Candidato para Miembre de Junta

PAUSD, at the heart of Silicon Valley, can be a leader in innovating education. Innovative ideas and methods for integrated curricula, real-life application, and project-based learning are most effective when they come from our teachers. BEAM, Connections, Social Justice Pathways, and AAR are examples of such programs that already have proven success. If elected, I plan to create a district incubator to elicit new ideas and support their implementation with a level of consistency that provides opportunity to every student regardless of their zip code. 

I plan to build strong relationships with industry leaders to provide innovative career training options for students, like the Lockheed Martin internship. I will also use my own network of PAUSD alumni to involve our successful former students in mentoring and providing career pathways to current students. Finally, I will strengthen our relationship with our local community colleges to ensure that robust linked learning and middle college opportunities are available to our students.

In my experience, an upfront investment in compliance is a better way to save money than paying out of pocket after mistakes are made. It is time for PAUSD to hire a general counsel to ensure our policies comply with the law and to provide oversight to outside counsel to prevent excessive legal bills.

We must foster a culture that teaches students about consent and power dynamics, and one that empowers them to report potentially harmful behavior to a trusted adult. We must also provide robust training to teachers and administrators so they know how to best protect our students and comply with the law.

Decreasing student stress and supporting mental health and wellness should be one of the most important goals of our school district. I support the expansion of the Social-Emotional Learning curriculum, wellness centers at all our high schools and middle schools, and the implementation of the homework policy aimed at reducing student workload and stress.