League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Santa Clara County, CA November 6, 2012 Election
	Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues Board Member; Mountain View-Whisman School District

The questions were prepared by the Leagues of Women Voters of Santa Clara County and asked of all candidates for this office.     See below for questions on Use of Funds, Appropriate Instruction, District Goals Click on a name for candidate information.   See also more information about this contest. 1. How would you determine that the schools are using federal, state and local funds wisely and fairly and how would you report your findings to the community? Answer from Christopher Kent Chiang: In my eight years of teaching here in California and New York, I had found two truths about funding: California schools aren't adequately funded (in 09: CA- $9,706, NY-$16,794-, to learn more: http://www.edsource.org/pub10-how-ca-ranks.html) and funds we do have aren't always spent well. Funds should always be allocated by a single criterion: its sustainable efficacy on student learning and wellness. It takes a passion for hard data and trust in the teachers that work directly with our children to know what works. Our district can be much more creative in utilizing technology and design philosophy to convey our finances to the community. We would find ourselves better supported by our community if we did more to inform everyone about how their tax dollars are being put to work for our society's future. Answer from Peter Darrah: The Mountain View Whisman School District already uses a number of metrics to measure educational efficiency. The most basic ratio is to look at test scores versus dollars spent per student. We frequently compare budget items and overall spending strategies against other schools in the county. For example, MVWSD recently cut transportation expenses greatly by consolidating school schedules - a strategy used by other area schools. We need to do more as a District to publish the numbers on the Web and present them to parents. In tough times like these, programs will be cut. We need to keep parents and the community involved to ensure priorities are set clearly. Answer from Bill Lambert: It is very important that the Mountain View community be informed of activities within the school district, including how the district uses federal, state and local funding. The bottom line must be how well we are preparing our children for the high schools and their future. Funding for public education in California is clearly going through a transition, and in view of the significant uncertainties, being fiscally conservative is the wisest course. Our funds should be focused on education of our children, but that said, there are many aspects involved such as attracting and retaining excellent educators and having appropriate facilities. There are many ways to inform our community about our schools and I would like to see the MVWSD be more proactive about engaging the community. Personally, I have attended far too many meetings involving MWSD matters where I have been the only community member in attendance. Certainly the district currently uses the local media and maintains a website as a vehicle to communicate with the community. Mountain View has a strong network of neighborhood associations that can be use to disseminate information. I would also like to see the district organize regular neighborhood meetings that bring together residents with and without children in the public schools to address questions relevant to the local communities. Educating our children is perhaps the most important issue for us in Mountain View. The disctrict has a significant role to play in stimulating communition participation. Answer from Steven E. Nelson: It's important to thoroughly read reports from District staff. I've read excellent reports on Special Education, Federal and categorical funds. I read the entire Facilities Plan several years ago. I always dig down and also read the regulations and statutes. I would usually 1) bring problem matters to another Trustee (stays within Brown Act), 2) bring issue to the Superintendent (and my 'kitchen cabinet') 3) wait. If it `doesn't get fixed,' 4) get it on the Agenda and 5) use the Board meeting to discuss with Board and the Press. The MV Voice can be a useful community discussion starter. Are we going to use Bond funds wisely? Our local County Civil Grand Jury thinks schools should retrofit Automatic Fire Safety Sprinklers. I've placed this on the Board Agenda, Nov. 14, through a citizen's request. Let's discuss! I (we) already compare our student outcomes with comparable schools and "benchmark" schools. I like using numbers and graphs to explain things. As a Trustee, I pledge I would visit neighborhoods and meet people at ALL schools on a rotating basis. I already do that as a concerned citizen running for office! I recently visited with the Special Needs PTA and last spring at a School Site Council meeting (Monta Loma) I found out the wonderful work Cathy Baur did with Continuous Improvement, letting the K-1 teachers form their own professional improvement work group. 2. Are the schools offering instruction appropriate to the diverse educational abilities of all the students? Answer from Bill Lambert: We have made great progress in reducing the achievement gap during the past 10 years that I have been a Mountain View resident. However, I believe the MVWSD and the Mountaiv View community can do much more. Because many of the K-8 schools in Mountain View have a majority population of ESL students, I believe that we should be focusing our efforts on this population of students, which in turn will enhance K-8 education to all students within our school district. Answer from Christopher Kent Chiang: We have made substantial gains in reducing the achievement gap between student groups on state test scores. State test scores are however only one metric and we must not solely rely on a single data point. How are all our students fairing in high school and college? For students who live in Mountain View and don't attend our public schools, why? How well are our students prepared for a 21st century economy that requires very few of the skills that standardized tests measure? The district still has a major challenge in ensuring every child receives instruction that is appropriate and challenging for them individually. This is not unique to Mountain View-Whisman, but unlike many districts, we have the talent and community resources to lead the nation in addressing this. We should not guess or rely our own experiences alone when many nations have proven for years what works. The single common factor between all great schools from Finland to Singapore is a focus on teacher training and collaboration. We must train, trust, and honor our teachers as professionals. No nation has successfully educated a diverse student population through demoting teachers to technicians delivering scripted learning. Answer from Steven E. Nelson: We could do better. But we HAVE some fine successes! PACT at Stevenson provides creative, project-learning environments for some families. Maja P. from Castro proclaims how the non-disadvantaged kids in the DI (dual language) program `standard test' at a perfect 1000. Theuerkauf helps it's Economically Disadvantaged kids (70%) get closer to our District average in standard testing than ANY OTHER school in our District. GATE and MVEF (community funded) programs help many creative instructional types to thrive. I've substitute taught almost 150 days in all District schools. I assure you, the teachers are offering appropriate instruction on average. The middle schools do have more problems, particularly in math. Outcomes show where "learning problems" are located and instruction needs to be changed. Direct Instruction (in the EDI form) I consider inappropriate for summer school math remedial programs. This is really hiking up the "EDI" CONSULTANT $$$ and is not focused on the individual students. "Teaching Lab" is the title, not student learning. The previous remedial math summer program, with individualized packets, lots of high school & Jr. college individual tutors, and Foothill College expertise, was shown as successful and much less $$$ Well liked by remedial students and parents! EDI is the old classroom style (with new efficiencies) that many of these remedial students failed to connect with during the regular school year! [I highly support EDI during the regular year for perhaps 1/5-1/3 of instruction time.] Answer from Peter Darrah: Mountain View Whisman School District has a particularly diverse population that reflects the local population of high tech professionals and low income working people. My primary objective is to teach every student in the District to their potential. Differentiated education takes many shapes. Language classes throughout the District are leveled teach English as a second language and push native speakers at the same time. We have reading intervention in primary grades to make sure all students can read by third grade. We have accelerated math in late elementary and middle school. Developing technologies can also help us target education directly for the needs of individual students. Programs like ST Math and Khan Academy are used throughout the District to bring tailored math instruction to each student. As a District we also need to support and encourage our teachers that go the extra mile to make a difference in our children's lives. So many times, a teacher changes a child's life by reaching out to them and bridging a gap in their achievement. We need to help teachers get through all the meetings and requirements and testing to care about and connect with students to make them successful. 3. Where do you want the District to be five years from now? What steps should the District take to get there? Answer from Steven E. Nelson: I'd like our parent Survey to show `more happiness' with our schools. Families are "our customers". We should help all our 8th graders to high school success. At MVHS unfortunately we have 20% lower HS Exit Exam success than we do at LAHS (for Economically Disadvantaged). We (MVWSD) have sunk from a 7/10 comparison for California Districts (API) to a 5/10 comparison ranking (2009 to 2011). I'd like to see our individual schools routinely in the 10/10 and 9/10 comparisons. A Bonus System for teachers would be partially tied to comparison metrics. Superintendent and Principal raises would be tied into metrics, not just verbiage. We really have to work on the middle school math! Economists have pretty conclusively shown that student success depends mainly on quality teaching. I want to follow "Reach To The Top," quality measures for our administrators, teachers and Trustees! Performance improvement by selective, differentiated, teacher re-training. "One Size" does not fit all teachers. For new teachers, offer the most promising 10% immediate tracking toward tenure. This year's 100% "temporary" teacher new hires is an insane hiring policy! (50 = 1/5th of the teachers in the entire MVWSD are temporary) Educated families do fine in this District. My eldest son just graduated from Stanford, job in hand My second just made the National Merit list at MVHS. We can, we must help the kids of all our neighborhoods. We are a diverse American Community that can do this. We need the heart for this, and we need the head for this. Answer from Bill Lambert: I would like to see our school disctrict be a model of innovative K-8 learning and in particular for addressing the needs of the ESL students. I believe that one step toward accomplishing this is to open the schools to after-school programs to not only augument the academic learning, but also offer enrichment programs, individualized learning, sports activities, and a place for parents to get together. Programs such as this can be staffed by volunteers from the community with the support of the school district. Mountain View is a community with tremendous resources with residents having a great range of talents and willingness to share. Offering after-school opportunities will help to provide a way to leverage our resources and serve to increase community involvement. Within the next 5 years I would like to see more of the children from our ESL community be prepared to enter the college preparatory math and science programs offered at our high schools. In the long term, I would work to see that the next generation of engineers and scientists comes from the inspiration realized from our K-8 education. Answer from Peter Darrah: I would like to see the District's scores continue to rise. Progress is the sum of continuous improvement at all levels. Simple things like providing laptops and projectors for all the classrooms enable new teaching styles. Graham Middle recently added math and language support classes to focus on particular students and their scores improved. Larger efforts like the District's EDI initiative use recent research into how people learn to develop teaching techniques. When every kid has to write their answer on a whiteboard, their engagement and learning improves. That spirit of continuous improvement in measure big and small helps us all improve. As a District, we also need to look at expanding the metrics we use to measure education. An education that only looks at math scores, reading scores, and dollars spent is poor indeed. We need to look at the whole child to make sure they develop as good people. On practical note, we also need to make sure the Measure G funds are spent wisely on facilities that will last for generations. We are committed to spending $40K per student. That's a lot of money. We need community input to ensure our schools are safe, functional, and beautiful. Good facilities make a difference in kids' lives. Answer from Christopher Kent Chiang: I want the school district to clearly know what skills and qualities they want from our children by time they leave eighth grade, and then I want the way we "grade" our schools to directly mirror those skills and qualities. If the community sees their children's success in a broader lens than the results of annual state tests, we need a school board with the leadership to create a set of measures to let the community know how we are doing on what's important to them. We cannot be great unless our metrics align with our values. If the state isn't willing to see that, we need the courage to innovate locally. I have taught around the nation here in our community and in New York City at some of the best public and independent schools. I have closely collaborated with educators from Finland to our most innovative schools in America like High Tech High and the Uncommon Schools. I want our district to be more globally aware of best practices and innovation happening around us. For a local example, San Mateo-Foster City has been implementing a balance of parent choice in gifted programs, bilingual programs (Mandarin along with Spanish), and Montessori programs (the first in Northern California) along with neighborhood schools. In Ontario, Canada, they have successful scaled reforms that eliminate the achievement gap for students new to English. Last, I want our district to ask the best qualified community in the world-Mountain View, what our children will need to succeed in the 21st century? I want our schools to prepare them for that future. Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. Please answer each question in no more than 400 words. Direct references to opponents are not permitted. The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.