Candidate for
School Director; Oakland Unified School District; Trustee Area 3

I'm Richard Fuentes, and I would like to represent you on the Oakland School Board.

I first got involved in my neighborhood school, Hoover Elementary, when neighbors asked me to help address the concerns of Hoover's Spanish-speaking parents. As President of the Hoover Elementary School Site Council, I have spearheaded several initiatives that have transformed Hoover Elementary into the most improved elementary school in West Oakland. Because working with future generations is so important to me, I have decided to run for the Oakland Unified School District's Board, to continue my lifelong mission to improve the quality of life for working families. I believe our children deserve a clean environment and quality education, and that teachers in our communities must have the resources they need to prepare our youth to succeed in today's global economy. I will work to rebuild Oakland's schools through collaborations with parents, residents, teachers and administrators.

For my whole life I have prepared for this position. I currently work as Policy Analyst to Oakland Council President Pro Tem Ignacio De La Fuente. I serve on the Board of Directors for Attitudinal Healing Connection, an organization working to break the cycle of violence by supporting creative and educational programs. I am a board member and immediate past treasurer of the East Bay Young Democrats, I serve on the boards of Oakland's Community Development Block Grant Board District 3, Dogtown Neighborhood Association, and West End Commons Home Owners Association, as a co-founder of the Oakland Rainbow PAC, and I am an elected delegate to the California Democratic Party.

I earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from California State University, Los Angeles, becoming the first person in my family to graduate from college. Please join me in bringing new levels of success to Oakland's students by supporting my campaign for District 3, Oakland School Board.