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

MAKE CHILDREN THE DISTRICT'S TOP PRIORITY

· Children are why schools exist. Adult differences must not spill over and affect children in the classroom.

INCREASE COMMUNITY RESOURCES AND PARENT INVOLVEMENT ADDRESS DIVERSE EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

· Our students need the parcel tax renewed in 2010.

· "We need to consider another general obligation bond in order to paint schools, replace worn carpeting and HVAC.

· The greater community should be invited to help (mentoring kids, reading to kids, etc).

· Parents must lobby Sacramento and make them listen to us. Next year is the year of educational reform. Legislators must be educated about our concerns.

FOSTER MUTUAL RESPECT, CONSENSUS BUILDING, AND COLLABORATION

· We must work together if we are to have a quality educational program for all children.

· Children must be kept as our District's top priority and the adults should work in their best interest.

PROVIDE EXCELLENT EDUCATION IN SAFE ENVIRONMENT

· Staff and students need to feel safe physically, socially, and emotionally before they can teach or do their job or learn.

ENSURE ACCOUNTABILITY

· By being careful with its dollars, the District has been able to develop a substantial reserve which it is spending on compensation.

· We need to ensure that dollars are spent as they come in, that the community knows where every dollar is being spent, and that it is for the children.

· We need to ensure that Administrators are held accountable for promoting and maintaining high performance standards for all children, and that the District works to this end. (High achieving students need to be encouraged to move beyond where they are and lower performing students need to be moved more quickly to catch up--to close the achievement gap). The District has been willing to look at the Achievement Gap and how to close it in the last 2 years. It needs to continue working on this. Schools must raise achievement for those at the top as well as those in the middle and the bottom.