Candidate for
Board Member; San Mateo - Foster City School District; 2 Year Term

It is safe to say that all the parents, teachers, and administrators in our school district want the best possible education for the students in our community. I do not expect, however, we will ever have full agreement on how to accomplish this goal. While some may see this diversity of opinion as a weakness, I see it as our strength. We learn when our assumptions are challenged, and we feel empowered when we are allowed to participate in the process and have our voices heard.

School boards set policy and expectations. They also can set an atmosphere and attitude. Through their leadership and choices, they can focus the resources of the District on the needs and desires of their customers, the community.

I have a good grasp of District issues and a lot of experience and opinions to share. I will work to provide more efficient mechanisms for parents, teachers, and students to provide feedback on the services and policies of the District. I will welcome debates over District programs. I will work to use our combined knowledge and experience to provide excellent education opportunities for the members of our community.

Sound Management Decisions

We will soon face some difficult decisions: declining enrollments, declining revenues, hiring and retaining quality staff, new District offices, revised strategic plans, and others. Compromises will be necessary because our resources will always be limited.

You need a School Board that will listen carefully to the choices and make sound decisions. I have the experience, leadership, and skills to bring a fair and objective perspective to these decisions.

Better Communication

Please visit http://www.smfcEducation.com to see a working model of a public forum I created for discussing educational issues in our district. I do not pretend to have all the answers to many of the issues before the District, but I believe we will reach better conclusions if we share our opinions in a constructive manner. I encourage you to join the discussion.

I would like to see the features of my web site incorporated into the District's site. Issues before the Board should be posted weeks in advance of a meeting on the web site, allowing members of the community to read about the issues and post their opinions online. Parents, students, teachers, and administrators could enrich the discussion and allow far more people to participate.

The Board members would review the entire discussion before the meeting, limiting the debate to any new material. This will allow greater public participation and remove the tendency to respond to a small minority of opinions that are presented in person. More alternatives could be considered in advance of meetings.

Board members should meet with principals and faculty members of each campus to solicit their options on priorities for the District. We should regularly survey parents and older students for their concerns and suggestions.

Love of Learning

Each child enters Kindergarten with its eyes wide with wonder. They soak up each lesson as an adventure. They crave knowledge and cannot wait to discover the next day's surprise.

One of the District's goals has been to instill a love of learning in our students. I want to see this important outcome measured. I see a need to ask the students about their educational experiences and use their suggestions for improving the process.

Our educational responsibilities extended beyond test scores. While the score are important, they will never provide a complete picture of a student's abilities or accomplishments. We should continue to use alternate methods of assessments to supplement the standardized scores.

English Language Learners

Each year, the number of students needing special help learning English increases. Many of these students have additional issues beyond learning a second language. While the size of the need varies by school, the issue is significant, important, and growing. We need to help these students at the earliest possible age to give them the best opportunity for success in their education and lives. We need to seek out the most efficient and effective plans to educate this portion of our community.

We need to allocate some of our resources based on the needs of each school community. Some of the things taken for granted in some schools, such as field trips and homework help, are nearly non-existent in other areas. Let us find ways to help those who need help the most.

Childcare

Only about 25% of District families have a parent at home when the school day ends. To help in this area the District created the Children's Annex program, which has been very popular. However, this program cannot meet the needs of all our children.

The District should continue to consider ways to assist with other forms of childcare. There should be ways to use the campus resources to serve families without incurring a cost to the District. We need more discussions to find the best ways to serve the needs of our children without significant interference with the primary responsibilities of the District. Site-based decisions should guide how each school address this issue.

Hire and Retain Quality Staff

The cost of living in San Mateo has made it difficult for teachers, administrators, and staff to live in the area. Of course, this problem is not limited to the School District. It affects all governments and employers in the area. Turnover rates have increased as older teachers retire and families move out of the area in search of more affordable housing.

Increasing pay for District employees will be difficult unless we find new sources of revenue. Pay needs to be competitive with other districts in the county or our best employees may be tempted to leave. We should see if there are creative ways to help with this issue.

State funds are currently allocated to school districts without regard for the local cost of living. I would like to see new funds for education allocated with such a consideration so that we can come closer to providing equal education opportunities for each district.

Take Advantage of Technology

There are many opportunities for using computers to improve the efficiency of teachers, staff, and students. The District should act as a resource for our individual schools, providing assistance in helping each school to make the best use of available technology. While the District has made significant improvements in its use of technology, there is much more that can be done.

With the basic infrastructure now in place, our schools now need high quality software, teacher training, and resource sharing. Our teachers need to share their experiences with others. The District could assist by researching software and methods that better complement classroom instruction.

Parents should be involved in this process. Software suggestions exchanged with parents with help both parents and teachers. With computers in nearly 70% of homes, it is now possible for many assignments to use computers, especially the Internet. Those without computers would be able to use computers at the school or nearly any library.

On-line surveys can be conducted quickly on any subject. Instead of the Board guessing how parents, teachers, and students feel about an issue, we can ask. Paper surveys were expensive and slow. On-line surveys are easy to create and results can be displayed quickly for no significant cost.

District newsletters could be e-mailed to those electing such delivery. This would save the district the expense of printing and mailing this information, although the printed version must still be made available to those who desire it. The on-line version of the newsletter could have enhanced capabilities, such as audio, video, and colorful graphics. There would be no space limitation to the on-line newsletter.

Computers can also be used to supplement and enrich the learning process at home. We need to share software suggestions with parents and provide software to those students with special needs.