Candidate for
Governing Board Member; Alameda Unified School District

As an experienced education professional, I seek to contribute my passion and expertise to help with the passage of Alameda schools through this era of high stakes accountability.

While increased accountability in public education may have been long overdue, it has sometimes been clumsily implemented by districts across the country. In many schools, including some here in Alameda, narrowing of the curriculum to emphasize test scores in reading and math has led to a squeezing out of science, arts and other elective programs. For many children, especially in lower achieving groups, the joy of learning has been squelched. Furthermore, teacher morale has plunged at some of our schools!

District-wide efforts to reform curriculum and improve instruction must be strategically planned with teacher input, then effectively implemented, and monitored, regardless of which administrators are in place at the time. All too often, teachers and staff become cynical about district mandates and high-handed administrators, because in the past they have come and gone on practically a yearly basis. Fortunately, our current district-level administration is very competent, collaborative, and visionary.

For better or worse, standards-based accountability is here to stay. But districts must also be accountable to their community. As a school administrator in another district, with young children who eventually will attend AUSD schools, I can help the community understand and monitor the progress of Alameda public schools.

I ask for your vote to allow me to link my life's work as an educator to this mission.