Candidate for
Board Member; San Juan Unified School District

My Ballot Statement

San Juan District students are entitled to schools that provide both enrichment and meaningful life skills. As a retired teacher, I understand instructional issues. As a board member, I know the critical issues facing the district.

As a school board member, I have acted to: promote financial stability, develop a strategic educational plan, support conditions for achievement and graduation rate improvements, support collaborative decision making, expand career technical educational opportunities, modernize school facilities, increase student use of technology, retain fine arts programs, slow declining enrollment, make school choice equitable and accessible, welcome community input, and support the re-invigoration of the San Juan Foundation. As a school district, we must continue to attract the dedicated professionals that are our talented, focused, and committed teaching force. Curriculum and instructional makeovers at underperforming schools are transforming educational opportunities and ushering students into the world of twenty-first century learning strategies and workplace skills.

San Juan students excel at local, state, and national levels. District graduates are productive members of society. District schools must support families and healthy lifestyles so that we can promote the development of our students into responsible citizens. Please support me. http://www.lucindaluttgen.org

Four years ago, the San Juan Unified School District began the development of a Strategic Plan. Advertising for participants went to the entire community, and more than 500 community members from all segments of the district volunteered hours of time in developing the Strategic Plan. This plan includes shared beliefs, district mission, objectives, strategic parameters, and initially six strategies and their action plans. The entire plan was developed by consensus. This is the community's dream for its children. It has focused the work of the district and directed the budget planning. The plan was updated in April 2012 and followed the original development of a community derived Strategic Plan. The community has repeatedly emphasized that ALL students can learn. San Juan is beginning to see positive results. This plan is a demonstration of my belief that we are stronger when we rely on the strengths of everyone, when we value input from everyone, and that education is the shared responsibility of the community.

I believe that no child should be denied access to the core curriculum. Students must be immersed in engaging and enriching curriculum that includes not only basic skills, but also the visual and performing arts and career and technical skills. We now have the technology to develop individualized and differentiated curriculum for each child to master the California Common Core Standards which are the state standards after 2013.

I believe that we must have emphasis and curriculum based on 21st century thinking skills. Not only do students need to know and understand content, but they need to be able to use that information in new and novel ways. In their future workplaces, students will need to be able to communicate clearly, collaborate with others, research information and think critically, evaluate fact from propaganda and truth from fiction, synthesize information from a variety of academic disciplines, and to use the technology of the 21st century efficiently. The Common Core Standards will be assessing these skills in addition to content knowledge. I am proud of the fact that San Juan has already started work on this set of standards.

I believe that those closest to the work should have input and control over their professional decisions. In the traditional 19th century model of school organization, all direction came from the top and flowed downwards to the school, with those most distant from the work making all the decisions. There was very little transparency and trust in this system of management. San Juan has begun to change this traditional arrangement by first contractualizing collaboration which has changed the traditional teacher role from one of isolation to one of working together to make decisions about their work. Secondly the role of the school principal has changed from one of being a manager of the facility to one of instructional coach. This has made the relationship at school sites more collaborative and is providing more quality first instruction. Increasing the capacity at school sites has decreased the need for more administrators at the district office, which in turn has led San Juan to have a very low ratio of administrators to teachers of less than four percent. The system is being changed from the old model to one where the classroom is becoming more student centered, rather than teacher centered. I am proud of the fact that we are showing some very impressive results in the areas of STAR (state) testing.

Collaboration among the adult learning community of San Juan has brought about increased knowledge and use of effective teaching strategies and quality first instruction. Students are encouraged to talk about their learning through academic discourse and the exercise of student voice. Students are active and engaged in their classroom activities through collaboration on project and challenge based learning projects.

Because I believe that all children can learn, I know that we have work to do on closing the achievement gap between various subgroups of students. This achievement gap exists at all schools. It is not acceptable to having only some students achieving at the highest levels. The San Juan community has reaffirmed its dedication to closing this gap by making it a special and additional strategy to the Strategic Plan. Current data shows for the first time a trend to closing this gap in some academic areas. I believe that relying on the professionalism of the staff at school sites is producing positive results.

Collaboration and communication has led to a very positive relationship with San Juan's labor unions. Warfare seldom produces the best results, and I am happy to report that peace and cooperation have helped the district to weather this time of financial crises. San Juan has not had to resort to furlough days until this year when we agreed to August 31st; other districts have had up to nine or ten for the last two to four years. The various labor groups and district management have collaborated to solve problems. both financially and instructionally. I am very proud to say that our children are the beneficiaries.

San Juan is doing the right work, and I am proud to be a part of it. I do not feel that I am finished with my part of the work. If San Juan continues on its path, in the next few years, it will be the destination district of Northern California.