Rick Bell is running for Anderson School District One Board of Trustees Area 6. Bell said he is proud to be a member of the community. He has been married to his wife Patty for 25 years and they have two children.
Bell’s wife is a high school English teacher. Daughter Lauren is a senior at the College of Charleston and son Gareth is a junior at Palmetto High School.
Bell graduated from Palmetto High School and has a Bachelor’s in History and Master’s in Education from Furman University and has maintained a South Carolina teacher certification for 30 years.
Bell has pursued a career in the insurance industry and is currently employed with Allstate Insurance. During his 28 years with the company he has been recognized with the Chairman’s Award and Distinguished performance Award.
He is a lifetime member of Whitefield Baptist Church and has served as deacon, Sunday School teacher, church historian and volunteers in the music ministry.
“I have always wanted to be involved in education to do what I can to contribute to and improve local schools,” Bell said.
“I studied to be a teacher, but due to the economy at the time that I graduated from college, positions were limited, and I went into another field.”
Bell said that a position on the local school board “would allow me to accomplish these goals and work for the community.”
While acknowledging that Anderson District One is one of the best in the state, he said “We should not merely be satisfied with our prior accomplishments and test scores, but should instead work to surpass them. As a board member, I would strive to increase our students test scores and provide them with relevant and applicable abilities by emphasizing critical-thinking skills.”
Bell said that raising students critical thinking competence will serve them well in school and after graduation.
He said he wants to endeavor to more fully prepare students for college or the job market.
“This focus will bring about successful, well adjusted citizens in the years to come.”
Bell said that his master’s degree in education and state teacher certification makes him the most qualified for the school board position.
“I keep up with trends in education and the local challenges and successes,” he said. He also cites having a teacher as a wife and two children in the district.
“School Board members are the only administrators that are elected by the people. We have former educators on the board now. I feel that we need peopel from the community, who have worked outside of the school system, but have a working knowledge of education,” he said.
“I feel that I would have a well-balanced perspective in the position of School Board member.”
Priorities for Bell include maintaining sound fiscal accountability.
“We should continue to utilize the limited resources that we have in order to make every dollar work for our children.”
He also wants the district to attract the most qualified teachers and administrators and to do so by promoting the district with state colleges in order to attract the best candidates.
He said school board trustees should be more visible in the schools and see first hand what is going on and be available for administrators, teachers and parents.
He would also like to cultivate a new focus on history and political science.
“These subjects have not received the same emphasis as math, science and English,” he said. “Not only do we have to develop the critical-thinking skills required for the new end-of-course tests, but we need to educate our children more about the courage and sacrifice made by our ancestors as well as the political process so that they can make informed decisions as adults.”
Rick Bell running
for school boardSchool District One Area 6W/Pic
