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School Director, Trustee Area 5 — Oakland Unified School District
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About this office
Members establish educational goals and standards, approve curricula and the district’s budget, approve various purchases and renovations, and appoint the superintendent of schools.
This office uses ranked-choice voting, or “instant run-off voting.” When marking your ballot, instead of voting for just one candidate, rank up to three candidates in order of your preference.See the Voting info section for more.
— October 3, 2016 League of Women Voters of Oakland
The forum held Monday evening September 26, 2016 at Park Blvd. Presbyterian Church was co-sponsored by the Glenview Neighborhood Association and the Dimond Improvement Association, working with the League of Women Voters of Oakland. Mony Flores Bauer, a member of the League of Women Voters of Oakland, moderated. The public was invited to attend and to submit written questions to be answered by each candidate. Due to a family emergency candidate Michael Hassid was not able to participate.
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Hon. Noel Gallo, Oakland City Councilmember, District 5Alameda Democratic PartyHon. Joe Coto, Former California State Assemblymember AD-23John George Democratic ClubOakland Education AssociationEast Bay Young DemocratsHon. Tom Torlakson, California State Superintendent of Public InstructionHon. Tony Thurmond, California State Assemblymember AD-15Hon. Rob Bonta, California State Assemblymember AD-18Hon. Keith Carson, Alameda County Board of SupervisorsHon. Julina Bonilla, Vice-President Peralta Community Colleges BoardRomeo Garcia, Dean of Special Programs, Merritt CollegeAimee Allison, Senior Vice President of PowerPAC+Chris Iglesias, Executive Director, The Unity CouncilHolly Alonso, Executive Director, Peralta Hacienda Historical ParkMonica Montenegro, Executive Director, East Bay Consortium of Educational Institutions
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My Top 3 Priorities
I will continue my work to ensure that the voices of students, parents, teachers, and our community are heard. I will work to continue to improve our schools, as I have done for the past 4 years.
I will continue to create better post-graduation opportunities for all students, especially those not going to college right away or at all. This includes workforce training and paths to careers.
Building on my work around STEM education, I will further expand opportunities for young women and girls, and other communities to be better prepared for our tech future.
Experience
Experience
Profession:Incumbent and attorney
Director, Oakland Unified School Board — Elected position (2013–current)
Biography
Roseann Torres joined the OUSD school board on January 7, 2013, and will serve a 4-year term. She was the product of public schools growing up and is a proud parent of a thriving Oakland public school student. Director Torres has been an attorney for the past 12 years. She currently runs her own law firm in downtown Oakland and this has afforded her the opportunity to mentor many youth interested in the legal profession, by providing internships and mock trial training for competitions.
Director Torres understands the multitude of challenges facing youth in Oakland today as she too had many struggles with adversity and disenfranchisement such that she dropped out of high school freshmen year. Fortunately, Director Torres gained timely exposure to a cadre of successful women from diverse backgrounds in professions and careers she had been unaware of. Through their guidance and mentorship, she was able to get back on track in high school, graduate on time and eventually enroll in community college. Because of this experience, Director Torres has dedicated her life to giving back to youth in the community that need similar guidance and she believes “if you can see it, you can be it.”
Director Torres will work to ensure all Oakland students receive the highest quality relevant education in K-12. One of her primary goals is reducing the dropout/pushout rate. As a proponent of the Restorative Justice work currently in OUSD, she hopes to enable all schools to utilize the amazing tools RJ offers since it is known to drastically reduce suspension rates among other things. She will also focus on improving the quality of STEM in the classroom through increased partnerships in the schools.
Director Torres has served on the following Boards: Measure Y Commission, Youth Movement Records (YMR); Centro Legal de La Raza; Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Alameda County (HCCAC), East Bay La Raza Lawyers Association (EBLRLA); National Women’s Political Caucus (NWPC); and People United for a Better Life in Oakland (PUEBLO). Director Torres holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from San Francisco State University and a Juris Doctorate from Albany Law School in Albany, New York.
Who supports this candidate?
Featured Endorsements
Hon. Noel Gallo, Oakland City Councilmember, District 5
Alameda Democratic Party
Hon. Joe Coto, Former California State Assemblymember AD-23
Organizations (3)
John George Democratic Club
Oakland Education Association
East Bay Young Democrats
Elected Officials (5)
Hon. Tom Torlakson, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Hon. Tony Thurmond, California State Assemblymember AD-15
Hon. Rob Bonta, California State Assemblymember AD-18
Hon. Keith Carson, Alameda County Board of Supervisors
Hon. Julina Bonilla, Vice-President Peralta Community Colleges Board
Individuals (5)
Romeo Garcia, Dean of Special Programs, Merritt College
Aimee Allison, Senior Vice President of PowerPAC+
Chris Iglesias, Executive Director, The Unity Council
Holly Alonso, Executive Director, Peralta Hacienda Historical Park
Monica Montenegro, Executive Director, East Bay Consortium of Educational Institutions
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My Top 3 Priorities
Quality Schools for All Students All students in Oakland are not guaranteed access to a equal quality school. We need to ensure all schools in Oakland are quality schools, so that all students receive a quality and equal education. Choice and chance
Attracting and Retaining Teachers The pressing priority for the board needs to be to ensure that quality teachers are in front of every student. Teachers are leaving Oakland as housing costs are rising. Quality teachers are the #1 resource that crea
Access and Preparation for College College access for all students in Oakland is limited and many don’t graduate high school prepared. We need to adopt curriculum and academic strategies that ensure that students are not only accepted to college, b
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My Top 3 Priorities
Create authentic community engagement
Re-prioritize the budget to direct more resources to the classroom.
End the privatization of public education and a moratorium on charter schools.
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