Candidate for
Trustee; Sacramento City Unified School District; Trustee Area 5

I am a parent of four children, including three daughters which have all graduated from Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD). I graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in 1975. I recently, retired from SCUSD after eleven years of service as a Parent Advisor. I am currently attending Sacramento State University seeking a Master's Degree in education.

While a parent in SCUSD I have participated as a PTA President, served on site councils and participated in school activities. Throughout my eleven years as a classified employee of SCUSD, I served on the bargaining team and as a union steward. As a Parent Advisor I worked with parents and helped them to better support their children's success in school. I have acted as a volunteer coordinator and spent five years coordinating a program in collaboration with DHA called Community Work Experience (CWEX).

For five years, I work in the area of empowerment through coordinating the Community Work Experience Program (CWEX) for Sacramento City Unified School District. CWEX is a non-salaried work experience for CalWORKs recipients within a public or private non-profit agency. CalWORKs, the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids Program, is the California replacement for Aid to Families With Dependent Children (AFDC) due to welfare reform. Participants are assigned to volunteer in SCUSD at school sites and our district office to improve their job readiness.

Every volunteer is a potential change agent in the community as a whole. I believe it is important to introduce the concept of how systems work. The school district is just another system. When a volunteer comes to the school district I gave an orientation on just how many school districts there are in Sacramento County which I believe opens the door to well over 20 different school districts that they could apply to if they developed mastery of our district. To many volunteers this is the first opportunity for them to view school districts from a different perspective. Many have very negative memories of their own experiences with in the educational system. I believe that this experience exposes them to the importance of their own personal development and the educational planning that is critical for their own children's career success.

I want to ensure that all students are prepared for success by improving our district. I believe that classified employees, volunteers and parents are a resource that can help reach that goal. I look forward to the opportunity to serve as your Governing Board Member of the Sacramento City Unified School District representing Trustee Area 5.