League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Alameda County, CA June 3, 2008 Election
	Jody S. London Answers Questions Candidate for School Director; Oakland Unified School District; District 1

The questions were prepared by the the League of Women Voters of Oakland and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. How do you assess truancy in the School District; what changes would you advocate?

My two children attend Oakland's public schools and I understand very well the opportunities and challenges for the Oakland Unified School District. I have been very active at the school site and also with the District on a range of issues. In addition to direct experience as a parent and leader, I have worked at senior levels in government and the private sector, and in leadership positions with non-profit groups, including Chairperson of Save the Bay. I understand how large organizations operate, and how to effectively influence change. I know how to work with staff and with decision makers, and also how to engage the community. Oakland Unified needs leaders like me who understand public organizations, are committed to ongoing improvement, and can produce results

The problems of truancy and violence are very real and a great concern to voters. This has been brought home to me again and again as I campaign. We must work to make sure that every neighborhood has a school where families feel safe sending their children. We must ensure that schools are attractive to students. This must include making students feel comfortable in the schools, starting with elementary schools. I realize that this is a tall order, but it must be our vision for our schools and for Oakland.

To get to this goal, we must pull together all the stakeholders, starting with students and their parents or adult guardians. Schools can help working families by ensuring that after-school programs provide children with homework support and/or enrichment opportunities, such as art, carpentry, music, or sports classes. A particular area of focus should be after-school programs and classes/sports for middle and high school students.

I will look for opportunities to collaborate and innovate with local businesses, non-profits, foundations, the City, County, and State, civic organizations, and other groups and individuals. We should work with these groups to bring in additional resources and diversity of educational experiences. School will be more attractive when we engage students however it is they learn best, be that art, music, science, vocational education, sports, etc. We also must have a good plan to address truancy when it occurs, that involves parents or adult guardians. Further, school leaders should be trained, supported, and ready to make tough decisions when necessary.

2. What is your opinion of the District's School Success program?

As a parent of Oakland Unified students, I have not heard much about the Expect Success Program. My understanding of Expect Success is that it is setting District-wide goals for student performance, for example, each student will read at grade level in third grade, each student will be proficient in Algebra at the end of ninth grade. The program also, I believe, is designed to streamline central office functions. A review of program budgets shows that about $43 million has been put into this project since 2004.

While these are laudable goals, they have not been adequately explained to the public. As a parent, the most I know about Expect Success is its slogan. This is an example to me of the need for much better collaboration and communication on the part of the District with the community it serves + students, teachers, parents, and community members. The District must improve the dialogue with families. There should be better collaboration between schools, neighborhood groups, and other stakeholders on joint priorities. I will provide leadership to help ensure that every neighborhood has a school where families feel comfortable sending their children. I will work to facilitate better sharing of knowledge among schools, particularly in the area of PTA programs and best practices.

3. How might the School District work more effectively with the City?

OUSD must improve its coordination with the City of Oakland and continue to build on its relationships with the County Office of Education to identify ongoing opportunities to create safe learning environments and extra-curricular opportunities. I also want Oakland Unified to work more effectively with non-profit groups and local businesses. As a School Board member, I intend to bring together all the organizations that are providing programs in the District, from youth sports leagues to on-site after-school providers to urban planning groups that are reworking playgrounds to businesses like Children's Hospital that offer internships for high school students. We need a better understanding of the breadth of programs being offered, the resources that these groups can offer (some of them bring in outside foundation support, independent of OUSD, and apply those funds for OUSD projects), and how to leverage the great work that is already occurring.

For several years I have been working pro bono with OUSD to develop an energy policy, which was adopted in April 2007, along with a green building policy. Part of this process involved bringing PG&E to the table as a partner. OUSD and the Peralta Colleges should work with the City of Oakland, PG&E, and other energy companies to develop and fund courses and vocational training or certificate programs in energy management and renewable energy technology, a growing field with great economic development potential for Oakland. There is a great deal of funding available for this type of effort currently through the utilities, as California implements its greenhouse gas reduction policies. As former Chairperson of Save the Bay, I know first-hand that there are many great environmental education programs available in Oakland. Using Save the Bay's Canoes in Sloughs program as an example, the program provides in-classroom lessons geared to state standards. It then brings students to the Martin Luther King Regional Shoreline Park, Jr. where they can work at a restoration site and in the native plant nursery. Finally, students grades 6 and up can go out in canoes in Arrowhead Marsh. Many OUSD students live within a few miles of this jewel and have never been there; this must change.

---

Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' answers are presented as submitted.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Candidate Page || Feedback to Candidate || This Contest
SmartVoter Home (Ballot Lookup) || About Smart Voter

---

Created from information supplied by the candidate: April 29, 2008 17:32
Smart Voter <http://www.smartvoter.org/>
Copyright © League of Women Voters of California Education Fund   http://www.lwvc.org
The League of Women Voters neither supports nor opposes candidates for public office or political parties.