League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Alameda County, CA November 2, 2010 Election
	Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues Board Member; New Haven Unified School District

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of Fremont, Newark, and Union City and asked of all candidates for this office.     See below for questions on School dropout Click on a name for candidate information.   See also more information about this contest. 1. High School dropout rates are a big concern. What solutions do you have to make sure students graduate? Answer from Sarabjit Kaur Cheema: Identify at risk symptoms at early stage, find the fundamental cause, Create support system at school in collaboration with parents, Provide more alternative/opportunities to make up lost or missed work Mandate afterschool or Saturday classes, if appropriate Answer from Linda Canlas: (to be provided) Answer from Jerico J. Abanico: I am the type of person that likes to seek the root causes of such incidents. Many times we look at the overview of what going on that we sometimes forget to look deeper into the problem. For example: if a student is on the verge of dropping out, the district should have a program/services that offer students an opportunity to meet with service based counselors to find a root cause as to why school is not working out. A lot of times we forget that we have gone through tough times in school and all it takes is for someone(s) to invest in the students lives, to reach out support them in ways that are possible. If it wasn't for the people who invested in my education and supported me as a person living in this community, I would not be where I am today. So to answer the question, I would push to see programs and services (prevention and/or intervention ) that provide help and support to students before they decide to drop out. Answer from Gwen Estes: We need to first believe that all students can be successful in the classroom. The biggest factor contributing to the High School dropout rate is that we have low expectations of our students, and teachers often give up on the most challenging students. Students must feel that they matter-both in and out of the classroom. Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' responses are not edited or corrected by the League. Answers must not refer directly or indirectly to another candidate. The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.