League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Santa Clara County, CA November 4, 2014 Election
	Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues Board Member; Palo Alto Unified School District

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of Palo Alto and asked of all candidates for this office.     See below for questions on Communication, Diversity, Common Core, Pre-school Click on a name for candidate information.   See also more information about this contest. 1. What steps need to be taken to foster better communication among the school board, superintendent's office, and the local school communities? Answer from Terry Godfrey: To improve communication between the board and the community I would like to set up channels of communication both electronically (e.g. online community engagement systems) and person to person (e.g. bi-weekly coffee chats) to ensure that we gather a wide swath of input versus relying on hearing from community members who happen to have time to attend board meetings. In this same vein, I will work to streamline board meetings so that we stay on agenda so that we are respectful of the time of the community members who do want to engage by addressing the board directly. I think the board would be well-served to be clearer in its decision making by proposing more motions that can be voted upon. This allows for a clear set of decisions so that the staff knows what to act on and the community knows what to expect and for what to hold the board and staff accountable. Answer from Catherine Crystal Foster: Our district and board serve our students best when they maintain open and productive communication with the community. The new superintendent has set a welcome tone of transparency and openness. Other steps that would improve communication include: 1) structuring board meetings so that items of greatest interest to the community are agendized early in the evening, 2) proactively soliciting input from all sectors of our community via in-person meetings in the community, focus groups, brief electronic surveys on key issues, and email outreach, 3) update the community regularly about PAUSD activities, and about both progress and challenges facing PAUSD. Answer from Gina D. Dalma: First, we need to establish a clear vision of success for all students with specific goals. Second, we need to establish metrics towards the goals and transparent and frequent communication about achievement toward those goals. Third,we need to design and implement a communications plan that includes frequent communications and the use of multiples channels (social media, convenings, etc). An effective school district prioritizes building trust between all stakeholders and that can only be achieved through clear, transparent and frequent communications. Answer from Ken Dauber: The arrival of our new Superintendent, Max McGee, is a real opportunity. We need to make improvements in transparency, clarity, and accountability of decision-making. Effective parent and community participation requires that the public's business is done in public, and I will make available all communications with district staff. I will also work to ensure greater clarity in decision making, and to put in place clear metrics for communicating and assessing progress against our goals. Answer from Jay Blas Jacob Cabrera: I am committed to full online interactivity for all decisions that come before the school board. As a voter you will be able to help priorities and vote on each and every topic, as well as decisions that the school board votes on in the comfortability of your own home, and on your smartphone anywhere. I will implement this immediately upon my election to the PAUSD School Board. Additionally I will also have participatory meetings between each and every school board meeting, where every community member who attends will have equal vote, and as a community we will consider and vote on each and every issue and decision that comes in front of the School Board. I am 100% committed to voting in alignment with the decisions the community makes as a whole, as long as no individual rights would be violated or existing laws would be broken. 2. What approaches would you support to help students of diverse educational abilities achieve their educational goals? Answer from Catherine Crystal Foster: My priority is maximizing the potential of every student. This means helping each student -- of whatever ability -- to learn, grow, and thrive every year. To accomplish this, we must invest in hiring and retaining the best teachers, provide effective teacher training on addressing all students' needs, offer sufficient classroom support to serve struggling students, and provide appropriate challenge for every student. We must create an environment in which all students can succeed on their own terms, can feel successful, and can be prepared for success beyond high school. Ensuring that our curriculum is engaging, relevant, and purposeful will help us inspire and reach every student. The district itself must model a culture of continuous learning, so that it is always improving as it educates all students. Answer from Terry Godfrey: Our students are best served when our teaching can meet them where they are and deliver a year's worth of learning every year. This means we cannot have one-size-fits-all teaching. Giving teachers the tools and resources they need to create a classroom environment that keeps all kids learning is important. In the lower grades, particularly now when we strive for full inclusion, teachers need the training, time and resources to plan and implement a plan that teaches every child and gets the most out of the combination and interactions of children they have in their class. At the higher grade levels, as students find their passion we should continue to offer classes that let our students stretch; they should adhere to the same principles of a year's worth of learning every year for every student. For some subjects the pedagogy suggests having students of varying abilities in the same class and for others it is different classes (i.e. what PAUSD calls "laning"). Either way, it's very important that we achieve horizontal consistency in teaching so every child has equal access to great teaching. Equally important is that we allow teachers the time and space needed to do what it takes to provide great teaching while alleviating unnecessary student stress. Some examples include teachers collaborating to achieve horizontal consistency, to plan so that students' tests and projects aren't overlapping, to create a testing system with fewer high stakes tests, and to address academic honesty. Answer from Gina D. Dalma: High-functioning schools and districts are those that provide the least restrictive environment for all students and are as inclusive as the needs of every student will allow. Full inclusion is a best practice but to work, we need to ensure that the proper support programs are in place. THREE things that I would do to ensure all students could thrive: o First, professional development and resources need to be available for teachers so instruction is best suited for each student. More than anything, teachers need to feel supported in serving all our students so they reach their full potential. o Second, we need to set goals and measure our achievement towards these goals. I would look at the data and then complement the analysis by asking parents and teachers if these goals are being met. o Third, we need to look at what others are doing to keep improving our practices. Answer from Ken Dauber: In a 21st-century economy, all students need to leave high school with strong skills and the ability to work collaboratively with others, whether they are going on to college or not. We need to prepare students for college and for life. That requires supporting teachers at all levels in differentiating instruction to provide all students with appropriate challenges, whether they are struggling, in the middle, or doing advanced work. It also means ensuring that we deliver high-quality academic advising and college guidance services at both high schools. Answer from Jay Blas Jacob Cabrera: This is a VERY broad question so I will give a variety of answers. 1) Initiate the process to create a new Mini Strategic Plan which specifically focuses on the individual unique needs of each and every student, and how we as a district will ensure that those needs are met. 2) Communicate directly with students, teachers, parents and community members to build priorities on educational goals and ensure that all top priorities are accomplished to the best of our ability. 3) Ensure that the difficult and taboo issues are addressed including academic pressure for students to always get A's (why not offer rewards for B's too?), the cheating scandals both at Gunn, Paly, and other schools across the nation, as well as making sure there is a plan for students who are falling through the cracks of the system! 4) In the context of academic achievement, we MUST increase money, resources, tutors, staff, and build leadership within the communities that are currently unable to meet the level of academic goals and standards needed. This is not just a legal issue, as we have been in violation of the law, it is also a moral and ethical issue, and it is NOT ok for the PAUSD to barely be meeting quotas. Although there are more, I will end with the fifth one... 5) In regards to children with special needs, I am a huge supporter of expanding inclusion programs and building in systems of access for these programs to all students. This will end stigma placed on children with special needs, as well as ensure that students who don't want to be stigmatized have access to the resources that are available to them to increase their learning skills. Many students that do need special needs education tools to excel are NOT getting the help they deserve. This happened to me, and it shouldn't happen to anyone else. 3. Do you agree with the Common Core standards and if so, how should they be implemented? Answer from Catherine Crystal Foster: The emphasis on critical thinking, problem solving and deeper learning in the Common Core offers exciting opportunities for our teachers to innovate. This will help all students enrich their knowledge and skills, and be better prepared for life beyond high school. In order for the Common Core to be successful in our schools, we must: 1) invest in effective teacher training that builds on best practices, 2) capitalize on the opportunity to bring fresh ideas into the classroom, 3) inform and engage the community so they can be partners in Common Core implementation, and 4) measure, learn from, and take action on data from new Common Core tests so that teachers and students can improve. Answer from Ken Dauber: Yes, I agree with the Common Core standards. Their emphasis on critical thinking is an excellent fit with our district's strengths. It is valuable to have standards and assessments that align with our own educational goals, as does the Common Core. We need to ensure that our teachers are supported with professional development and other resources during the transition. Strategic Plan surveys indicate that a large percentage of teachers feel that they need more such support, underlining the importance of being proactive in this area. Answer from Jay Blas Jacob Cabrera: In short Yes. There is no question that Common Core will be a step up from "No Child Left Behind", and it is great that we are implementing it into our schools as it will bring many benefits. BUT my priority in supporting the implementation of Common Core will be on fully evaluating it as a skeptical observer. We need detailed internal evaluation criteria as a community and make sure that these new standards really are helping our children learn instead of creating a new hurdle for teachers to actually teach real skills to our children. Although standardized testing will not be going away, we must ensure that it doesn't get in the way of our youth learning real skills and not just learning how to take tests. We must also make sure that these new standards don't lead to more cheating and cheating scandals. Again, I am happy to be implementing these standards, but will be scrutinizing and engaging in detailed analysis of there effectiveness, from the day they are initiated. Answer from Terry Godfrey: I agree with the standards. With California having adopted them, the school district has already started work on curriculum revision to meet the standards. The board's responsibility is to ensure that the staff have the time and tools to develop the curriculum, train the staff at all levels and create a set of metrics to not only measure progress towards implementation of the new curriculum but to measure student outcomes as a baseline before the Smarter Balance Tests are fully implemented. Answer from Gina D. Dalma: The CCSS is the most important education reforms of the past 20 years. It is a huge opportunity for all our students to gain the knowledge and the skills necessary to thrive in college or career when they graduate from high school. It will require a massive effort which should include: First, set the vision of success and message the priority of implementation. Every level of the district needs to own the vision of success (and the work that needs to happen to achieve it) Second, Plan implementation for the next 3-5 years with metrics to fine-tune along the way Third, invest in key levers for student Common Core implementation: Teacher professional development, Instructional Material, Assessments and Technology 4. Do you see instituting a pre-school program for children younger than the "early 5s" age as desirable for the PAUSD? If so, have you any ideas on how it might fit into the school structure? Answer from Ken Dauber: Early educational enrichment is a proven technique for improving achievement in later years, particularly for children who come from lower-income or otherwise challenged families. We should improve our ability to reach those children by providing the services they need to take advantage of our existing programs (including Springboard to Kindergarten and Transition to Kindergarten), such as transportation and extended care hours. We should also ensure that all children in the district have access to excellent nutrition through providing fresh, local, healthy foods for our school breakfast and lunch program. Better nutrition is a cost-effective intervention for young children that is demonstrated to improve both learning and behavior. Answer from Gina D. Dalma: I do. Universal Preschool has shown to have a significant impact on raising student achievement. Nevertheless, it is not one of my priorities for the first 4 years as most children in our district already have preschool experience (albeit private), and we have an incredible amount of competing priorities. Answer from Catherine Crystal Foster: The benefits of early childhood education are powerful and clear. We are fortunate that PAUSD already includes the successful Preschool Family, Young 5s, Transitional Kindergarten, and Springboard to Kindergarten programs. This commitment to serving young children is a credit to PAUSD and a cornerstone of our effective preschool through 12 unified school district. Answer from Jay Blas Jacob Cabrera: Yes, pre-school is an essential aspect of learning and important both scientifically proven, as well as from my own personal experience from going to "Big Kids Place" in Palo Alto/Stanford while growing up here. The most important aspect of pre-school is access and ensuring that all parents have the option to send their child to pre-school if they choose. Any Pre-school program would need to be organized as a separate system under the elementary schools. It also would make sense to collaborate with existing Pre-schools in the area and create a integrated private public system, as there is no reason to take over the existing pre-schools in the area. Instead we could consider starting just one or two additional pre-schools, and allow parents to choose between the existing private pre-schools, and the new public one(s). Answer from Terry Godfrey: With the existing Young 5s program PAUSD has structure that already accommodates early education programming. For the 2014-15 school year PAUSD offers Transitional Kindergarten for children born 9/1/09 to 12/2/09 which mimics the Young 5s model and addresses a population slightly younger. PAUSD has already instituted a pre-school program for children. It offers Spring Board to Kindergarten which offers five months of pre-school at a PAUSD campus in the winter/spring before a child starts kindergarten. Springboard is designed to improve kindergarten readiness and transition experiences of students without prior quality pre-school experience. This is limited in scope due to its addressing an underserved population. Again, this is in the purview of the Young 5s principal and fits into an existing structure so if the district decides to expand this program in the future there is an existing infrastructure into which it would fit. Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. The answer to each question should be limited to 400 words. Direct references to opponents are not permitted. The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.