Hi!  I am Linda Robinson and I am running for the Union County Board of Education At Large.

Family

I am married to Tommy Robinson, a retired veteran who served in the Air Force for 34 years.  We have 3 adult children and 2 grandchildren. Tommy is a native of Union County having graduated from Sun Valley High School.  I grew up in Charlotte, and we moved to Union County as a family in 2002.

Education

Having attended UNC-Greensboro in the early 80s, I earned my B.S. in Mathematics.  I went on to earn my Masters in Education with a focus on Curriculum and Instruction and my National Board Certification.

Work Experience

Having a passion to work with teenagers, I began my career teaching math to middle schoolers in Greensboro. In 1987 I moved back to Charlotte where I taught at Kennedy Middle School until the fall of 1997. At that time, I felt the desire to work with a different group of students so I began my journey teaching pregnant and at-risk teens. 

There were 2 programs within one school: Dolly Tate TAPS (6-12 grade--Teenage Pregnancy School) and Midwood High School. Teaching there was as much as a missionary journey as it was a teaching job. Any teacher will tell you that teaching is about being flexible and, if I wasn’t flexible before arriving at TAPS and Midwood, I soon learned the skill!  With a smaller student population came a smaller staff.  There were 2 math teachers for all the students, so each class was made up of 2 to 3 grade levels/subjects. I was a social worker, mediator, nurse and teacher while I handled the concerns and issues that come with this student population.  Babies were born, fights were broken up and arrests were made. My heart broke on a couple of occasions when I read about some of my students getting arrested or killed over the weekend and I had one who called me for several years from prison just to hear a familiar, friendly voice. My compassion for working with this group of young people grew over the 8 years I was there. I get tears in my eyes as I think about them, and I still see some of their faces in my dreams.

In the fall of 2005, I made my way to Union County where I helped open Porter Ridge High School as the math department chair and teaching all levels of math except Advanced Placement. I also served as testing coordinator before retiring in 2017.

 

Retirement

My first 2 years I was “band mom extraordinaire” participating in everything my son participated in.  Once he left for college I dived into volunteer work.  To support my husband, I joined both the VFW and American Legion auxiliaries for which I served various roles such as president, chaplain, trustee and treasurer. I also volunteer as a teacher for children’s classes at our church.

Though I have enjoyed my volunteer work and continue serving in roles with the veterans’ organizations I was missing my first passion, which is working with students.  I have served this year as Literacy chair for Sweet Union Republican Women where I was able to use donations to buy books for local libraries and organized an essay scholarship where we will be awarding a student with a $500 scholarship to assist with their future educational needs.

Run for School Board

My passion for students and my years of experience in the classroom led me to want to make an impact for students and teachers on a larger scale.  This passion is what is driving me today to run for Union County Board of Education At Large. I have lived the life of an educator. I have taught the underachievers and the high achievers, the destitute and the privileged. I have had some wonderful mentors along the way, and I have felt alone and forgotten on many occasions. I have guided my own children through the public school system. I have rejoiced at their accomplishments and sent emails to teachers to discuss issues I wasn’t happy about. I have lived life on all sides and I want to use my experience to help others--teachers, parents and students-- who are out there doing the same thing.