Candidate for
Board Member; Santa Cruz City High School District; Area 3

Long-time Santa Cruz community member, UCSC lecturer, and mother, Alisun Thompson, is running for the at-large seat on the Santa Cruz City Schools School Board.

Alisun has lived in Santa Cruz since she moved here in 1987 to attend UCSC, where she received a BA in Comparative Literature and a single-subject teaching credential. The daughter of a bilingual educator, she taught middle school ESL and was a migrant resource teacher for 10 years in the Salinas Union High School District. She returned to UCSC to pursue a PhD in 2007, which she completed in June, 2014. Her research focuses on teacher retention and the organizational capacity of schools to support teaching and learning. She is currently a lecturer at UCSC and doing postdoctoral research on recruitment and retention of local math and science teachers in high-need schools.

Most importantly, Alisun is a current Santa Cruz City Schools parent. Her daughters have attended Santa Cruz City Schools for the past 11 years and are now a freshman and a junior at Harbor High School.

Alisun is passionate about community involvement in education and believes that the way forward in our district is to utilize the diverse perspectives of our community to enrich our schools. She is dedicated to making sure that our schools are equitable and safe spaces where all students can be successful. Her commitment is to working with all of the stakeholders in the district and to support participatory and transparent decision-making that puts the needs of students first.

Alisun will bring professionalism, expertise, and the unique perspective of a current SCCS parent to the school board.