Candidate for
Board Member; Sequoia Union High School District

My stated goals as a candidate in 2009 were to:

• Maintain the continuous improvement of a great school district in tough economic times.

• Continue expansion of Career and Technical Education in the district.

• Improve communication and partnership with the K-8 feeder school districts and the community.

• API scores have continued to rise across the District, especially for target populations

• Alternative programs have flourished, improving student outcomes

• SUHSD schools have earned 6 year WASC Accreditation and California Distinguished School honors

• New, state of the Art facilities have supported the growth of Biotech, Robotics, Engineering, Digital Arts, and other Career Pathway programs

• SUHSD is partnering with all 8 feeder districts for Common Core implementation

• Implement the Common Core Curriculum - Enable collaborative work by faculty within Disciplines, across Disciplines, across the schools of our District, and across Districts. Provide extensive Professional Development, strongly informed and led by SUHSD Faculty and outside experts. Acquire robust, extensive new technology to support our pedagogical vision, and enable smarter, more meaningful assessment. Develop real-world, integrated curriculum to engage all students in 21st Century learning.

• Plan for 20-25% Enrollment Growth by 2020 - The growth coming up through our K-8 feeder districts is far more than a call to build 25% more of the same educational space we offer today. The coming growth is a challenge and an opportunity to strongly engage the community in the planning effort, tie individual SUHSD High Schools more tightly to specific 8th grade communities, create more effective small learning communities, and build the schools of the future.

• Implement Linked Learning - Align Career and Technical Education around Career Pathways. This approach engages ALL students more strongly in BOTH Career and College Preparation. More Small Learning Communities will be developed at both our Comprehensive High Schools and potential new smaller sites, around the Career Pathways that most interest our students and prepare them best for the future. Strongly reinforcing the principles of the Common Core Curriculum, this approach is based on collaboration within and across Disciplines, and greater engagement with the Business Community, K-8 feeder districts, post-secondary institutions, and the County Office of Education.

• Continue to strengthen partnerships with K-8 Feeder Districts and Community Colleges - The growth of the SUHSD Middle College program at Canada College and the recently awarded joint grant for Common Core Implementation by SUHSD and all 8 of our Feeder Districts are examples of how we must continue working more effectively together at all levels for an effective, continuous Pre-K - 16 educational framework. The High School District is the keystone of this effort, and SUHSD must continue to lead in this effort.

• Continue to close the Achievement Gap - API scores have risen at each of our High Schools throughout the past decade, and the rise has been strongest for all identified target socio-economic groups. The Common Core Curriculum, Linked Learning, Pre-K - 16 Articulation, and our approach to Enrollment Growth are all focused on closing the Achievement Gap by improving the opportunities and performance of ALL students in the District.

• Continue to ensure fiscal stability - During my four years on the SUHSD Board, District leadership worked hard to survive the most disastrous economic climate since the Great Depression. We are emerging from this period with strong Reserves, having kept cuts away from the classroom, and having preserved robust programs, including strong Summer School and Adult School offerings, when very few other Districts could. Facing the Local Control Funding Formula, which will cut into the resources available to our Basic Aid District during a time of tremendous enrollment growth, we must manage our resources to achieve our ambitious goals, while remaining prepared for the unexpected.