Candidate for
Board Member; El Tejon Unified School District

Since the inception of the high school, the District's goal was to provide a state of the art high school to enable the students to prepare for college. Those goals were well intentioned but the District's achievement in this area has fallen short. Often times, the priorities of the District seem to be in areas other than education.

The District currently has three separate mathematics teaching methods being utilized by various grades. I believe this is counterproductive to our students in that as they are grasping fundamental concepts, the method of teaching is changed. I liken this to the District looking to by a car and the mechanics say they like the Ford block, the Chevrolet heads, and the Mercedes fuel system. Each is excellent in its own right, but you can't put them together and expect the completed system to function efficiently.

Currently El Tejon School has failed to meet its Academic Performance Index (API) for the past three years. Their posting of the El Tejon School Accountability Report Card (SARC) has been three years behind. These are serious indicators that there is an educational problem within this school.

This District has been plagued with other serious problems over the past several years which include problems with the past Superintendent and a recently hired teacher. The District has hired well qualified teachers in the past, such as Mr. Bahan, but has failed in retaining them. Currently there are several teachers who are teaching outside of their accreditation field. Additionally, the District has not had a school nurse for about three years. I see these as serious shortcomings that have not been adequately addressed by the current school board.

There is currently a drug problem that exists within our schools. This problem affects everyone. There is a lack of programs that addresses this issue by helping the individuals and families that are impacted by it. Addressing the drug problem is one of many ways we can improve the learning environment for our children.

I feel that the instructional system within the District needs a new direction which will concentrate its efforts on improving the students' education. After all, is this not the reason El Tejon Unified School District exists, to oversee the education of our children?