Antonio Clay-Hardy

HCPSS SMOB Election - 2024

Welcome! My name is Antonio Clay-Hardy and I am a finalist to serve as your next Howard County Student Member on the Board of Education. On this page, you will find my platform and its three main principles: Safety and Wellness, Supporting Student Achievement, and Improving Communication. Click on some other pages to learn more about me and my experiences, how you can get involved, and some additional fun content!

Student Wellbeing and Safety

The truth of the matter is that school can be stressful. Without proper support for our students, many feel burdened by the pressure of heavy courseloads and a draining school environment. Students also do not feel safe coming into the school building every day. Whether that's from unsafe school conditions or fear of being bullied. This must change, Here's what needs to be done:

Survey students about their major stressors and what changes they'd like to see.
Advocate for less emphasis on testing (especially midterms and finals) and more time spent on content
Advocate for the improvement of school safety features such as locks and cameras.

Supporting Student Achievement

Students deserve to walk into a school every day that is ready and capable of making them the best version of themselves. They need to know that resources are in place to help them progress to the next stage in life. Some Ideas I have are:

Reviewing and Revitalizing the standards for free AP Testing
Offering quality career and college specific counseling
Support funding for special programs such as Speech and Debate and Robotics (Just to name a few)

Improving communication

Although the SMOB plays an important role in the county, it can be difficult for a lot of students to keep up with what they are doing. Students deserve to know what the Student Member is doing, but more importantly how the Student Member is working for them specifically. If elected, I promise to:

Recaps for every board meeting on the SMOB Instagram Page
To visit as many elementary, middle, and high schools as time allows, to make sure students are receiving vital information from the Board
To provide timely updates in the Canvas Newsletter and opportunities to submit feedback
Translate Instagram posts to ensure students of all backgrounds receive information

Learn About Me!

My Experience

Feel Free to send me an email at Antonio4SMOB@gmail.com