Bringing transparency to the community

Budget and Labor

I understand that each school has basic needs; however, each school does have unique needs too. I have worked to improve communications between the Board, the Superintendent and our school communities. I pride myself on professional and approachable communication: I have taken multiple CSBA trainings to ensure that my work communicating with constituencies is always in compliance with the Brown Act.

During my time as a school board trustee, I’ve worked to:

• direct staff to better show where funding come from via board reports and communications on Parent Square.

• explain restrictions on funding (Title I vs. general funds; ongoing vs. one-time, etc.) during public board discussions.

• work to improve labor/management relations with the new 5-member board elected in spring 2024.

• evaluate whether or not programs and allocations are having the desired results.

Whether we have children in GUSD or not, everyone deserves to see how specific programs have worked (or have not) to increase student retention, academic growth, teacher retention, social-emotional intelligence, among other district-wide goals. A thriving public school system benefits us all!

Curriculum and Assessment

When I have a question about what my children are learning, I know I can ask teachers, look at a syllabus, or even scroll through the GUSD website.

But many of us don’t have the time or know where to even look in the first place. Without a clear partnership in our chosen educational curriculum, coupled with a growing lack of trust, parents are left to make assumptions about when and what is being taught, which understandably creates room for anger and fear to grow.

As your board member, I have taken steps to:

• Meet families where they are, whether at school sites, in local parks, or at designated town halls.

• Clarify to families via GUSD communications channels which decisions a board makes and which are required compliance by state and federal laws.

• Provide training to parents on how to use Google Classroom, etc. to see what and how their children’s curriculum requirements and the review committees. I will urge GUSD to share more details about our rigorous and relevant curriculum that meets California’s established K-12 state standards. Transparency creates trust. Trust allows our GUSD community to flourish.

• Meet with parents and educators involved in specialized programs, including FLAG, SpEd, and GATE to get feedback on what these programs need and what is working.

• Regularly visit not only our Area C schools, but all schools and levels of education so that I can feature our amazing educators’ exciting lessons and student work that I know are happening each and every day in GUSD.

  Every school is made special and unique by those teachers and the families in it. I look forward to being a bigger part of the GUSD family.