What is at Stake and Why We Need a Change at Sweetwater by Ed Herrera

By Ed Herrera

Ed Herrera answers what is at stake in this election and why we need a change on the Sweetwater Union High School District Board of Trustees.

My family and I regularly attend Cornerstone Church in National City and Calvary Chapel in Chula Vista.

I am a Political Science Major at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and Public Service Minor at Thurgood Marshall College.

Prior to running for the Sweetwater Union High School District School Board, I served as a Chairman and Commissioner for the City of Chula Vista, YMCA Facilitator, Vice President of External Affairs at UCSD, Board of Directors for the University of California Student Association and United States Student Association, the largest student and educational advocacy organization in the United States, representing millions of students on educational issues on the local, state, and federal levels of government, from Sacramento to Washington D.C.

I have always fought for the future of our children and I look forward to bringing passion for education, unmatched educational experience, and much needed honest, responsive leadership to the Sweetwater Union High School District Board of Trustees.

I am running for the Sweetwater Board of Trustees because our children deserve a school board with a vision, passion, and commitment to maximizing educational achievement in South Bay San Diego.

Renewing a Commitment to our Children -Today, four out of five of the current incumbent Sweetwater School Board members have sought higher office either before or during their tenure including my opponent who has stated that she will not rule out yet another effort to leave our Children to pursue Sacramento in 2008 (San Diego UT). I believe "Never leave a job until the job is done!" At SUHSD, the job is not done when the same schools are consistently placed n the Federal List of needs improvement, when only 6 out of 17 schools are meeting State Standards, when a small percentage of students are eligible for enrollment into a four year university, etc. Students deserve school board members whose commitment is to our students. School board members must not to depend on students as a political stepping stone to higher office. I will fight against current board member quid-pro-quo rubberstamping that benefits their personal, political or special interest agendas which are children have taken a back seat to. That is why the City Council of National City, National City School Board, and community leaders are fighting for unification, fighting to remove their Middle and High Schools from Sweetwater Union High School District. They fight because our school board members have neglected and failed that community. I will never neglect any community and I will stand up for our children because they deserve dedicated educational leadership in the Sweetwater Union High School District that will always put our children's future first.

Preparing Students for Higher Education- As the years progress more and more students are dropping out and more and more are not attending a four year university or a community college. Most SUHSD graduates, who do go on to higher education, enroll to Southwestern Community College (SWC). In fact, seven out of the nine traditional SUHSD high schools, show that 40% or more of their graduates, enroll at SWC. With 42% of SUHSD graduates enrolled at Southwestern College for Fall 2005, enrollments decreased by 12 students since the previous year. Of those that attend Southwestern College, only 39% have met the reading requirement, only 20% have qualified for Intermediate Algebra, and only 26% qualified for College English Composition as of 2005 in their first Fall semester. There has also been a pattern of steady decline from 2003 to 2005 in fulfilling such requirements. Sweetwater Union High School District graduates, in Spring of 2005, averaged a 1.75 GPA at Southwestern College with 36% of those students in Spring Semester Probation, although the SUHSD self -reported a High School average GPA of 3.01. 90 % of those students that enroll to SWC from SUHSD are peoples of diverse ethnic background. As of 2005, when these statistics were reported to the SUHSD Board of Trustees, the school board has done nothing and has allowed our children to be left behind with no articulation between Sweetwater Union High School District and Southwestern College (Christine Aranda, SWC School Board at Candidate forum 2006).I will bring leadership, passion, and direction to SUHSD in order to maximize student achievement.

The Student Condition: Understanding Socio-Economic Mediums and its Impact on Education- I believe that all students should be driven by their goals, aspirations, and dreams and not bound by their socio-economic conditions. The responsibility of the school district is to provide the fundamental learning skills and knowledge to students in order to equip them for the future. However, many students are deterred by those conditions and must confront mental, physical, emotional, and economic obstacles which affect academic performance. Our School District has failed to address these issues and has neglected many parts of our community. Our school board must work with our U.S. Members of Congress and State Legislators, to tackle issues of poverty and other socio-economic hardships which students and their families confront in modern America. We must acknowledge the socio-economic inequity of our communities. When someone asks a parent how satisfied they are by the performance of the school district and the response that they are given is: "It depends who you talk to, then we have a problem and that is something we cannot ignore.

Education is my passion. I have dedicated my life to serving our community and improving education for our children and families. I am the Seat 5 candidate supported by students and student leaders district-wide and the candidate that "knows first-hand the problems that exist in the Sweetwater Union High School District" (La Prensa San Diego). I am a product of our modern education system at SUHSD. I have unmatched educational advocacy experience. I am the candidate who has fought at the local, state, and federal levels of government for access and affordability of higher education so that all children can have the opportunity for a brighter future. I am the candidate who has fought in City Hall as a City Commissioner to create safe and secure learning environments for our children at school and in the community. And I am the Seat 5 candidate with a PLAN (ED HERRERA PLAN FOR ACADEMIC SUCCESS AT SWEETWATER and FILIPINO AMERICAN COMPACT FOR EDUCATIONAL SUCCESS AT SWEETWATER).

I have a plan and a vision for our School District and our community.

PLAN FOR ACADEMIC SUCCESS AT SWEETWATER(PASS): Under the Ed Herrera Plan for Academic Success at Sweetwater, all students will have access to the educational tools and resources necessary for them to succeed at Sweetwater Union High School District and in life. I believe we cannot wait for our students to fall into the D or F level of academic achievement and fail. The Ed Herrera Plan for Academic Success at Sweetwater is a universal early prevention program that will empower all students to become better disciplined and better prepared for rigorous courses, test taking, homework, assignments, and class projects from K-12. Our children cannot wait another four years, the time is now. Our children deserve a better, brighter future.

My opponent* and the school board has served as a quid-pro-quo rubberstamp for personal, political, and special interest agendas and has allowed our children to take the back seat.

That is not right and that needs to change. We need school board members that answer to students and parents and not to those who contribute the most money to their campaigns. Let us put the public schools back in the hands of the public. When we have school board members that spend more money (over $1,000,000 according the San Diego U-T) in legal fees for an out-of-town attorney, than it does for educational curriculum and school board members who continuously vote to extend such inflated special interest legal contracts and are the same school board members that are accepting thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the same attorney (including my opponent*), that is not right and it must change! When our school board would rather build two new multimillion dollar gymnasiums in two schools with much needed improvement in academic achievement than build new classrooms to decrease overcrowding, provide adequate classrooms for teachers, and decease student-teacher ratio because the same school board members have accepting special interest contributions from both the construction company and the architect, that is not right and it must change! I will bring and restore honesty and integrity to our school board.

Every student deserves the opportunity to learn, develop, and succeed. I believe what students need is motivation. Students need to feel empowered and given the resources to accomplish what they aspire. I grew up in a home where at times my siblings and I went without needing and other times went without anything. I understand the value of having a mother who left her job to take care of her children and a father who worked twice as long, and twice as hard to support his children's education. Unfortunately, many parents cannot stay home and life depends on two incomes. For their children at school, there must be encouraging and caring community to turn to. I will be at our schools and talk to our students to provide a motivation that can only be achieved through individuals with shared experiences as an immediate product of our current education system and community.

• *Smartvoter policy prevents us from placing actual name of this individual. Please email us at EdHerrera@mail.com to request that information.