Candidate for
Board Member; East Side Union High School District

I believe that before an educational dollar is spent or a program added or deleted at a high school the question that must be asked is "How does this help students to be successful?" East Side Union High School district is the largest high school district in Northern California serving over 50,000 high school and adult education students.

We have made improvements in a number of the high schools yet we have been unable to significantly close the achievement gap. There has been discussion regarding the adoption of A-G Requirements (college preparatory requirements) for graduation from our high schools. This is an appropriate item for discussion and consideration but not by itself.

There needs to be an overall plan to address increasing the graduation rate and reducing the dropout rate as well as career/technical education, and programs for At-Risk youth.

A framework exists for this overarching discussion. It is the P-16 Report developed by the California Department of Education's P-16 Council. This Council is made up of 49 members. The members from East San Jose/Silicon Valley are: Manny Barbara, Superintendent, Oak Grove School District (ret) and currently Vice-President Silicon Valley Education Foundation; Debra Watkins, President California Alliance of African American Educators and teacher at East Side Union High School District; Dennis Cima, Senior Vice-President Silicon Valley Leadership Group; Linda Murray, Superintendent in Residency, Ed Trust West, Superintendent (ret), San Jose Unified School District.

This Council was charged with making recommendations to: Improve student achievement at all levels and eliminate the achievement gap; Link all education levels, preschool, elementary, middle, high school, and higher education, to create a comprehensive, seamless system of student learning; Ensure that all students have access to caring and qualified teachers; Increase public awareness of the link between an educated citizenry and a healthy economy.

Complete information on the P-16 Council and its recommendations can be found at the California Department of Education's website.

I believe the adoption of this framework will allow for the development of a comprehensive and inclusive plan to ensure student success at East Side Union High School District not only during these fiscally difficult times but into the future when the economy improves.