Member, Board of Education —

I am a product of public schools, including my undergraduate and law school education at UCLA.  My children attended Will Rogers Elementary School, Lincoln Middle School and Santa Monica High School.  My mother is a nationally renowned educator.

As an attorney specializaing in public policy related matters, once I had children, I became more and more interested and active in education and in SMMUSD schools.  I first ran for Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education eight years ago to take my legal background and lifetime of education activism to bring greater educational excellence and equity to the District. The eight years I have served on the School Board have gone by quickly. I have been a leader on the School Board, serving as Board president for four out of those eight years.

I am seeking re-election to bring to fruition Districtwide projects that are in the beginning stages, and also usher in new ones. I am proud of the substantial progress we are making with our youngest learners and in tackling the opportunity/achievement gap. We are implementing social justice standards from pre-K through 12th grade, we continue to grow our music and arts programs, and we are modernizing our facilities to ensure that our students are safe and have access to state-of-the-art technology.  And that barely scratches the surface.

 I believe excellent public schools are one of the foundations of a democratic society. To achieve this, we must create equitable opportunities so that all students can thrive in college and their career choices and so that teachers have the tools they need to promote learning in the 21st century. I support improving STEAM curriculum (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) and spreading the use of inquiry-based learning. I think college and career readiness must begin in pre-Kindergarten, and this includes teaching students to be critical thinkers and collaborative, responsible citizens. I believe the best schools not only have great teachers, but provide students with a safe, healthy and nurturing environment that helps them thrive academically and socially.  I also believe that teachers must be deeply involved in making decisions about professional development opportunities and other decisions that affect what occurs in the classroom.  The District must continue to support "professional learning communities" in which teachers can work together to ensure student success.  I support site and district leadership structures that recognize that teachers, administrators and classified staff must work together for the success of students and all have an important role to play.