League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Alameda County, CA November 4, 2014 Election
	Shanthi Gonzales Answers Questions Candidate for School Director; Oakland Unified School District; Trustee Area 6

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of Oakland and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. How do you plan to get parents and the community more informed and involved in educational policy and programs?

The district has historically relied on tools such as robo calls to reach out to families. While a handful of schools employ family outreach staff, most do not, and as a result, many families experience the district as very aloof and many parents have expressed frustration to me about the poor communication from the district. I believe the solution to this is for the district to work with families much earlier, in a much more hands-on way, through home visits. When we show up to the homes of families, it sends an unmistakable message that family involvement is important. It also helps the district to learn more about the challenges facing the families in the district.

We also have to conduct the business of the district in a way that is inviting and inclusive, for example scheduling meetings according to the availability of parents, not just school officials. We have to provide child care, meals, and translation as necessary.

I will also hold regular office hours that will be posted on my web site so that everyone in my district knows where and when they can meet up with me to discuss their concerns. My hope is that this will make it easier for families to communicate with me and get their questions answered.

2. What will you do to raise the incentives and motivation for students to study, stay in school, and choose a skilled trade or a college career?

This starts with ensuring that every child has something (and someone) at school that makes them feel included. Because each child is different, and will be engaged and motivated differently, we must have a rich curriculum and a wide range of extracurricular activities that includes art, music, debate, drama, computers, sports and the rest of it.

When we eliminate programs to save money, we are also inevitably eliminating the very thing that motivates some children to want to attend school. In my case, I was a bookish chubby kid, and if not for my school libraries and the computer lab, and the caring people who worked there, there would have been many days I would not have wanted to go to school. So this is critical.

We have also taken an important step with starting linked learning academies at Oakland's high schools, but these opportunities are not evenly distributed. We have to ensure that no matter where an Oakland student attends school, they will have the opportunity for in-class and out of class learning that gives them the chance to practice what they learn and to develop some relationships in the field they want to go into.

We also need to expand programs like Gateway to College that help our at-risk students to not only finish high school, but also earn some college credits while they do it, so they get a head start on whatever is next for them.

3. What is educational equity? Using your definition, how will you address the most critical issues of inequity facing Oakland public schools, and how will you attempt to resolve this issue as a school board member?

Our biggest issue overall is resource scarcity, due to the structural constraint of Prop 13, which hinders our efforts to provide strong public services in Oakland. On the Library Commission in Oakland, I have worked to build strong relationships with other library trustees and commissioners statewide, with the goal of working together statewide to secure more resources for library services.

I will do the same thing on the School Board - work with other School Board members statewide to change Prop 13 to win a split-roll tax that will allow commercial property to appreciate in value, to create additional revenue for education and other public services.

It will be difficult to seriously address equity until we have adequate resources, which is why this is a priority.

In the meantime, we need to focus on the students in Oakland who need the most help. I already stated above that the opportunities that do exist in Oakland are not evenly distributed, for example many high schools do not offer sufficient course offerings to ensure that students who want to go to college meet their A-G requirements upon graduation. Many do not have the option of a linked learning academy or even a sports program.

Ensuring that students who want to go to college can is basic, and we must do more for the students who have the greatest need.

4. What can the School Board do to hire and retain high quality teachers and encourage diversity among staff?

Budgets reflect values, and the low pay of the district's workers, especially teachers, reflects the longstanding emphasis the district has placed on hiring district executives and consultants (who don't work with students) rather than the people who do work with students - teachers, counselors, nurses, librarians and other school staff.

This has not only made it hard for Oakland to attract and retain our school staff; it is also bad for the morale of the district's workforce.

We have to pay people fairly if we want to attract and retain quality teachers, and there are other things we can do better as well. We need to provide teachers with more observation and feedback, especially new teachers, and also more time for lesson planning, collaboration with other teachers and more say in the kind of professional development they need.

With regard to diversifying the staff, there is an exciting program in Oakland that already exists, called Teach Tomorrow in Oakland (TTO). They recruit teachers from Oakland, who already have a commitment to the community, and invest heavily in their professional development. The teachers who enter the district through TTO not only stay longer, but they look like Oakland students. This is so important. Students need more mentors who look like them, and the district needs teachers who know the issues facing the community and the students. I would like to see this program be expanded.

Finally, supporting teachers means supporting principals. It is hard to stabilize a school where the leadership is constantly changing. We need to ensure that principals get the support they need so that they have time to observe teachers and provide feedback, to build trusting relationships in the school community, and to engage families in the vision and work of the school.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. References to opponents are not permitted.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: September 19, 2014 16:23
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