Anna's Vision

By Anna M. Strauss

Work with my fellow school board members to tackle issues in a collaborative and respectful way;

Attract and retain enthusiastic teachers; provide a supportive and cooperative environment in which they and students will thrive;

Work to keep the education budget crisis from further impacting our students and classrooms;

Contribute creative ideas, such as forming more Silicon Valley corporate partnerships and leveraging individual school strengths to accelerate growth throughout all schools, to ensure our graduates are prepared to work in this technological age;

Help ensure that every school is a safe haven for students -- providing security, a no bullying environment, and programs and staff to serve at-risk youth;

Maintain and expand successful district programs that help and challenge each child in our culturally diverse community to reach their full potential. SCUSD hosts several schools of choice and paths to choose from + Millikin Basics+, Washington Open, Mission Middle College, High School Academies, as well as a strong vocational curriculum;

Develop policies that promote continued improvement in academic achievement, continued improvement on STAR tests, and closing the achievement gap between Asian/White and Latino/African American students;

Encourage greater accessibility and trust between School Board members and district staff, administrators, parents, and students; suggest holding School Board meetings at different schools in order to make it easier for community members to participate in the process;

Choose with my fellow School Board members the next SCUSD superintendent, which includes revising our district goals and vision based on district staff, student, parent and community input;

Work with my fellow board members to develop a plan that will address the needs of our growing student population. As our district is growing at an average of 350 students(one elementary school) every two years, we need to consider approaches including changing boundaries, building new schools, reopening leased school property. To succeed, we must be fiscally responsible, welcome opinions from district parents, and respect opposing views;

Ultimately, I will make every decision based on what is best for all SCUSD students and uphold the SCUSD mission:

The mission of Santa Clara Unified School District is to prepare students of all ages and abilities to succeed in an ever-changing world.