Candidate for
Member; Stanislaus County Board of Education; Area 2

My extensive experience in education for the past 28 years has equipped me with the necessary skills to make informed decisions regarding education in Stanislaus County. I taught social studies at the secondary level for 15 years, was Assistant Principal at Turlock High School in charge of curriculum and activities for 8 years, and recently retired as Principal of Adult and Career Technical Education from Turlock Unified School District. During my tenure as Principal of Adult and Career Technical Education, I was able to successfully maintain quality programs for adult students and high school career technical education and ROP students in light of a 20% reduction from the state. Turlock Adult School maintained an enrollment of 1,600-2,200 students per semester and attracted students from throughout the County seeking to earn a high school diploma and continue their post-secondary education. I am proud to say that with the support of the Turlock Unified School District, Turlock Adult School became the largest adult school in the County, (while other districts reduced their adult programs), thus insuring that more adults were able to earn their much needed high school diplomas and learn and master English as their second language.

In the area of high school career technical education and ROP, our students were prepared with the necessary skills needed for entry level positions upon graduation. One example of this is the Certified Nursing Program at TUSD. Over 50% of our students received job offers after passing their state boards while the remaining 50% went on to college to major in nursing or other health related fields. Other examples of premier career technical education programs that I oversaw were agriculture, business, engineering, automotive maintenance and repair, cosmetology, culinary arts, sheet metal technology and machine tooling, educational psychology and elementary education preparation. These programs helped prepare our students to be career and college ready. I believe that my educational knowledge and fiscal experience and responsibility will be a strong asset to the Stanislaus County Board of Education.

In addition to my educational background, I have been a life long resident of Stanislaus County and was born and raised in Turlock where I currently reside. I attended Turlock Schools and graduated from CSU, Stanislaus with a degree in Political Science. I currently hold teaching credentials in social studies and government and also possess a Clear Professional Administrative Services credential. I am active in the community and am a member of Turlock Sunrise Rotary, the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA), Stanislaus County Farm Bureau, and serve on the City of Turlock Planning Commission. I previously served on the City of Turlock Arts Commission and was a 4-H leader for Turlock Hoof and Horns. My husband, Dale Pollard is an agriculture instructor at Modesto Junior College and our daughter, Annelise Martella is a senior accountant at Delicato in Napa.