Responses to Realtors Questionnaire

By Susan Kane

The Pasadena-Foothills Association of Realtors interviewed all candidates and endorsed my candidacy for re-election. These are my written responses to their questions.

Successes:

• More and stronger instructional leaders in our schools, as well as some very strong administrative leaders in our central office
• A more experienced and stable teaching staff (greater than 85% credentialed workforce)
• A sound, fundamental reading program districtwide
• Significant movement towards aligning curriculum and classroom instruction with state standards
• A commitment to sustaining class-size reduction in grades K-3
• Adopted master plans for English Language Learners and for K-12 arts education
• 14 of 24 elementary schools with API scores exceeding 700 and 4 more within 5% of that mark
• Successful completion of Measure Y renovation on the majority of campuses
• A public perception of the district that is dramatically improved and more supportive, both in the community at large and among partnering government, not-for-profit, and for-profit organizations

• Some elementary schools and all secondary schools that continue to struggle with academics
• Inadequate curriculum in some core subjects, namely the sciences and social science
• Unacceptably high class sizes beyond grade 3
• Unacceptably large gap between highest and lowest achievers
• A budget process that continues to roll over from previous years instead of producing budgets based on programmatic and student needs
• Administrative and operational procedures that continue to produce waste and inefficiency
• Inadequate support for new teachers and insufficient inclusion of experienced teachers in program development, implementation, improvement, and dissemination of best practices
• Unacceptable cost overruns and construction delays, coupled with poor communication to the public on several Measure Y projects

• Focus on curriculum and instructional programs in secondary schools, with special emphasis on middle schools
• Special focus on science -- I am spearheading a community-based Science Initiative for this purpose
• Continued focus on recruitment and retention of credentialed, subject-trained teachers, coupled with adequate support and professional development
• Evaluate effectiveness of principals at lowest achieving schools and replace if necessary
• Full implementation of the English Learner Master Plan to help close their achievement gap; increased sensitivity to the learning and support needs of the poorest students in the district
• Continue to pursue a budget process that is program- and needs-based and that strives for equitable distribution of resources; streamline administrative and operational practices
• Enhance the role of teachers in program development and implementation by holding annual teacher summits and including teacher-leaders on district teams to review successes, remedy failures, and disseminate best practices throughout the district
• Continue to press for greater oversight of problematic Measure Y projects and more forthcoming communication with the schools, parents, and public (also see below)

We need to get our budget process and our spending under control. We must move away from rollover budgets to a program- and needs-based, budget-building process that allocates resources to areas of greatest need. We should continue to seek other financial support through foundations, donations, and appropriate grant programs. My spending priorities are in areas that impact academics the most -- competitive teacher and principal salaries to attract and retain the highest quality personnel at those levels; resources for development, implementation, and dissemination of high-quality curriculum and instructional programs; classroom materials to support those programs; support personnel in schools of greatest need to impact adult-to-student ratios and improve out-of-classroom student services.

Q3. Increasing parent participation.

I propose implementing a program called The Parent Project, founded and based at UCLA. I am seeking ways to pilot this program in the district next year, taking advantage of a contact at Cal State LA who was one of the program's originators. The fundamental objective of the program is to bring parents from diverse ethnic backgrounds together to learn about and share their experiences with the public school system in California. Parents question principals, visit classrooms, delve into assessment practices and standards, all in an interactive and collaborative way. In the end, participants develop action plans to implement change at their schools in a way that will improve the school experience for all children.

Q4. Protecting Measure Y modernization. We should continue to fund the deferred maintenance fund at the maximum required level. We should continue to seek funding (e-rate and other state or federal programs) for an adequate security system on all campuses. We should consider slowing down on the final projects in Measure Y to make sure that current projects are not shortchanged and to re-evaluate fund status for possible future needs. We should make sure to set aside an appropriate percentage of new capital funds for ongoing maintenance and improvement needs.

Q5. Attracting more Pasadena families to the district. I believe we need to continue to focus on academics and student achievement. We are already having successes at enrolling new students at schools that are showing the biggest improvements in achievement. We need to move beyond language arts and math to a full and robust curriculum in the sciences, social science, and the arts. Importantly, we need to give the kind of attention to middle schools that we have given to elementary schools over the past four years. Middle schools represent the critical transition period for sustaining and building on students' elementary school successes so that they can be fully prepared for a productive high school experience aimed at their post-secondary goals. Moreover, parents currently considering enrollment in a strong elementary school perceive few middle school options and view this as a deterrent to starting their children in PUSD today. We need to reverse that trend.