My Bio
Dear friends and neighbors,
My name is Patricia Campos Bowie and I am a candidate for Charles County Board of Education. I am a child of immigrant parents who came legally to this country - learned English, and rose from menial jobs to successful entrepreneurship owning seven restaurants. I'm first in my family to receive a college degree in this great country; we have truly 'lived' the American Dream. I am a product of public education, so, I know what a difference good schools can make. One thing I've learned is that students are unable to make informed choices later in life without being well-rounded during their academic development. I do believe that core academic courses – the 3 R's – are critical to success; but so are the arts! While in school, I enjoyed concert band, art classes, volleyball, and surfing, as well as courses in reading, foreign languages and business. I serve my church, the USO, my community, and am civically active. These are the things that have helped me learn about my community and the people I hope to serve. As for our son, Kyle, we’re very proud of his respect for God, his fellow man, and this great country. We’re happy he also has a love of learning and we’ve been actively involved in his life, in and out of school. I was Team Mom for his little league baseball and we were participants in his roller hockey team, Boy Scouts, trumpet lessons, JROTC and his Gifted Education program at Mattawoman Middle School. Today Kyle is a successful college student, balancing work, his studies and his musical career.
My twenty-five years experience in business administration within the public, academic, and private sectors has provided me a unique view as to how all three impact our educational system. As a Children's Outreach Librarian for the Charles County Public Library, I thoroughly enjoy providing bilingual (Spanish/English) story times to underprivileged and underserved Pre-K to Kindergarten students attending Title 1 schools. Early intervention through literacy is pivotal in helping students meet school standards and pointing them on the right path to success. The good rapport I’ve enjoyed with students, teachers, administrators and community partners has been enriching, as well. I enjoy sharing the love of reading, our wonderful libraries and having fun in the process. Exposing children and parents to a new culture via music and storytelling breaks down culture barriers and expands new circle of friendships. Teachers and students tell me they love my visits to their classroom. Parents comment they want more programs like these offered our area.
I'm running for school board because...
- I enjoy teaching in the schools, working with teachers, and supporting families in my community.
- I would foster relationships with school admin., governmental agencies and families through effective community forums; keeping the communication channels open at all levels.
- Transparency is a must! I believe all doc's and meetings need to be simplified for the general public--too many acronyms "CIP", "AYP", "OPEB" etc. It sounds like the military!
It is in the best interest of all citizens to know exactly who the Board of Education candidates are, what they stand for, why they want to serve on the board and disclosing their work experience. All of these factors should be scrutinized carefully BEFORE one goes to the voting booth. School board members have a fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayer by managing the budget wisely.
For this reason, I have attached my resume for you. I have limited my employment history to the past 11 years for length purposes. Remaining employment history is available upon request.
My Resume
