Candidate for
Board Member; San Mateo Union High School District

Being the parents of six children, my husband and I have always been interested and involved in their educations. When our youngest started school, I returned to the University to complete my Bachelor's degree, and went on to earn my California Teaching Credential. This made it possible to do even more than volunteer work at their schools.

I tutored both gifted and at-risk students over the years, and taught Language Arts at the Middle School level. Presently I have been granted a leave to pursue and complete both a Masters in Language and Literacy, and a California Reading/Language Arts Specialist Credential. This I have done because I am passionately concerned with the low reading levels of too many of our students, and want to make a difference in their lives. I am part of the National Council of Teachers of English, and the California Reading Association. In addition, I make time to volunteer for the American Heart Association, Arthritis Foundation, and the March of Dimes fund raising efforts, among others.

Being elected to the San Mateo Union High School District Governing Board of Trustees eight years ago made it possible to continue our family's commitment to providing the best education possible for not only our children, but for ALL students in the District. It has been exciting, challenging, and very rewarding to serve on the Governing Board these past 8 years.

When first elected, I faced a deficit of close to 3 million dollars! Close scrutiny of the budget, demanding accountability for expenditures, and a commitment to not only getting out of debt but to building a healthy reserve, has put the District on sound financial footing. We were able to draw on our reserves to help weather the drastic budget cuts due to the State's recent budget crisis. We made cuts as far away from the classroom as possible, and did not have to lay off even ONE teacher.

Once the State established content and achievement standards, we began working on aligning our curriculum to meet those standards. We have lowered class sizes where possible to allow more individualized instruction. Graduation requirements have increased, as has the rigor of a solid academic core for all freshmen and sophomores, enabling them to build a strong foundation to draw upon should they decide to pursue attending the UC system, or other universities.

Of the Class of 2004, 93% have passed the High School Exit Exam in English Language Arts (State average is only 73%) and 85% have passed the Math portion (State average is only 53%). I believe this has occured partly due to our increased academic standards for all students.

I hope to continue to serve the public as I have these past two terms, and welcome any input from the community members in our District.