Quality Education for our Children

By Susan L. Adams

California has done well in these economic times, yet our schools are near the bottom of the list compared to schools in other states in both spending and achievment.

I am an educator and place education as a priority for attention in Sacramento. My daughter graduated with honors from NYU in broadcast journalism. She is successfully employed in the industry and lives and works in NY. My son is a junior on scholarship at UC Santa Barbara. I raised my children in Marin as a single parent and imparted to them the expectation that they would complete college because education is a ticket to success.

My daughter attended Terra Linda High School and at that time, the building was in disrepair and the materials were often old and outdated. She did not have an optimal educational experience. My son attended St. Ignatius College Preparatory and had a much different experience. I would like all of our students to have access to the best possible resources, teachers, and environment in order to enhance optimal learning.

Currently there is a large surplus in the California State budget. I would like to see at least half of that money diverted into education. I would also support diverting money for building jails into health and education programs. It takes tens of thousands of dollars per inmate per year to house criminals...most of whom have problems with substance abuse and/or mental illness. Imagine what could be done if that money was spent on health and education before these individuals are in trouble with the law. Treatment works! Education works! Many research studies have documented these facts.

I would also support loosening the restrictions on how the schools use the money. Currently, the state mandates which dollars go where. For example, one pot of money may go to books, another to salaries, and another to building and structures, etc. Some school districts may have a higher priority for upgrading books than for refurbishing buildings, but if they don't need to use the building money for the buildings, they can not divert it into the books that they need. I would like to see more local control by the school districts, parents, teachers, and students in the decision making process regarding their priorities.

I am also a supporter of charter schools. You can visit the following web site for more information about charter schools: http://uscharterschools.org. I would hold these schools to California achievement standards, but am very pleased by the reports of academic success far above the standards. This occurs, in part, because local communities are directly involved with the formation, development, and implemenation of their own programs. Parents and teachers work together to provide optimal learning experiences for their children.

I also believe that government can not solve all of our problems. I would like to see the business community become more directly involved with their local schools by providing enrichment opportunities, mentoring programs, donations, and volunteer support. An investment into our children is an investment into our future economy.

And finally, as a health care provider, I would like to see an expansion in on-site health services. This does not have to cost the tax payers money. Lucille-Packard Foundation funded a mobile health van that tours through schools and neighborhoods providing health care to those who ususally would not have access. This program has had an impact on family health in East Palo Alto and other typically underserved areas. Access to health providers would be useful for parents, teachers, and students. Students at risk for violence, substance abuse, and other health related problems could be identified and early intervention could be instituted. Families could receive help negotiating the health care system for family services, mental health and counseling, health care, and health education. We currently have the highest adolescent tobacco use rate of any county in California. Nineteen percent of our teens smoke. Considering the long term health consequences of tobacco use, this is an alarming statistic deserving of our attention.

As an assembly woman, I would work hard to address our education issues in Sacramento. With education and health care, we will not need to build more jails!