I’m a lifelong resident of LAUSD District 7. I grew up in Carson, and live in San Pedro where I’m raising my daughter, a first grader in LAUSD. I earned my bachelor’s degree from Cal State Long Beach before becoming a local organizer. As a parent, an organizer, and policy maker, I've been fighting to improve the lives of working families for 20 years. And I will bring that same fight to help our school board transform our schools.

My candidacy is a continuation of a career dedicated to fighting for the most vulnerable. It’s also personal. As the daughter of immigrant workers, I see my family reflected in the thousands of families that are now sending their children to our public schools. They are depending on us to deliver on the hope that their children will have a better future through quality education. We must reverse the decades of disinvestment in our public schools that most negatively impacted our working class families and communities of color. 

As Deputy Director at L.A. Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE), I helped to build coalitions focusing on creating good jobs and a clean environment. I also co-founded Reclaim Our Schools Los Angeles (ROSLA), a coalition of parents, teachers, students, and community groups that helped to launch a $12 million Community Schools initiative to strengthen 30 public schools, and continues to build support for our public schools. In the Harbor Area, I also led the Coalition for Clean and Safe Ports, which won a nationally recognized agreement that reduced truck emissions at the Port and surrounding neighborhoods, helping tens of thousands of local children breathe cleaner air.

In 2013, I was appointed by Mayor Eric Garcetti to the Board of Harbor Commissioners, where I developed strategies to protect and create jobs and improve environmental quality at the nation’s largest port.

In my current role as L.A. County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl’s Workforce and Economic Development Deputy, I help to create opportunities for our most vulnerable populations - including helping young people find their way out of poverty, homelessness, and the juvenile justice system.

I’m proud to be the candidate who has dedicated her career to the working families served by LAUSD, with a track record of building coalitions to transform our public schools, create good middle-class jobs, and clean up the environment.  I am endorsed by UTLA, ILWU Southern California District Council, SEIU Local 99-Education Workers United, the LA County Democratic Party, Assemblymember Mike Gipson, LAUSD Board Members Jackie Goldberg and Scott Schmerelson, and scores of other labor unions, community groups, elected officials and civic leaders.

As a child in 1963, my mother immigrated to the United States from Chihuahua, Mexico because my grandfather saw hope in the educational opportunities of this country. Though my mom struggled with her education, she was dedicated to ensuring that I had access to the type of education that would unlock endless opportunities. And in 1994 those opportunities were unlocked within LAUSD when I was enrolled in President Avenue Elementary in sixth grade. This decision began a unique set of experiences that have propelled me to be an advocate for educational equity in Los Angeles for my entire career, continuing with the desire to serve as your school board member.

After college at Columbia University I came home and taught sixth grade - the very grade I entered LAUSD - at Stephen White Middle School. There I met students like Andrea who we served well. She completed all her assignments on time and with precision, raised her hand to ask for help, joined the cheerleading squad I coached, and this year she is starting a graduate program at Cal State Dominguez Hills. There were other students like Timothy who was not served as well - and not because we weren’t trying our best. Our school didn’t have the sports he wanted to play nor the therapist he likely needed to see; we didn’t have appropriate books at his reading level that wouldn’t embarrass him, nor the role models he might have connected with best. Timothy, as all children do, deserved public leaders who would have sought to understand the unique needs of his school and empowered his educators and community to prepare him for college graduation just as well as Andrea.

In the aftermath of the great recession and with only five years of teaching experience, I was laid off with thousands of others in 2010. I was determined to change the system for students like Timothy and teachers like me. I took that time to pursue a law degree at UCLA and became an Education Pioneers Graduate Fellow my first summer. This fellowship paired me with an organization I still call home to this day, the Partnership for LA Schools. At The Partnership I’ve been able to pursue my passion of changing the system by supporting many of our district’s highest-need schools with restorative justice, social-emotional learning, and the arts. As an educator and a lawyer, I both lead professional development and strategic planning with teachers and I advocate alongside community partners for more equitable policies and practices at LA Unified. After the teacher strike in January and the defeat of Measure EE in June, I heard quite clearly that our district needs to build trust with our community, unite around shared values for our students’ success, and inspire genuine hope for our public education system, like the hope my grandfather believed in. 

​While graduation rates have thankfully nearly doubled since I graduated from Narbonne High School, still less than half of our district’s graduates are eligible for public universities in our state. In an economy where the vast majority of new jobs require a college degree, our district must prepare our students for more post-secondary options. With your support, I aim to serve the children and families of our LA Unified School District as your board member for District 7 so that all of us can thrive.

See more at www.tanyaforlausd.com

Together we can:

1. Increase college access and career preparation so that all graduates persist in their chosen path

• Ensure high-quality curriculum, appropriate class size and inclusion practices support all students to meet the rigor of the standards 

• Integrate social-emotional learning, restorative justice and the arts to help students develop the skills to be creative problem-solvers in life

• Support teachers with the time to learn, plan, reflect and grow to strengthen pedagogy, innovation and differentiation 

1. Implement responsible and equitable budget solutions that prioritize our highest-need communities so that all students and all schools get what they need to succeed

• Aggressively seek additional local, state, federal, and philanthropic funding in collaboration with government, business and community partners, starting with passing the Schools and Communities First ballot initiative

• Allocate all $1 billion Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) supplemental and concentration funds through the Student Equity Needs Index (SENI)

• Consider all options for stabilizing the budget, including district real estate options, creative campus configurations, and benefit choices for new employees

1. Elevate the voices of students, parents, educators and school staff so that important decisions are made by those closest to kids and classrooms

• Conduct on-going and authentic community engagement conversations about school-site budgets and decisions that reflect the priorities and values each unique school

• Use multiple forms of quantitative and qualitative data, including absolute and growth metrics, to make data-informed decisions and monitor progress toward goals

• Prioritize reciprocal learning between school and community to build shared understanding, reduce bias, and improve student outcomes

Dr. Silke Melanie Bradford is not a career politician. Instead, through her vast experience and life-long career in California K-12 education, she has developed the skills and expertise necessary to effectively serve LAUSD District 7. The LA Times endorsed Dr. Bradford due to the fact that she "...brims with smart, well-articulated ideas for all students." The LA Times goes on to say that Dr. Bradford has "A fresh, indpendent voice..." and this "...is exactly what the board needs."

Some of Dr. Bradford's professional attributes and accomplishments include: 

Education

- Doctorate of Education in Leadership from University of California, Irvine (2009) 

- Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction with Teaching and Administrative Credentials from University of Pacific (2003) 

- Bachelors of Arts in Social Sciences from California State University, Sacramento (2001) 

Professional Accomplishments 

- Director of Charter School Accountability for Compton USD, LA County Office of Education, and Oakland USD

- Founding Principal that transformed LAUSD’s Henry Clay Middle School to the number one ranked school, in the state, in test score gains during the first year of

operation

- Advocated for passage of California Assembly Bill (AB1871) that mandated charter schools serve a free/reduced priced meal to qualifying students

- Assistant Principal 

- Middle and High School Alternative Education Teacher 

Dr. Bradford's 20 years of education experience combined with her passion to serve and improve the quality of education for all, will bring a 20/20 Vision to life. Due to her vast experience, she is highly qualifed and seeks your vote to become LAUSD's District 7 school board member. As result of her keen and fair analysis of issues and the implications of the solutions to resolve them. Dr. Bradford values the voices and experiences of all stakeholders. She is prepared to build on all of the great things happening in LAUSD, while also being a voice of reason to solve the myriad of issues that plague the district. 

If you are looking for someone to lead LAUSD who has not been bought by the powers that be? That person is me. My name is Silke (Silk-uh). It looks like Silky, but the pronunciation is German. 

My name represents the two parts of who I am. I’m the daughter of a German civilian who worked as a liaison between the US military and the German government, which is how she met my African American father serving as an Army Master Sergeant on a military base in Germany. 

They later married and had my older brother who was born with Down Syndrome and this fact changed the trajectory of my family’s life. The hospital staff suggested that my parents place my brother in an institution. They knew at that moment that Germany could not be their forever home.  This is why my parents decided to immigrate to America, specifically to California, that was known for having a progressive education system that embraced kids with disabilities like my brother Oliver. 

Due to my bi-cultural background, I am built to bridge divides. I have spent my life not fitting into any one box culturally or politically, and my campaign is going to be no different.  We are not anti-charter, we are not anti-union, we are pro-quality schools for all kids. If that resonates with you, then be sure to cast your vote for me, Silke Bradford for LAUSD progress and accountability.