Candidate for
Board Member; Lafayette School District

My Philosophy

My name is Barry McQuain, and I'm running for Lafayette School Board. I have four daughters in elementary school so I have a vested interest to see that the school board, teachers, and administrators aim for the highest standards possible for our children.

Background

I'm a graduate of MIT and have a strong background in finance (having spent fifteen years as an investment banker). A board member needs these types of skills since budgets and planning are one of the board's top priorities. I've served on boards of publicly traded companies, and I have experience negotiating multi-million dollar budgets.

Applying Technology to Create Results

In addition, I have a thorough understanding and appreciation of the application of technology in education, which I began to take an interest in over twelve years ago. Back then, I took some time off from my banking career to work with experts in neurophysiology seeking to identify the optimal rates at which our brains can learn. I then took this technology, and spent a year travelling around the country teaching at-risk children how to read and how to learn.

I am results-oriented and want to see us apply technology to achieve the highest standards possible, but always based on solid, educational research. There has been a substantial quantity of good research in the past ten to twenty years that demonstrates superior results are possible for most children. Technology certainly helps.

But by technology, I don't just mean the computers you see in here or in the labs, but also the tools, processes, and methodologies used by our children. I believe superior achievement is possible for all children and the educational research supports this claim.

Personal Investment

As a member of the school board, I am willing to spend quite a bit of my own personal time on school issues - I'm fortunate to have that flexibility because I work for myself. As a member of the school board, I would listen to your ideas, concerns, and demands. Let's not forget that the schools are here for you and your children. If there is an issue, bring it forward for discussion and resolution.

As for some of the other issues, here is where I stand:

Teacher Pay

I want to pay our teachers more, and I would gladly pay them based on performance. It's a sad situation when an unskilled worker makes more money then a starting teacher with five years of college. I support providing as much training as possible for the teachers that want to learn more and who want the children to achieve more.

Foreign Language

The research is unambiguous here - children can learn a foreign language much easier than an adult. Why are we teaching foreign languages in our high school when we should be teaching it in elementary school? Children whose parents are bilingual and bring their child up in a multiple language environment can attest that the younger children, who can be fluent by the age of five, didn't spend twenty hours a week studying verb endings and syntax - they just learned it. Even if you don't want to travel the world, be an international banker, or ambassador, then you should know that the current trends show that when our children are adults, English will not be the primary language in more than half the state of California.

Technology

We must integrate technology into our classrooms at a faster rate. We must use software that creates results, increases learning, reduces admin time, and saves money. Why aren't we more fully integrating our assignments, test scores, calendars, and homework on-line? My college put their entire curriculum on-line. Furthermore, the distinction between work and home has blurred, and the distinction between school and home shouldn't be so rigid either.

Competition

Our children's future is a competitive one. In a world of globalization, many people see what we have and are willing to work twice as hard for half the reward. That's a fact. To succeed, our children need to do more, have higher scores, understand technology, know how to think critically, and know their facts. Last year, I hired six summer interns at my bank to work in international finance in fairly high paying jobs. Their average SAT verbal score was 750 and their average SAT math score was 800. They all spoke two or more languages. They were well rounded. Its a competitive world, and becoming more so.

Testing and Assessment

I strongly support it. How else are you going to know how well you are doing? First, I need to dispel the negative myths around standardized tests. Standardized tests are simply tests which are administered and scored in a standard way, to reduce measurement error and produce a fair test - with the ultimate goal of creating an objectively measured result.

Our standard tests are norm-referenced (meaning compared to everyone else) and criterion referenced (demonstrating whether an objective was met). The state of California places the emphasis on the latter, which is what the experts and most parents wanted. Some tests offer even more, that is, a diagnosis. In fact our STAR testing was a combination of all the above. It showed me what skills my daughters needed to work on. I emailed their teachers and asked for specific drills and techniques which would best meet their needs, and we practice it. What is their not to like about that?

I often here the phrase "We don't want to teach to the test". I disagree. There's nothing wrong with teaching to a test when it's a good test. The FAA provides their prospective pilots with all the answers and all the questions in advance - and that makes some pretty good pilots. I sure hope we teach to the test for our drivers licenses - I don't want someone to ever make a mistake on the meaning of a red light or stop sign. The experts in education designed our STAR state tests - they got exactly what they asked for. Furthermore, you had better teach to the test in subjects like spelling, grammar, syntax, vocabulary, foreign language, basic math, history, geography, word processing, reading, etc. I hear others say "We want our children to be able to perform "Critical thinking"". So do I. Let me remind you that one of the central concepts of thinking critically is the ability to reasonably compare two or more facts.

After School Programs and Private Schools

We have a thriving private school network in the area. We have wonderfully supportive after school programs like Kumon, Lindamood-Bell, Sylvan, and the Lafayette Academy. I applaud all of them, and any parent who chooses to add these programs to their children's education is doing a good thing. But I ask you, if our public schools are so good, why are so many kids going to private schools? If our public schools are so good, why are so many kids enrolling in after school programs? Are the good scores that are produced by our children in our public schools because of the extra efforts from after school programs? Or, if we need after school programs merely to keep up, what does that say about our schools? As a board member, I will do my best to determine the answer to those questions.

If so many people clearly want higher achievement for their children, why don't our public schools offer it? I am very clear about this issue - I want a higher standards set for all students. I ask you, are our public schools currently meeting the demands set by the parents in this community?

Length of the School Day

At a recent parents club meeting, several parents wondered if we could offer a longer school day. If the parents want it, the administrators and teachers agree its possible, then I would favor a longer school day for our children. Quite simply, this offers the possibility for more learning every day. Some of the neighboring towns offer a longer school day - starting elementary school at 8AM and ends at 2:50PM. We'd have to look at the financial impact. In many foreign countries, the school day starts earlier and ends later and lasts an extra month. How much is too much? Perhaps additional time for structured learning within the classroom could replace extra homework in the evenings. What would you do with an additional class period every day?

Homework

At Stanley Middle School, the average child receives 1 1/2 to 2 hours of homework each night. Given the numerous other activities that children are involved in within the community, is this more than many can handle? While there is clearly a correlation between learning and "time on task" - the more you do, the more you learn - it is not a linear relationship. For example, once you know your times tables, you don't need to spend another 25 hours memorising them.

There are four ways we can increase the amount of learning our children obtain: we can increase the length of the school day, we can increase the amount of homework given, we can ensure that the focus of what is learned in school is relevant and useful, and we can increase the effectiveness of how we learn in the classroom. More homework for our children isn't the only answer.

No Child Left Behind Act

The primary purpose of this law is to ensure that students in every public school achieve important learning goals while being educated in a safe classroom by well-prepared teachers. It has required a major shift in the way that teachers and administrators think about public schooling. The No Child Left Behind Law is controversial because to a greater degree then ever before, educators are under growing pressure to increase the achievement of all students, to narrow the test score gaps between groups of students, and to ensure that all teachers are highly qualified.

This law consists of four principles 1) educators are accountable for their results, 2) an emphasis on using research-based instruction, 3) expanded local control, and 4) parents choices and options.

These look to me like valid principles and I support them. I've heard people claim this is an unfunded mandate. If so, which of the four principles above are we not funding in our current environment?

Teaching the "Whole Child"

I am pleased that our school district places an emphasis on teaching the whole child and although I have not seen one, I hope we a have well-thought out plan on how we do this. Preparing our children for their future is more than just reading, writing, and SAT scores. Social skills, self-efficacy, empathy, respect, and more are all positive characteristics and traits that many of us would want to have our children develop.

However, as with academics, I propose that we measure how well our children are doing in this learning too. How do we know that the instruction our children receive towards making them a "whole child" is working? Do our children share more? Do they care more? Are their fewer incidents of bullying? Are our children honest, or more honest? Do they practice teamwork and sportsmanship when required? Are they doing better than the control group? How do we know that our teaching practices are effective?

I've heard that "you cannot measure this". I disagree. I would like to see an objective test put forward by our administration that demonstrates our children are learning and achieving - as a whole child. This, of course, means that we must define in measurable terms the outcome we are striving to achieve. Perhaps it is a combination of observation within the classroom, tests, etc. I'd like to see a plan, and then assess to prove that our children are moving in the right direction to meet the goals. This is testable, and the research is once again unambiguous here. Topics such as these are indeed measurable, for example, Kohlberg's Theories and Stages of Moral Development describes an approach on how to assess morals.

Conclusion

Our schools are good, but I want to make them the best. I don't want to follow, I want to lead. I want our children to be able to compete and succeed in the their future.

Your vote in this election makes a difference. With three candidates vying for two seats, please remember that I'm only asking you for one of your votes.

As I said at the beginning, I have four daughters in the Lafayette School system - that means I live in a house with five women. I've become a pretty good listener. If you have any specific questions or comments, please let me know.

Thank you.