League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Santa Clara County, CA November 4, 2014 Election
	Demetress Morris Answers Questions Candidate for Board Member; Milpitas Unified School District

The questions were prepared by the Leagues of Women Voters of Santa Clara County and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. How would you determine that the schools are using federal, state and local funds wisely and fairly and how would you report your findings to the community?

The key to successfully managing tax dollars along with state and federal funding is over-site. As, a board member my efforts will go towards ensuring that over-site committees exist and are inclusive of all stakeholders. Over-site by a committee allows decisions to be evaluated through a fair and balanced approach. This coupled with the regulations and protocols that govern spending will yield success. One must interact within the school district to recognize the dynamics of the learning, and what will support current and future intervention programs; while applying policy's and funding that enhance educational skills. The strategic plan will act as a framework as to the vision of what the school district is considering investing time, money, and energy in moving forward. The plan is to have community, parents, and teachers working together for best practices and outcomes. Additionally, being a past chairperson for the School Site Council (SSC) and a member of the Milpitas Community Advisory Board (CBA) I would embrace the opportunity to use their platform for delivery of timely and relevant information to all stakeholders.

2. Are the schools offering instruction appropriate to the diverse educational abilities of all the students?

Schools have made every attempt at offering appropriate and diverse education for all students. However, with California adopting common core standards this tells us that they themselves see room for improvement. Children with special needs are progressively represented in general education classrooms. Students who have disabilities are eligible for specialized education to meet their needs academically and socially no questions asked. The efforts made towards this population of students have proven to be perplexing for many school districts.

The requirement for sustainable leadership and financial management will ensure that diverse educational attempts are being effective. Such leadership and management leads to an appropriate public education, regardless of aptitude levels or severity of disability. In some cases the most under-utilized tool is mainstreaming, which bring students with disabilities into a systematic learning environment allowing for complete inclusion. These inclusions make students with disabilities more visible in every variety of school settings, including the early education classroom leading to successful communities.

Other significant diverse learning communities that must be proactively addressed are those students within the achievement gap and English Second Learns (ESL). There must be an environment created that allows them to continually thrive once strides are made. Therefore, a learning platform that engages students where there are, and challenge their core abilities will grant ongoing achievement. This is an area where the teachers in the classroom must lead on, and not be dictated to base on test scores, or the latest whim in education. The consistencies of educational programs are vital to this population of students. On the other hand there are students who do thrive academically, but are not meeting their full potential. This population of students needs to be challenged with curriculum that allows for intellectual growth.

3. Where do you want the District to be five years from now? What steps should the District take to get there?

My goals are ambitious for Milpitas School District five year achievements. There is no doubt that Milpitas School District will be far bigger than it is today. Therefore, I would like to see the school district in five years thriving and producing Silicon Valley top college students, employees, and business owners. This can be accomplished by working within an academic structure that is proficient with all students' educational needs and success. The school district must hold itself more financial accountable; which will ensure that monetary resources are reaching the classroom and students. A vital step in the process is having outreach and over-site committees, so that collectively as parents, teachers, and community were working on common goals set forth by the strategic framework.

---

Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. The answer to each question should be limited to 400 words. Direct references to opponents are not permitted.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Candidate Page || Feedback to Candidate || This Contest
SmartVoter Home (Ballot Lookup) || About Smart Voter

---

Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 13, 2014 07:21
Smart Voter <http://www.smartvoter.org/>
Copyright © League of Women Voters of California Education Fund   http://www.lwvc.org
The League of Women Voters neither supports nor opposes candidates for public office or political parties.