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In four years as your School Board Trustee, I have led us through a wide range of achievements and critical improvements to our school district. We replaced our district’s leadership, radically improved our basic operations and budgeting, addressed critical teaching and learning gaps, and began to confront serious issues of educational justice. The COVID-19 crisis has made all of this work more important than ever as students and families struggled, and continue to struggle, with the stressful and unusual circumstances of the spring semester. The role the district can play in mitigating these struggles is significant and I will continue to advocate for clear communication with families, high standards for distance learning, supports for those struggling with isolation, and effective pedagogies for remote engagement, meaning-making, and content mastery. My voice and advocacy have been strongest when students are vulnerable or underserved by our systems. During my first term, we repaired our compliance with the Office of Civil Rights, created a Title IX office, and increased education for students and staff about consent. I insisted on adding a full-time reading specialist at each of our elementary schools and amplified the crisis of dyslexia with a resolution and professional development plan to address it. I have advocated for an alignment in workload, assessments, and grading practices across courses and schools for the benefit of all students. I have been, and will continue to be, a strong voice for educational justice, calling out and resolving to address the systemic racism that is part of our community and our schools. This is a time for experienced leadership, empathy for students and families, and renewed efforts to build systems that are rigorous, just, and equitable. I hope you will support my re-election to our Palo Alto School Board. Thank you. |
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