Time and time again, all I see from the incumbents in this School Board race are press releases, responses submitted as a team, and rhetoric about what has been done in the past. I am not sure exactly how each feels about any one issue, haven’t been able to discern how one is any different from the other, and have a sense that they do only what the other endorses. Is that really what we want for the next four years in Los Alamitos Unified? A School Board that views the issues through exactly the same lens? A School Board so lock-step and ingrained that the status quo rules, whether working or not. A School Board where nothing new or innovative is introduced, brought to the cabinet, or used to challenge the accepted practices?

I appreciate all the current School Board has accomplished, as my own children have been the recipients of the progress. However I still see gaps, because my own children, unfortunately, have been the recipients of the status quo, as well. Regardless the rhetoric of success, don’t let the statistics blind the reality. We have work to do, and it makes me wonder: What have you done for me lately?

In the eighth grade, I had Mr. Howard for science. One of his bulletin boards was decorated with a turtle and this line: “Always wonder why.” I don’t know exactly why he chose a turtle to impart these impactful words, but the turtle did just that and continues to impact my life on a daily basis. 

What does this turtle from 30+ years ago mean for Los Alamitos Unified School District and my race for a School Board seat? It means I don’t claim to have all the answers or be the expert. What it means is I have lots of questions that need to be asked and deserve a discussion:

• Of the 10,000 students in our district, why are almost 35% of them inter-district transfers?
• What is the district doing to increase the rigor in the classroom?
• What is the plan for Common Core implementation in ELA, mathematics, and technical subjects?
• How is LAEF spending our money, and what percentage of our donations is spent on administrative salaries and fees?
• How is the Board involving the community in its decisions?
• Why do we continue to hire from within for cabinet-level positions, perpetuating the status quo without regard for innovation and fresh eyes?
• Are we ready for an on-campus shooting? Who is responsible for my children in an emergency? What is the district’s communication plan? 
• Even though “recruiting” in sports in not allowed, why do I keep hearing stories about how this is happening with our district sports’ teams?
• Are school uniforms something our district families want to discuss?
• Why are most of the emails I receive from the district and our district schools about fundraising and asking for money?
• Where does all the money go?
• How are our classrooms differentiating instruction for children of all academic achievement levels?
• What can be done about the traffic in Rossmoor immediately?
• Why did we hire 80 new employees for this school year when salaries are our district’s biggest expense?
• Why are we not doing more writing in the classroom?
• Why are we still graduating 44% of our students without having taken an AP course and 28% of our students not having completed A-G requirements?
  
• What are we doing about the challenges with maintaining the grass at Oak's field? How much money is spent with each fix?
• How are we supporting our local, community sports programs with field space and facilities?

I could go on and on ... but I won't. 

My platform since day one has been based on three key issues: Curriculum. Safety. Equity. I am immersed in these issues on a daily basis as a classroom teacher, and I see my role on the Board of Education in Los Alamitos as one of challenging what has been business as usual - questioning the status quo. Our district has had lots of success; however, it’s important to recognize and embrace its challenges and gaps so we can continue to build a great district that remembers we do it all for our kids.

Elect the same – expect the same.

Elect the new – and let the questions uncover our potential. 

This week our neighborhood newspaper, The News Enterprise, will be publishing responses from each of the school board candidates to the same three questions. In case you don't receive the paper, I want to make sure everyone has the opportunity to see where I stand. All I ask this year is that votes are cast and based in facts. Ask the tough questions, hear each candidates' answers, and make a decision based on the direction in which you'd like to see our board move. We haven't had an election for a school board seat since 2006, as no one has challenged the incumbents in the last three elections. 

With our district facing unprecedented changes the next four years - new funding formulas, new curriculum and new technology - we need a leader on the board who can take us into the future, rather than continuing to live in the past.

Listed below are The News Enterprise questions and my answers.

How would you describe an effective school board member?

An effective school board member must act responsibly within the law and in the best interest of all stake holders to ensure fiscal stability, academic fidelity, effective policy, and community involvement. Trustees must be available to all members of the community – those with and without children – to build a school that graduates responsible young adults who have learned to teach, give back, and contribute. Our board needs to reflect the needs of the community, while maintaining a balance between those needs and those of the student. School board members are called "Trustees" for a reason: they are being "trusted" with the future of the community – our most precious commodity – the children.  

What are you top priorities for the next four years?

Curriculum.
The academic growth of the district has been stagnant for the past five years, Common Core is not commonplace in all classrooms across all grade levels, writing has been forgotten, and almost 50% of our children are not participating in AP courses, because the achievement gap is insurmountable. Curriculum needs to be a top priority – and a teacher needs to lead the charge.

Safety. 
Alleviating traffic congestion in our neighborhoods needs to be a top priority of the next school board. Alongside easing the traffic woes, the next safety steps need to include training students in Bully Prevention and online e-reputation responsibility, reducing drug and alcohol abuse, and ensuring all students are safe in all dark corners of every campus. Additionally, research shows uniforms to be a great safety measure; therefore, an initiative in dress code reform K-12 needs to be discussed. 

Equity.   
I want to see inter-district transfer students, 35% of our district's current enrollment, dramatically decreased immediately, so our own in-district kids are given first, top priority for academics, arts, athletics and activities. I also want reform and transparency in all fundraising. I will also argue it's time all students – disenfranchised, EL, GATE – in LAUSD receive the same opportunities, regardless the school, leadership or classroom teacher. 

Do you have any specific changes you¹d like to make in the District?

I am a teacher, so my specialty is culture and curriculum. I will focus on what matters most for our kids: academics. Our district likes to celebrate the successes, but neglects to publicize its failures. My first academic change will be to increase the writing, depth and complexity in all courses, because there is no excuse for having only increased ELA proficiency 5% in the last six years. Additionally, our district needs to train all teachers and departments in the power of vertical alignment to ensure access to and success in AP courses, rather than accepting the fact that we are still graduating 44% of our students without an AP experience – one of the most significant measures of college success. Finally, we need to update our signature practices to embrace Common Core and 21st century education, especially since 28% of our students have not completed A-G college entrance requirements upon graduation, leaving them under-prepared for college and career opportunities. 

I have many more ideas for supporting kids, teachers and administrators, all while embracing what makes Los Al great. It's time to shake things up. 

In the words of Mark Twain, "Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason."

Vote informed!

I teach in the Anaheim Union High School District. This past year our district hired a new superintendent, Mike Matsuda. He has been a teacher, teacher leader and student advocate for many years in our district, and, as our new superintendent, he is changing the face of public education in California through innovation.

Today, our district leaders and local dignitaries arrived in full force at Oxford Academy to recognize this innovation, and I was able to see first-hand the impact of his leadership. While I sat in the bleachers of the gym listening to Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva, Congressman Alan Lowenthal, and Tom Torlakson, CA State Superintendent of Schools, celebrate the district’s impact on its community and students, I was reminded that education exists to not only prepare our kids for college and careers, but also to teach our kids that our job as educators is help  children find their passion. 

What good is an education without purpose?

The question as I see it:

• Is education serving our students or are our students serving education?
  

For the first time in many elections, our own LAUSD community has the opportunity for new perspective and fresh blood. We have the opportunity to elect someone from the outside to replace members of our entrenched good-old-boys club. When an opportunity arises to do so, it’s important to bring in the best:

• I offer experience from having taught for the past eight years at the #10 top high school in America, 
• the #1 high school in CA, and 
• the “most innovative district in CA” as just pointed out by the State Superintendent of Schools. 

I was talking to my dad just a couple nights ago, and he described me as the “rich uncle from out of state”:  still part of the family  – in fact, the best the family has to offer  – yet outside the gates of inbreeding. 

This significance isn’t in-significant. A fresh, new, exciting perspective is just what our district needs to help our kids be the best they can be, rather than helping our district be the best it can be. I oftentimes find myself wondering if the tail is wagging the dog here in LAUSD. We seem to chase the accolades, rather than allowing the accolades to be a reflection of real learning and student success. In fact, I will argue the legacy of the current board is both the successes for what has been accomplished and the responsibility for what hasn’t.

Which leads me to today’s blog topic: “Lead to Serve.”

AUHSD began a new Student Service Foundation this school year where students obtain funding to make student-proposed service projects a reality. The Foundation awards grants to empower students in the district to make a difference in their communities. This offers the students real opportunities to give back, engage with their learning and focus on problem solving. This Foundation is Common Core at its core – creativity, collaboration, critical thinking and communication with a few other C’s thrown in for good measure: compassion, character, community and caring. This Foundation creates learning with purpose.  This Foundation creates meaningful engagement with education. This Foundation has awarded its first grants to students who are creating community gardens, teaching literacy, and using STEM to study water conservation.

It’s time we stop to take a hard look at what we really celebrate in LAUSD. This can be a painful, tough process, but it is only with authentic, honest evaluation from “your rich uncle,” that we will walk away with empowerment.

•  Are our kids becoming responsible, civic-minded leaders who serve for the good of humanity?
  
• Are our kids receiving an education that serves them, allowing them to develop passions that in turn nurture innovation to make life better for us all?
  
• Are our kids learning how to become global leaders and change makers?
  

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is … what are you doing for others?” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

So I ask: What are our kids doing for others?

Where in their LAUSD education are they learning that life doesn’t revolve around them, fundraising isn’t about what’s in it for them, and education isn’t just about knowing “stuff,” but about application and problem solving and creative thinking? 

Let’s move beyond the status quo, stop “feeding the monster,” evaluate our School Board candidates on their own individual merits, and turn this district into one that graduates civic-minded young adults who live beyond themselves for the betterment of mankind.

It’s time for innovation. It’s time for education to start serving our kids. It’s time for a new "uncle" in town to lead.

The time is now.

 

I participated in the Rossmoor Homeowner’s Association (RHA) “Meet the Candidates” evening this past Thursday. I didn’t know what to expect, given I’m new to this whole political scene. However, I was pleasantly surprised; they put on a great, informative, well-run program. I was able to learn more about all our local candidates, helping me make decisions about how I, personally, want to vote in November. Additionally, I was given a chance to introduce myself and answer a few questions about school issues as part of the School Board panel of candidates. But most impactful that night was the opportunity to meet my local neighbors.

In fact, I had a conversation with one woman that has stuck with me the past few days and has inspired tonight’s blog.

Within just a few minutes of my arriving at Rush Park Auditorium, she approached me and introduced herself. She is a teacher at one of our Los Alamitos elementary schools, mom of children who attend our schools and a Rossmoor resident. She told me she’d been following my campaign, reading my blog posts and spreading my name around her school. I think I can actually say she might be one of my biggest supporters … and we hadn’t even met yet!

She told me that while reading my blog she yelled to her husband, “You’ve got to read this! It’s like I could have written it myself!” Turns out, my “teacher” voice is coming through loud and clear. And it got me thinking … I’m running for a Los Al School Board seat because I have a passion for education, but I now realize having a teacher on the board is more necessary than ever.

As a teacher, I can bring perspective, insight, voice, and knowledge to this entrusted Board position. Because of new standards and a new funding formula in California, the next four years are going to bring some tough decisions about:

• teacher tenure
  
• raises and benefits
  
• teacher training
  
• common core implementation
  
• special education
  
• funding plans for programs
  
• safety
  
• technology implementation
  

When I think about the list, I realize each and every one of these touches a teacher. They are tough issues, and I want a teacher helping to make decisions about each one of them. I’m sure that any one of the current Board members, well-respected doctors and business people, can speculate and surmise and guess about possible impacts and implications, but until you’ve been a teacher in a classroom dealing with district mandates year-over-year, all the assumptions about the impact those mandates have on a classroom or teacher mean nothing. I can’t promise to know all the answers, or even promise that I will always make decisions that are easy for teachers, but I can promise that a teacher’s voice will be heard before decisions are made. Isn’t that all a teacher ever wants? To be heard? To be valued? To be respected?

Yes, schools are a business; however, our business is kids. Our kids deserve the best we can offer … and that responsibility lies in the hands of the teachers – the one person who has the most impact on a child’s success. Nothing our district achieves is possible without them.

So to all my teacher supporters … I “get it.” And I plan to help all the other Board members “get it,” too.

My fellow teachers, go, teach, inspire – and let me take care of business.