Melissa Ait Belaid
Non-Partisan | Texas
Candidate Profile
Leans Liberal
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Melissa Ait Belaid
Party
Non-Partisan
Election Year
2023
Election
School Board & Special HD2
Race
Princeton ISD School Board, At-Large
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
American University, Washington, DC, Master of Arts: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2010
University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, Bachelor of Arts: International Studies, 2008
University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, Bachelor of Arts: Spanish, 2008
WORK & MILITARY
Candidate did not provide
AFFILIATIONS
American Association of University Women - Dallas, Corresponding Secretary, Mizzou Alumni Association - DFW
Mizzou Black Alumni Network Liason, Missouri Senate Office of the Minority Whip, Researcher
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Candidate did not provide
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Candidate did not provide
Race
Previous Races
OTHER INFORMATION
- Partisan Primary Election Voting History from Collin County Elections Department for Melissa Dian Ait Belaid during time of residence in district and/or at current address:
- 2022 Primary election: Democratic
- 2020 Primary election: no record provided
**Election Voting History is not considered during panel evaluations.**
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should be a resource for instruction or services in the school.
Choose not to answer
Human life begins at conception and deserves legal protection at every stage until natural death.
Choose not to answer
ECONOMY
Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.
Strongly Agree
School districts should be able to use taxpayer money for lobbying the state legislature.
Choose not to answer
What is your position on government funding of public education from Pre-K through college?
I support government funding of public education from Pre-K through college
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
At school, students should be able to speak freely and civilly about matters of conscience and faith, including Christianity.
Agree
School districts should not discriminate against individuals, organizations or small businesses because of their belief that marriage is only a union of one man and one woman.
Strongly Agree
EDUCATION
What is the function of the local school board?
The core responsibilities of a member of the ISD Board of Trustees include making decisions in the interest of the community’s youth. Trustees will approve a budget consistent with the district's vision, communicate district goals with the community, and evaluate the performance of the superintendent.
Who should have the authority to set curriculum and determine resources used in those curricula?
Appropriately qualified educators with a college degree (Bachelors, Masters, or Ph.D.) in an education field who have completed a minimum number of years in classroom teaching in public schools and leading adults. Community members in non-education professions would qualify for the authority if they can demonstrate continuous practice in education, such as through adjunct positions, continuing education, or committees.
When should parents be restricted from speaking in school board meetings?
This is a local policy issue. Under normal circumstances, all parents have the right to voice their opinions and concerns at the appropriate times in school board meetings.
Please list in order the following priorities in relation to the role of a K-12 public school (omitting any that do not apply): Mathematics, Information Technology, Science, Political Activism, Personal Finances, Gender Identity, Physical Fitness, American History, Critical Race Theory, Language Arts, Art & Music, Vocational Learning, Sexuality, Foreign Language, Social Emotional Learning
Mathematics, Science, Personal Finances, Foreign Languages, Language Arts, American History, Physical Fitness, Arts & Music, Social Emotional Learning Information Technology
Which more closely matches your view of America's founding principles? A) Liberty and equality. B) Slavery and racism.
Decline to answer. A local school board member's role does not involve defining and interpreting constitutional rights. American's founding principles are based on a the Constitution, a document that constantly requires review and interpretation, in state and federal legislative bodies.
What does "equity in education" mean to you?
I most closely align my definition of "equity in education" with the definition of "student-centered learning" presented by Education Evolving: "It must honor each student’s unique assets, interests, identities, and aspirations—and be designed with students’ ideas and voices at the table." Further, "equity in education" means to identify gaps, identify which student groups are learning less, and promote policies that will remove barriers and increase access for more students. To fully arrive at an equitable education system, we must prioritize student voice, crafting a representative form of education. A couple of students were excited to join my Honors Spanish 3 class and wanted to start a Hispanic Honor Society through the school. These students not only started the club, but recruited their own members, consulted with me for initiatives, leading the launch of a school-wide advocacy project, and a LatinX Fireside Chat series, hosting quarterly meetings with Spanish speakers in various professional fields. These students, who are not Hispanic or native Spanish speakers, struggled with the difficulty of the course. By allowing the space for the students to leverage their interests and assets, the students eventually became advocates for their success by scheduling tutorial sessions in which they carefully assessed their performance on exams, reflecting on evaluation criteria and areas for growth. In this regard, the students received an equitable education that created more access for themselves – and the entire student body – to the course content.
Written parental consent (opt-in) must be obtained before students are taught courses such as Comprehensive Sex Ed (CSE) or Social Emotional Learning (SEL).
Agree
The loss of local control in education is too high a price to pay in exchange for federal dollars.
Choose not to answer
Parents are the ultimate authority in their child’s education and should be able to freely pursue whatever educational options they deem best for their child.
Agree
School boards are accountable to parents and taxpayers.
Strongly Agree
Do you believe students should have access to materials that graphically depict and describe sexual acts?
No
All print and digital material available or presented to students should be easily accessible for public review.
Agree
Do you believe print and digital material available or presented to students should be easily accessible for public review, including those without children enrolled in school.
Yes
VALUES
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
My spiritual beliefs are deeply personal. They will not be a part of my role as a school board member.
I support allowing public high school students to participate in athletic competition based on the gender with which they identify instead of biological sex.
Choose not to answer
No school official should be involved in the sexual transitioning of a student, including the use of alternative names and pronouns.
Choose not to answer
No healthcare diagnosis or treatment, whether mental, reproductive, or otherwise, should be given to a child without first receiving written consent from the parent.
Choose not to answer
Who is responsible for teaching sexual education to children, and what is the appropriate age when it should be taught?
Decline to comment
If you support the teaching of Sex Ed, please answer the following question: Sexual education should include these topics (list all that apply and add your own, if needed) -- Physical and emotional health outcomes; contraceptive methods; consent; abstinence; sexual orientation and gender identity; human anatomy/the reproductive system; abortion methods and side effects; stages of pregnancy and fetal development; sex acts and pleasures of sex
Decline to comment
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality that is necessary for our system of limited government.
Choose not to answer
I support allowing public middle and high school students to participate in athletic competition based on the gender with which they identify instead of biological sex.
Choose not to answer
Biological males should be allowed in female locker rooms and bathrooms.
Choose not to answer
No school official should be involved in the social or medical transitioning of a student, including the use of alternative names and pronouns.
Choose not to answer
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Choose not to answer
ABOUT YOU
Have you ever been convicted of a felony or been penalized in either civil or criminal court for sexual misconduct? If so, please explain.
No
A candidate's personal moral values are relevant when considering a candidacy for elective office.
Choose not to answer
When you consider your views on a wide range of issues from economic and social matters to foreign policy and religious liberty, which of the following best describes you overall?
Choose not to answer
Please provide publicly available information, including interviews and media reports, validating your answer to the previous question (other than your website).
N/A
Is there anything else you would like voters to know about you?
Melissa Ait Belaid is a DFW Native who currently resides in the Bridgewater neighborhood of Princeton. She has 15 years of education experience in K-12, higher ed, and the state education agency. Melissa has also been an entrepreneur and small business owner for 12 years, operating in beauty, technology, S.T.E.A.M. education, training and E-Learning. Mrs. Ait Belaid and her husband, Zak, have two preschool children. She works as an Instructional Coach in Plano ISD and has held multiple position in teacher preparation and education leadership. Melissa is running for Princeton ISD Board of Trustees to ensure a high quality education for all Princeton children– by ensuring safe schools, prioritizing high quality teacher recruitment and retention, and by improving school board transparency.
I voted in these primaries and general elections:
Did not answer
2ND AMENDMENT
Teachers who are licensed to carry should be allowed to carry guns at school.
Choose not to answer
OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES
Under what circumstances (if any) should schools be allowed to require vaccinations?
This is not a local school board decision. Decline to comment.
I support mask mandates.
Strongly Agree
All official open meetings should be live streamed, recorded, and have transcripts available online for public access.
Strongly Agree
All votes should be roll call votes and recorded in meeting minutes.
Neutral
