Candidate for
Board Member; San Carlos School District

I grew up in California public schools both pre- and post-Proposition 13, from kindergarten all the way through UCLA. I experienced the richness of our education system before it was dismantled by Proposition 13, and I have a vision for the kind of high-quality education I would like to see California's schools deliver to all students, despite living in a post-Prop 13 world. I have lived in San Carlos for 11 years with my husband, Steve, and we have two children, both of whom either currently attend or have graduated from our San Carlos schools.

My professional background is in non-profit administration, so I bring to the board an ability to look through a programmatic lens at the work we do. I always keep my eye on establishing measurable goals at the outcome of any undertaking, and make it a priority that our cycle of evaluation, feedback and improvement is one that best meets the needs of our students and staff. Attention to fiscal management, policy, communication and personnel issues are also skills which I honed as a nonprofit executive director.

As a volunteer in our schools for over 10 years, I bring to the board more than a decade of institutional knowledge about our district and a broad background in the issues facing San Carlos schools. I have served on PTA boards, site councils, the SCEF board, and multiple parcel tax & bond campaigns, as well with community organizations such as Girl Scouts and San Carlos Children's Theater.

Working and developing relationships with parents and staff outside my own school expanded my horizons and gave me a unique "big picture" view of how our school ecosystem functions in San Carlos. It has also given me a broad perspective on the concerns, values, and priorities of the community when it comes to our public education system. And as a parent of a Sequoia High School student, I have personal experience on the importance of articulation of our curriculum to that of our high school district so that when our 8th graders leave our district they are the best prepared to meet the demands of high school and beyond.

As a School Board Trustee for the past 20 months, one of the areas on which I have spent much of my time is the Strategic Plan subcommittee. I am tremendously proud of the two year strategic planning process which involved all of our core constituencies, including teachers, staff, parents, community members, board members and district leadership, and which culminated in the adoption of our Strategic Plan this spring (available online at http://www.sancarlos.k12.ca.us/strategic-plan/). This plan sets a vision and a road map for the work that lies ahead for the district, and implementation has already begun at our sites. There is a tremendous amount of work ahead to ensure successful full implementation of this plan, and it requires both strong leadership at the board level as well as a commitment to supporting our teachers and staff through this transition.

I take seriously the role of board member, and am committed to my own professional development in this area. Over the past 20 months, I have participated in numerous conferences and other gatherings around education issues and am currently completing the Masters in Governance program run by the California School Boards Association. The goal of this program is to train board members in effective governance to ensure high functioning districts.

I have a proven track record that spans more than a decade of working successfully with parents, community members, teachers, administrators and district staff to strengthen public education in San Carlos.