Candidate for
Board Member; Los Alamitos Unified School District

Diana Hill and I are running for re-election to the Los Alamitos School Board to continue our effort to make our schools among the best in the country. We have made some great progress over the past 4 years toward that goal: The District's Academic Performance Index is at 922. All of our schools have achieved California Distinguished School recognition and Los Alamitos Unified School District is the only district in Orange County to receive National Recognition four times in a row from the College Board for our Advanced Placement programs. In addition, Los Alamitos High School ranked in Newsweek's top 100 high schools in 2014.

Technology abounds at Los Al schools. There is Wi-Fi in every classroom on every campus. Computers, iPads, Chrome books, and more are actively involved in every phase of student learning. Advanced programs such as Edmodo, Google Drive, and Schoology enhance communication and engagement with all of our students.

As the current President of the School Board, along with School Board Clerk Diana Hill, we have been intimately involved in the decisions that have made this progress possible. The School Board sets the District priorities and goals and then holds the Superintendent accountable in achieving these goals.

We are blessed to have some of the finest teachers in Orange County, many of whom have been honored and recognized as among the best in their fields. We hire only the most qualified teachers and then expend extensive resources on training and professional development. Our 5-year training program in our signature practices for all new hires further ensures the students are being taught by highly skilled educators. The Board has also proven to be good stewards of your tax dollars. Our reputation for being fiscally responsible is very strong. The Board has maintained a healthy reserve despite some tough years of economic uncertainty. We partner with our employee associations to be sure we keep the education of the students as the first priority in all financial decisions. As a result our community has been very generous in giving donations to help support our many educational, social, cultural, and athletic programs.

None of these things can be accomplished without safe and secure campuses. Last year the Board created and tasked the Director of District Safety with making our schools the safest in the country. We added a School Resource Office at our high school and have developed a very close working relationship with the police departments of Los Alamitos and Seal Beach as well as the Orange County Sheriff's Department. Our work on safety is vigorous and ongoing.

I believe strongly in community service. It has been an honor for me to serve on the School Board for the past 8 years. I have lived in the district with my wife and two children since 1997. I am a family physician as well as a reserve deputy for the Orange County Sheriff's Department. I am also the volunteer Medical Director for the non-profit Los Alamitos based "Pathways to Independence," dedicated to helping at risk young women. I ask for your support once again. Re-elect Jeff Barke and Diana Hill to the Los Alamitos Unified School District Governing Board.

Jeffrey I. Barke, M.D.