Candidate for
Member, Governing Board; New Haven Unified School District

Educational Philosophy

Our children are in a very different world from the one in which I was educated. Most jobs today require employees to read well and have a better background in math and science than ever before. The State and Federal laws involving education have also changed dramatically. Our children must perform at a much higher level than ever before to successfully graduate from high school.

In order for our children to be successful in this new, more rigorous environment, the following challenges face all of us.

Seniors in high school in New Haven will be required to have a "C Average" to earn a diploma in 2003.

All high school students will have to meet the new A-G requirements for eligibility for the University of California/California State University Systems.

All schools must meet their state mandated targets for all groups of students or face federal sanctions.

In the face of reduced state funding of basic programs, all schools are still required to meet their student performance goals.

To prepare for these challenges, we, the Board of Education, have been very careful about our priorities. We take seriously our responsibility to have in place systems to monitor the implementation of the basic school program and intervention assistance to students at risk of retention. Our highest priority is to ensure that every student has access and succes in the core curriculum.

I support these efforts

I believe students will achieve what they must. Therefore we must have high expectations. The State of California is helping school districts set high expectations by setting standards for all students in California at all grade levels. These standards can be met by all students. This is very different from achievement tests that we are familiar with. Achievement tests have measured children based on "above" and "below" average. Standards tests can show every child at or above standard and that is and should be our goal.

Passing the California High School Exit Exam will be a requirement for the students who graduate in 2004. Again, this is a new and more rigorous requirement for California students. In New Haven, students are ahead of California in the percentage of students who have passed the exit exam. I believe all of New Haven's children can graduate under these higher standards but we must continue to focus on helping every student.