Leigh Bordley

Biography

Occupation

Durham School of the Arts Foundation (2005-present; current president)

Contact Info

Email: leigh.bordley@gmail.com

Education

Military

Issues

How will you measure success in your first year in office?

One of my favorite ideas is an extended-day school where students can use afterschool time for tutoring, enrichment, sports or other activities.

I know kids need to have a place where they can shine and be known.

A year from now, if we had made progress in establishing a school or identifying a school for an extended-day program, that would be really gratifying to me. 

Tell us about something you did for someone else.

As part of my job, I helped prepare a young girl from the West End neighborhood for college. We filled out applications and financial aid forms. When our students (at Partners For Youth) get ready to go to college, we give them a big basket of things for their dorm room, and $500 in an account to get them started on buying books.

The students graduate from our program after their freshman year of college. But some students stay in touch.

This student and I have continued to communicate. She's going to be a senior in college now. I was really happy to be able to help her with some things. I helped her go out and pick out a suit for an internship that we hope she'll have this summer.

It's not that I give her so much, but that her family isn't able to give her much support financially or emotionally. It's gratifying for me because she's becoming an adult, and we're able to be friends.

What is the biggest challenge facing North Carolina? Your county? Your district?

The need to provide all of our children with individual instruction that appropriately challenges them, wherever they are on the achievement spectrum.

I think we're doing a lot of things right, but I want to see us expand our smaller alternative high schools. I want to support our vocational education and I want to see us continue to bring down our suspension rate.

We also need more services for Latino students and get their families involved in the schools. 

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