takes on topics spanning diversity and equity, vaccine and mask mandates, and ways to transform education to meet new challenges while keeping high expectations in place.
Grover, a superintendent in Grand Island, Nebraska, said the pandemic highlighted both students' reliance on in-person connections and some benefits of the virtual approach.
"Now that we have technology, it definitely gives us the opportunity to be innovative and to think about the ways in which we can support our students if there is a barrier to their attendance," she said.
Liggins, who oversees a district outside of Dallas, Texas, stressed the need to create more "well-rounded" students — through stronger supports for extra-curricular activities to classes that provide specific windows into the country's history.
"Students can have the opportunity to take African-American studies, Mexican-American studies and it's all really through a U.S. history lens, so it's the same history but it's just going broader into a more inclusive sense of what actually occurred," he said.
The three remaining candidates will take questions Thursday afternoon. An in-person meet and greet with all finalists is set for June 2.
