Ronald Johnson: Why I’m Running For School Board
Walking the halls as a school resource officer for five years in one the toughest schools in the state gave me some of the greatest moments of my life. I was able to meet some of the brightest and most ambitious people that our county has to offer. I was also able to build amazing bonds with hardworking teachers and talented students. But, like in every school, there were also problems.
Partnering with many others in the community, we were able to to establish innovative mentoring programs to help prevent students from going down a path of drugs and gangs. My time at the school was rewarding, but it was definitely a learning experience. I connected with many young people who were struggling both in school and after-school. Many of the students did not have parental guidance, so it was easy for them to get caught up in gang activity. Their grades suffered because their living situation at home was preventing them from succeeding. The plight of poverty and drugs in our area affected our children in our schools and I set out to look for new ways to get our community together and make a change. I believe that it’s all about helping our children succeed in Johnston County.
Johnston County has always and will always be home for me. I graduated from Smithfield Selma High School in 2001 and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Administration from Mount Olive College. In 2005, I started my career with the Smithfield Police Department and in 2007 I was asked to become the Smithfield Middle School SRO. While working for the police department, I earned my Master’s degree in Business Administration.
During my time at Smithfield Middle School, I started after-school programs where the students had a safe place to go in the afternoons. Oftentimes, teachers would stop in to tutor. I volunteered 3 hours of my time every day after school because I cared about the safety and academic performance of these students, as well as the overall environment of the school. We played a lot of sports, and I even taught some of the kids how to play chess. To help with motivation, I partnered with local businesses to provide students with rewards for passing their classes.
Our students need to be better prepared for life after high school. You can hand out millions of high school diplomas, but if we haven’t prepared a young adult to succeed, then we have failed. I have outlined in great detail a plan to partner with Grifols, a major pharmaceutical company in Clayton, to offer the BioWork certification course to seniors who do not plan to attend college. This will provide one of Johnston County’s largest and highest paying employers with a knowledgeable workforce. I have also proposed a Public Safety Academy, similar to the one in Wake County School System, where students will be trained to work or volunteer at local fire departments and EMS stations.
I think implementing these proposals will work and help our children out. New, fresh ideas that will help our graduating students already have a foot in the door into the world will only increase their chance of success. We have to kindle a flame in our students, to help them as much as possible. No matter their race or economic situation, we have to help our children reach their God-given potential. After receiving many calls from teachers and seeing so many former students from my days as an SRO grow up to serve in the Military and lead productive lives in other fields, I decided it was time to take this approach to our school board. My name is Ronald Johnson and this is why I’m running for the Johnston County Board of Education.
