CUTA and CSEA Forum 09/30/02

By Jolanda Schreurs, Ph.D.

A forum for the candidates for CUSD was held at Farallone View School by the CUTA and CSEA (Cabrillo Unified Teachers Association and California State Employees Association).

Candidates were asked to present a 2 min opening statement and answer 6 questions (with a 2min time limit).

2 min opening Statement

A campaign is an opportunity to evaluate your core values & beliefs and find your center.

What is it that I found in this quest? Probably a lot that you as teachers already know and experience everyday?.

Educating a child is a series of incremental steps- taken day-by day; most are small, but some are larger and occasionally they are joyful leaps of discovery. The path requires an educational approach which is thoughtful, systematic, and disciplined; it must be logically developed over the span of a childs? years. A sturdy foundation provides the base upon which creativity and individual expression can stand strong. It provides the essentials which permit a student to advance to the next level. But beyond this foundation, one needs to engage the heart and the soul of a student so that the joy of learning, the fun in discovery and the satisfaction in gaining mastery leads a child to his/her own personal best.

The breath that we need to provide is that which will help a young adolescent make future choices and find directions which are of personal interest. The depth that we provide in curriculum is the opportunity for a child to gain expertise, to acquire a passion for a subject, as well as provide for career, college/university opportunities and competitive advantages.

So....How do we as an institution, i.e., a school district fulfull our mission of educating each and every one of our 3800 children? We must set out specific and concrete goals on a systematic and regular basis and provide the means to achieving these goals. We must have the data to understand our strengths and weaknesses. We must be willing to let intelligent and thoughtful feedback guide us. And we must be willing to evolve.

Specifically,

1-We must support our teachers. They are the brains, the heart and the soul of the classroom. We must find supportive ways to keep the teaching environment vigorous and vibrant. We must find revenues to pay teachers salaries commensurate with their talents and with the cost of living in this area. We must keep class sizes low. We must reduce teaching loads in the middle and high school and/or find department support technicians/personnel.

2-We must support our administrators and support services which are the backbone which keeps the total system strong, interconnected, and working together as one. Without our district office and our principals, counselors, school-linked services and computer staff, the horizontal communication between classrooms and schools, and the vertical transition (articulation) between schools would not exist.

3-We must also find the means to good.. no even... great home-school-home communications. There is a classic statement which says that the greatest predictor of a child?s success is who his parents/family are?. You can take this to mean many different things? but what I believe is important to us, as a school is that we harness the power implicit to the parental-child-familial relationship to provide the best for each of our students.

Question #1 Are there any policies/priorities of the current Governing Board that you believe need to change? If so, what are they, and how would you change them if you were elected?

I believe an effective School Board must be focused on educational priorities and not other issues. Ultimately, educating our children is the most important investment we as a Soceity can make. It is education that gives children the opportunity for a life better than their parents and in our democracy, the ability to make their best decisions.

The Board has developed a vision for its schools using district goals and objectives which are reviewed annually. These goals provide the framework for decision making. The vision that the Board has developed over the past decade is one that I share. It emphasizes higher academic standards at all grade levels, and increased high school graduation requirements, and an alignment of district curriculum with state standards in language arts, math, science and social studies. At the secondary schools, the Board has supported classroom programs in music and fine arts and a flourishing program in agricultural science.

The vision has led to new and remodeled facilities, a consistent and progressive increase in test scores, new initiatives (language assessments, writing rubrics, Immersion, etc etc), new academic programs, and substantive progress in implementing new standards and curriculum. I repeat this is a vision which I share and which if elected, I intend to continue.

What priorities would I change?
1. In a time of budget woes, put a very high priority on finding additional resources- parcel tax and grant-writer. In addition, look to find additional efficiencies (energy, technology) which may translate to operational savings.

2. I would set a higher priority to an analysis of curriculum needs particularly at the middle and high school as the wave of changes begun 5-6 years ago in the elementary schools takes shape. Expand writing rubrics into the middle school- investigate alternatives- e.g. block scheduling to provide flexibility and additional academic options; look to differentiated instructional needs and meeting the needs of a range of students- from concrete to abstract/ from vocational -to 2- and 4-yr college and to university-track students.

3. Improve the articulation between the elementary/middle schools and the middle/high schools. Need technology to put student assessement data on-line

4. Set up a public relations program. Involve more parents. Involve the community. Expand mentoring, collaborative programs- to bring in outside expertise, real world experiences for students, and opportunities which may be limiting because of budget constraints

6. Reexamine the issue how we can finance busing in part or, in whole.

7. Put a parallel track investigation of the middle school back on the table. Get hard numbers, hard facts. But the old Cunha as a site should not be a negotiable.

Question #2. Please describe the experiences and background which provide a basis for your knowledge and understanding of our public school system

I have been an intimate participant in my children?s education these past 10 years. My oldest son, now a student here at HMBHS, went through Cunha and Farallone View. My younger son is in the 5th grade. Both my children have received a good education in the Cabrillo schools; my husband and I have been pleased.

Beyond my personal stake in this district, I have also been deeply involved at a variety of levels. There are three things that I want to stress.

a. One that my participation has and will continue to focus on constructive and systematic ways and means to improving our schools.

b. Two, that my interests span both the conceptual as well as, the practical?. As a Ph.D pharmacologist/biochemist who went to Cornell and Stanford, and worked in leading biotech companies here in the Bay Area, I understand what it takes to compete and excel in the intellectual, philosophical and competitive arena.

c. Three, as a parent who became a PTA President, Site Council Chair, fundraiser etc, and spent 40 hr weeks on our school campuses, I also appreciate the diversity of our students, and the breadth and depth of their needs. I place great value on the years I spent in the PTA ; I learned a lot about life in general.

So what have I done? Bottom line- 7 years, 8000 hrs, and raised about $36,000,000+. And As a representative of parents (PTA president and Site Council chair, Superintendants Advisory Committee), as a professional, and as an community member I have spent considerable time advocating for a variety of programs including: class size reduction, teachers aides/support services, incorporation of the TIMMS studies, more rigorous math programs, differentiated instruction, GATE and Healthy Start, better articulation between grades 5-6 and 8-9, incorporation of technology into the curriculum, participation by the Board in Bond measures and parcel taxes?

District level bonds & Parcel taxes- In 1996?Measure K, C, A
Fundraising- one example only Operation Band-Aid saved literacy, counselors etc
In program development and review- Site Council, site plans
In PTA-advocating for enrichment programs, home-school communication, afterschool and adjunct programs and fundraising
In the classroom- example of Montara model (mathematical mapping)

Question #3. As an elected Board member, describe how you see your role and responsibilities with respect to admin, teachers, and the community

My responsibility is to continue to educate myself about school and education issues so that I can make responsible decisions.

I believe that my role as an effective School Board member must be to focus on educational priorities. However, that is a comprehensive role, because this is a $25,000,000 business with 350 employees; the Board must concern itself with employee relations, legal issues, in addition to setting educational priorities-visions-goals.

A board has primary responsibility to make sure that the district is financially accountable. A board seeks expert and professional services from its key administrators. The relationship between the board and its administrators should be professional, open, and respectful yet the Board should continue to advocate and cause its administrators to implement improvements and seek opportunities. In short a board can be a evolutionary driving force, but it must do so gracefully and within the constraints of the system.

With respect to a board members role and responsibilities relative to teachers?.. A board member needs to have perspective. I want to be board member who is knowledgeable about what happens in the classrooms, so that policy decisions are based not only on theoretical knowledge but also practical experience. I know the importance of staff development opportunities, as well as the importance of supporting dialogue between teachers, departments, fields of expertise, and the vertical articulation between schools. Additional perspective can be gained, by visiting other schools/other school districts and obtaining advice from outside experts and literature.

A Board Member also needs to be a leader in the community and a liaison. Someone who listens, gathers information and opinons, seeks opportunities, yet can stand tall and strong when it is necessary to make difficult decisions. A board member must be an advocate for public education at all levels of community and government.

Question #4. If Cabrillo District experiences further revenue reductions what will be your priorities in addressing these cuts?

The state is expecting a 12 billion dollar budget deficit next year and for the next five years. Given this reality, it is imperative that we find additional revenues to offset further budget cuts. My priority would be to seek a local solution, in which community support for a common vision is shared.

If cuts were required?.
I would look for solutions that would affect the classroom as little as possible.
Keep salaries and benefits as competitive as possible.
Look to additional savings in utilities and other operating costs.
Look to all district employees for ideas re:possible savings.
Use interest-based bargaining to negotiate changes ? The given is that we have a common need to keep the district financially sound.
Look at all job descriptions.

Question #5. Our district is affected by policies set at both state and national levels. As a Board member, what would you do to affect change in these policies?

a) Be informed. Attend the regular monthly San Mateo County School Boards Assoc. meetings in which there are regular updates on legislation.

b) Know your legislators and their aides. Keep them informed.
c) Identify common interests and work together with other school boards, and school affiliated organizations to determine mechanisms by which change may be effected. Identify common problems and ? seek actions- e.g. discriminatory lawsuits (differential levels of funding) or legislative resolutions. Important to this is the ability to identify one or two key issues and keep a long-term focus. It is also important to identify the political forces which may effect change and to involve key voting blocks- e.g. parents (via PTAs which number about 1M).

d) Identify common interests and work together with other agencies which have goals in common- e.g. the Farm Bureau- which has a mission to effect improvements which benefit rural communities and which also seeks to effect change by legislative action

e) National- Look to agencies which effect positive constructive change in educational policies.. e.g. the National Science Foundation.. they also offer grants which are opportunities to effecting change. Look to lobbyists- e.g. former Senator Porter who was a key advocate on the budget committee for basic science funding-

Don't let the state off the hook for taking federal dollars which legitimately are directed to local school districts.

Question # 6. If elected, what would you do to build and unify community support for our school district?

Involvement is a key. An individual who is involved becomes a participant. Involve parents- make them key partners in the educational process. Period. They are the best advocates the school could ever ask for. Involve other segments of our community- Build mentoring programs (AAUW) ? with seniors, with agriculture, with professionals, with businesses, etc

Communication is another key. Building on the real mutual benefits between our schools and our community is important. Quality schools translate to a higher quality community. This is a message that we need to emphasize?. Keep it simple and reinforce this concept over and over again. How? with newspaper articles, with dialogue, (one-on-one; with leaders of various groups), but also with constructive and joyful occassions including: art shows, artistic performances, athletic events, science fairs, spelling bees, and exhibits. We need to reach beyond the parent population, and seek audiences and participation by all segments of our community- seniors, adults with preschoolers, adults with no children, business people, artists, and the commuters who go over the hill.

Style is the third key. A constructive and tolerant attitude is essential. An open, receptive and approachable board will go a long way. Have weekly breakfast meetings with the public and with key representatives of the community