Candidate for
Board Member; South San Francisco Unified School District

I'm not running for office just out of a general sense that "we can do better" (though we can). I'm running with the conviction that our children and our community can see improvement in the specific areas listed below.

Beyond those issues, I am eager to explore options for after-school care for our students. My working parents struggled to support me, scrambling for child care until I was old enough to be home by myself. My family is now facing the same struggles.

Finally, I want to promote efforts that will continue our District's history of being culturally sensitive. Diversity isn't just a buzzword -- it's a fact in the SSFUSD. Educators who fail to understand the implications of that diversity will be far less effective in their jobs.

Platform:

Complete Students: Let's focus on outcomes, not outputs. It's great that our schools are turning out graduates, but a diploma is almost worthless if it's based only on test-taking ability. In other words, let's also encourage the talents and interests of our students in a way that will make them well-rounded members of society. I will not let arts, music, social studies, physical education and vocational training be ignored because faculty members feel they need to be "teaching to the test."

Special Education: As the father of a child with autism in the District, this issue is close to my heart. I want to strengthen the ability of parents and teachers in the District to properly evaluate and place students who may have special needs.

I want to provide students and staff with extra training to snuff out the bullying of special needs kids and help get students with disabilities integrated both earlier and more fully into the mainstream. Children with special needs benefit from inclusion with their age peers, as do their peers, who get lessons in tolerance and compassion.

Open governance: Being a former journalist, I believe the public's right to observe, comment and critique on the operations of a public agency is sacrosanct. I will ensure that the SSFUSD Board operates fully within the confines of the Brown Act and encourages openness. I will advocate that all regular meetings are, if not telecast, at least webcast -- a broadcast method that will require little or no extra expense for the taxpayers.

STEM Education: Programs such as Gene Academy are a great start, but just a start. Let's leverage our location next to the heart of biotech and proximity to Silicon Valley to find more local businesses willing to work with our teachers and kids in order to promote the learning of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Skills in those areas will be needed to succeed in tomorrow's job market.

Let's link together east and west South San Francisco using a two-fold approach to both turn out students that east-side companies want to hire, and to have good enough schools that those east-side workers are willing to move their families into the District.

Technical and vocational arts: Not every graduate wants or needs to go to college, but every graduate will need job skills to make it in today's world. We need to avoid wholesale cuts to programs such as auto shop so students who aren't going to college (or need to work while going through it) have practical skills and able to support themselves early in life.

Let's also ensure our students, particularly those from economically disadvantaged homes that may not have a computer at home, get early exposure and help navigating a keyboard. The Digital Divide will continue to persist unless steps are taken early in a child's life to address it.