Candidate for
Board Member; Huntington Beach Union High School District

I don't have a political philosophy when it comes to being a school board member. I have an educational philosophy.

I believe that the strength of our nation is derived from the strength of our public schools. As a nation we must invest in the education of our children so they will have the skills and thought processes necessary to make good and thoughtful decisions.

The biggest change in public education since I began teaching in 1972 is not what we teach but to whom we teach it. Today we expect every student to graduate from high school. We expect every student to understand algebra and we expect every student to take classes in art and science. All citizens get to vote on complicated issues and so they need to have an education that will help them understand those issues. We must invest in staff development to make sure our teachers are trained in the best practices to reach each and every student.

In 1986 the colleges and universities of California created a guide for science teachers, the "Statement on Preparation in Natural Science Expected of Entering Freshmen." If we add modern topics in biology and nuclear physics it is still the outline for the California Science Standards for High School. Schools were required to teach these standards under "No Child Left Behind." Recently there has been great controversy about the so-called "Common Core". If you compare Common Core to what high schools have taught in the past you will find an 80% correspondence.

If we focus on teaching our students and training our staffs our schools will continue to get better and better.