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After winning the Republican nomination for the District 5 seat on the Stanly County School Board, Poplin has been a frequent visitor to the Board’s public meetings.

Poplin, who will face democratic candidate Elizabeth Harrison in November’s general election, said it has been important for her to be at the meetings with the way the education system has changed from one year ago before the pandemic.

“If you’re not keeping up with it right now, you’re not going to be abreast of what’s going on. It’s changing weekly sometimes with new things coming out from the governor,” Poplin said.

Poplin said it is important to learn about the members on the board and people with whom she would potentially work.

In a previous interview, Poplin said special education and focus on each individual student was important, and reiterated that recently, noting remote learning is more about individual attention along with the choice by families whether to have their child educated face-to-face or online.

“Even beyond our kids and their needs, whether they have an ILP (individual learning plan)…or have pull out during the day for certain subjects…is really coming into play,” Poplin said.

She said she believes in examining the needs of each child on a student-by-student basis, saying education “is moving more into an individualized aspect …every family’s situation is different and we have to be sensitive to that. Some families are more at risk than others.”

Poplin said being a parent of a student in SCS gives her a vested interest in the system, not just for her children but all students.

“I have a true interest in making our school system the best it can be for all of our students,” Poplin said, noting she sees how hard teachers are working and the struggles families and parents are enduring.

Poplin said she still believes in a well-rounded approach to education, taking into account a student’s emotions and the academic side, which she added was important.

The candidate said it is important to reach out to students who are struggling, noting the report during a recent board meeting of one student who had not turned in any work for the first five weeks of remote learning.

Poplin said it is important to get all kids back into classrooms safely because they learn better in person. She said teachers also want their students back face-to-face.