Candidate for
Board Member; Gilroy Unified School District

Focus on Excellence

The classroom is at the heart of the K-12 education experience. It is the ability of the teacher to inspire and teach that comes before policy, philosophy, administration, and physical condition of the school in determining whether the goals of K-12 education are met. This district must attract and retain outstanding teachers. The district and community must work together to provide the resources, support, and respect needed by teachers to function at their highest level. This includes excellent compensation, effective support for discipline issues, serviceable classrooms, a reasonable grouping of student ability in the classroom, and a voice that is respected and considered. Information must be collected when teachers leave the district, the data analyzed and used to improve teacher retention. There must also be an effective method to evaluate the performance of teachers and that information applied to identify needs and drive continual improvement.

Academic excellence for all students. All students have the right to be taught at their instructional level and challenged to move higher. Although I applaud the district in setting goals that 90% of students will perform at grade level by year 2004, it provides nothing for students who are already at grade level or above. High, medium, and low performing students (in any particular subject) must be engaged using different strategies and by teachers who have the appropriate skills. Grouping students by ability and assigning teachers who can provide the focused skills needed for that grouping (an output of an effective teacher evaluation process) is an effective strategy to appropriately engage and meaningfully challenge the students at hand.

The ability to read, write, and speak English is a fundamental key that unlocks the doors of opportunity in America. Learning a language is very hard and often embarrassing work. The district and community must work together (without disparaging any other language or culture) to create a safe environment that strongly and consistently supports the mastery of English.

Character matters. A person can have education, money, and health but in the end, it is their character that will determine if these resources are used for the benefit or detriment of our community. Ethics should be taught at all grade levels and public service strongly encouraged.

Gilroy is a great place to live, but unfortunately our schools have a poor reputation, and the Gilroy Unified School District does not have the community support it deserves. The academic performance of California schools rank low with respect to the nation, and Gilroy schools rank low within California. Our schools have been left to deteriorate, education fads have come and gone (leaving students in the dust), parents and teachers don't feel they have a voice. The District administration recognizes these issues and has recently developed goals and strategies to address them. As a board member, I will work to ensure that the District uses real data (appropriately) to monitor and improve performance and to ensure that the voices of parents, teachers, and students are heard. There are many reasons why Gilroy is a great place to live; having excellent schools should be at the top of that list. A focus on excellence will see us there.