What are my goals and why do I do this work?

First of all, aside from asking for your vote to continue my service, I am not a politician.  This is something I do out of a lifelong passion for education---and I come from a VERY long line of educators.  I like to fix things, and I am never happier than if I am in a position to make something better for someone.

Further, I DO NOT accept or solicit donations.    Unions and PACs contribute to campaigns in the hope of gaining influence.  My only constituency must be--and has always been--the students.   I was not endorsed by CHSTA for this reason, but teachers know that they can call and ask for my assistance, and they do so often.

My goals are mostly expansions of the great work we already have in progress, and you can see that list under “Biography.”  You can also visit the CUHSD website and see the Board’s collaborative vision as expressed in our Strategic Plan.  It’s a good one, but this year it is up for review and change to keep pace with the times we live in.

Aside from that, I want to say something more personal about my hopes for our young people and an attitude that shapes a lot of my decision-making.  I want us to focus on helping kids achieve some balance in their lives.  Many of our students are adapting to distance learning in very positive ways, but too many are living in a state of constant stress—functioning almost in a state of anxiety.  They fear not getting everything right, not taking enough AP classes or getting those perfect grades for college admission—and that leads to a fear of trying something new.  These are not “learning units,” these are our children.  They need time to explore their own humanity and develop relationships.  They need a moment here and there to disconnect and reflect.  Just as a bookshelf can only hold 36 inches of books, a student’s day can only hold so much.  Let’s leave a little room for joy. 

Recently, a group of Branham students joined together to express their collective concerns, the top one being too much homework.  Now, few of us have ever heard a student complain of too little homework, but this concern must be heard in a different way in light of the strain of living with COVID.  Many students now have jobs because another family member may have lost employment.  Many are helping out with younger siblings.    At Branham, Principal Lawton took this student outreach seriously and convened the first Branham Wellness Forum.  Students, in small groups, brought forward their top concerns.  It was determined that this forum will be held bi-monthly with a smaller student-led Principal’s Advisory group meeting to follow each Forum.  I’m really pleased to see this kind of communication occurring.

And let’s remember it isn’t only academic achievement that matters.  It matters that our young adults go out into the world confident that they can solve problems and that a setback is not the end of the world.  I wanted to hug the Branham Bear Witness editor who wrote “we are worried that if we don’t have all our success in high school, we have no future.  That is not the case.”  Here is my message: If you don’t graduate with a 4.0, you’re going to be OK.  But you need to graduate knowing that you are developing into the kind of person—the kind of human being—you want to be.

With regard to student mental health in general, although it took a long time for me to speak of it publicly, this issue is critical and personal to me because I lost my oldest son to suicide.  My younger son was in high school at the time, and there were no supports for him to navigate his feelings.  None.  The desire to bring back some programs that had been discontinued such as Peer Counseling and Faculty-led support groups was a prime motivator for me to run for this position in 2012.  I was able to go much further, bringing on board the Cassy Mental Health Counselors at all sites and now a social worker pilot program.  Cassy Counselors are available remotely during this COVID crisis.   This year, we certified over 100 staff members in Mental Health First Aid.  We communicate with parents to be sure they are aware of the supports available.  We also conduct a Student Well-Being Survey to better understand how students are experiencing their day, what is working and what is needed.  And we are launching a District-wide campaign to remove the stigma of seeking help for stress, anxiety and depression and give students more resources and coping skills.

On a related topic—support for those who are vulnerable—I want to say a word about our discipline practices.  Prior to 2016, we had probably 20 expulsions a year and far too many suspensions.  This was simply unacceptable.  We now have all our administrative staff and others trained in Restorative Justice Practices, we have reduced our 2-day suspensions from 8% to 3% and our expulsions to virtually zero.  Previously, expelled students were transferred to Camden Day School.  We closed it.   Students now stay where they belong, in class, with on-site supports and behavioral monitoring in place.  We are also hopeful that we may be able to replace Campus Resource Officers with our own Campus Supervisors who will develop relationships of trust with our students.  And I have to add that, throughout my long career, I did not “send students to the office” on the grounds that no one else can have relationships with my students for me.

Another change we will be considering during our Strategic Plan Update in October and November will be more integration of special education students into mainstream classes.  Not only would those students benefit, so would the culture of the school as a whole.  It is part of the goal of removing barriers so that all students can see and experience each other’s different abilities and gifts.

With regard to the broader question of educational equity and the Black Lives Matter Movement: while we have been working on equity initiatives for some time, we have, RIGHT NOW in this historical moment, a broader opportunity that was present before.  I call it a moment of “civic receptivity” to making substantive systemic change.  This can’t be allowed to pass us by.   In that awareness, I co-authored a resolution which was introduced at the Board meeting on Oct 1 to guide the Board’s goals in setting an agenda for change.  While the school sites already have some committees in place to address racism, as a Board, we cannot give direction without first immersing ourselves in what it is that we will be asking our staff and students to do and gaining a clear understanding of our desired short-term and long-term outcomes.    I don’t see this as a “ready, fire, aim.”  If we are going to get this right, we have to begin with open and frank exchanges—a lot of them, followed by a comprehensive plan.  For me, that would include a review of current programs and practices (including hiring) in preparation for setting District-wide goals and then directing staff to devise the strategies to bring about the necessary changes, including changes or additions to the curriculum.

I would also like to provide a short list of what we have done so far: Staff have participated in large numbers in the Leading and Working Toward Equity Institute and in anti-bias training.  Gay-Straight Alliance groups were formed at all school sites and we removed gender as an impediment to engaging in any sport or activity.  We have increased representation of students of color in Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate classes by 200 students in the past two years.  Since 2012, the number of students taking AP exams, including students of color, has increased by 800 students with an increase in the passing rate of 12%.  Last year, 400 under-represented students completed a course as part of our Dual Enrollment Program with West Valley College.   We have seen strong increases in our re-classification rates of EL students to “proficient” status, partly due to inclusion in more challenging classes.   We launched Del Mar’s Latino Film Institute English Enrichment Classes created by Edward James Olmos.   Dr. Bravo and I met him at a CSBA conference, saw the program profiled, and knew we had to have it for our students.

I’ll close this with a few words about distance learning.  We know that students are experiencing a loss of normalcy and feelings of isolation.  I hope that we will soon see more outdoor club activities on campus, carried out according to County Guidelines, of course, to alleviate some of those feelings.

Distance learning in the spring was “crisis learning.”  For fall, all staff have worked very hard to assume new duties and extra tasks to make this work with more structure and continuity.  In the first three days of school:

·         96% of parents or guardians had completed the Aeries Parent Portal Update

·         8,397 Chromebooks (loaded with course and grade level data) and 589 hot spots had been distributed.  ALL students now have a Chromebook and internet access.

·         There were fewer than 75 “missing” families districtwide

·         We handled 2000 Tech hotline calls—at the average wait time of 1 minute 26 seconds

·         98% or 7,097 students logged on to Canvas and parents got reminder emails.

·         542 meals were delivered or picked up

·         86% attended all classes on the 1^st day and 97% attended at least one class.

·         Per period absences were 3.5 times greater than last year—an area for improvement

I was concerned about Boynton students, but 100% have now been accounted for by teachers who knocked on doors or did whatever it took.   Very few students District-wide are still “missing” and we are using Learning Loss Mitigation Funds to find them and keep them engaged.  I remain concerned that we may have students who become homeless the longer this economic crises continues, and we will have to be diligent in training our staff to recognize the signs of students who may be experiencing this, and then work with the appropriate agencies to get them help.

In addition to Thought Exchange, our student board members bring us much valuable information on what is working and what is not with regard to distance learning.  Teachers received additional training Oct. 1 and 2 in the use of the online platform, CANVAS.

Our next step will be to open "Learning Hubs" consisting of small groups of students deemed to be “at-risk” either academically or emotionally.  They will return to campus with volunteer teachers to mentor them in person.  This is to happen very soon. 

When we do reopen in any one of a number of possible configurations, we will have to follow the County Guidelines, which will presumably include social distancing. Here is our challenge: How do we "social distance" 8,400 people on six school sites that are already at capacity? The logistics around that are incredibly complex. In the end, it will probably come down to "cost-benefit" analysis. When do the benefits outweigh the risk?

For now, our motto is CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.   I am utterly committed, with your support, to serve our students and families to the best of my ability.

METRO ED /SVCTE

Because I serve on the Campbell UHSD Board, I have a seat on the Board of the  MetroEd/ Silicon Valley Career Technical Education District.  I currently serve as their Board President, and in that capacity, I have taken on the task of trying to “save” this incredible institution which has served our students for over a century—and which is on track to close down in 2023.

        If you truly care about educational equity for our students, 53% of whom are socio-economically disadvantaged and 86% of whom are students of color, please read this section carefully as well as the documents I am will try to attach separately. 

        MetroEd / SVCTE is located on Hillsdale Avenue and serves around 1200 students from 40 high schools, including those of the Campbell Union HSD.   We are a JPA run by our 6 partner districts: San Jose USD, East Side HSD, Campbell Union HSD, Los Gatos-Saratoga UHSD, Santa Clara USD and Milpitas  USD.  We offer 26 programs supporting area businesses, health services and community services.  Our courses have “A-G” certification for University admission, should our students prefer to follow that path.  Many of our students are in internships, and most are hired before graduation because local employers know that they are trained not only in high demand skills, but by teachers who instill in them a strong work ethic and pride in a job well done.

        In 2013, the State funding model for education changed to the Local Control Funding Formula, and MetroEd / SVCTE fell through the cracks.  Now we are completely dependent on our partner districts for funding which comes to us as a per pupil amount for each student.  We also get the odd grant here and there, although the process is set up to favor traditional districts and community colleges.  In recent years, we have had twice as many applicants for seats at SVCTE than their home districts can afford to send.   And, when those districts have to look for places to cut, they can easily cut the number of students they enroll with us.   Over the past three years, we have averaged about $700,000 a year in cuts.  We have no place left to go.  Cutting a program might save us a teacher salary and benefits, but we also lost the students who would be in that class and the funds that come with them.

        We know that our programs change lives dramatically in all kinds of positive ways.  Students come to us who want to work with their hands or serve their community in positions such as medical assisting or firefighting.  They find their passion, pride and sense of accomplishment and their more traditional studies take on new relevance.  Reading and math matter when a clear connection exists to the work.

         To see this end would truly break my heart.  Since May, I have been putting in 40 hour weeks in an effort to save MetroEd.  That is not hyperbole or exaggeration.  Our COVID expenses alone have now topped $800,000.  Just this past week, we lost three key employees because we cannot afford to pay them what they are worth, and because they sense we will be closing.   A drop in enrollment of 100 students translates to a loss of $700,000, and when one of our districts reduced seats this past January, we went into the 20-21 school year with a loss of $770,000.  Now, after one month of school, it looks like we will lose another 80 students to attrition even though our counselors worked closely with site counselors to allow for that during enrollment.  This level of attrition is related to the difficulty of delivering distance learning in programs that are fundamentally hands-on.  Our teachers are on site and are constantly making videos and creating hands-on materials kits which can be picked up at tents in the parking lot, but this is far from ideal.  If our partner districts face their own budget issues by reducing enrollment to Metro Ed next January per the Master Business Agreement, as we anticipate, within two years we will have exhausted our reserves and our ability to continue.

In that knowledge and realizing that no one else was stepping up to sound the alarm.  I went to work.  Superintendent Lynch is working 12 hour days and can’t do it all.   In the space of three months, I raised awareness by getting MetroEd in the San Jose Spotlight, getting us a spot on Channel 7 News, and making several videos which have been sent out to our elected leaders as part of our appeal.  

I have uploaded my latest video appeal and the Channel 7 News spot under videos on this webpage.  For some reason, there is a malfunction and a black square appears saying the link will not work.  If you click on the title of the video, it will magically appear and play just fine.        

I hear our City and County leaders talk endlessly about equity and job training and economic recovery.  I hear them talk about partnering with community colleges for more job training programs.  I want to scream.  I feel like I must go to the MetroEd campus every night and set off flairs to say, “We are here NOW, and we do this spectacularly!”  You aren’t seeing us, but you will feel our loss acutely when we are gone.

 I set a goal of raising 1 million from the City and County as “bridge” funding to tide us through the COVID crisis and give us a 1-2 year window to go all-out in pursuit of the only true solution, a restoration of direct funding in Sacramento.   I have now emailed serial appeals and created multiple information documents for all of our elected leaders, I have spoken by phone or zoom with most of them including Supervisor Chavez who has given me a suggestion for a way forward, and have made public comment at the budget hearings of both bodies.   I now have a binder with 110 pages of typed notes on conversations with these officials and various leads to follow-up on.  I have amassed 150 letters of support into a data base.  There would be many more, but privacy laws mean that I cannot access contact information for past and current SVCTE students.

We have been lobbying for increased CTE support for some time, and Superintendent Lynch and I have spoken in Sacramento for our cause on several occasions.  Evan Low and Ash Kalra are interested in crafting legislation that would restore our direct funding from the State, and the County Office of Education has now agreed to sign on as a sponsor.  Assemblyman Low has requested data on ROP’s statewide to broaden the ask.  There used to be around 34.  Nearly half have had to close for the same reason we are facing the abyss. We have amassed that data and have created a detailed action plan for move forward in Sacramento, and we are executing on elements of that plan NOW.

Please consider:  I can be replaced.  I am not sure that the relationships I have built in furtherance of this goal can be.