Morgan Hill School Trustee candidates answer questions on where
they stand on issues.
What do you think about Dr. Alan Nishino’s performance as school superintendent?
Bart Fisher:
“I believe Dr. Nishino has set laudable goals around standardization of curriculum and giving teachers more systems to track students and adjust lesson plans to each student’s needs. However, the school board must be more proactive in opening up the district’s decision making and implementation process to ensure that these plans have adequate resources behind them and will result in measurable improvements in student achievement. As someone who has helped to implement a number of change-management programs, I know it often isn’t the ‘what’ that’s important, it’s the ‘how.’ I want the board to constructively engage the superintendent, administration, teachers and parents in an ongoing strategic planning dialogue aimed at showing how we will achieve academic excellence in terms of measurable results such as the Academic Performance Index (API) scores, Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) improvement, and college acceptance rates for our high school graduates.”
Mike Hickey:
“I have three children in the Morgan Hill Unified School District, and one who started in kindergarten and just graduated. For the first time since I have been involved in our schools, we are finally (under the direction of Dr. Nishino) putting together a ‘start-to-finish’ product. Our curriculum is being aligned from elementary to junior high through high school. This might seem like common sense, but if you have had a student go through our schools, you know this has not been the case. Dr. Nishino has put together a staff that is getting this done. Administrators, teachers, and classified (employees) are finally getting training and instruction in how to do this. High schools are talking to junior highs and junior highs are talking to the elementary schools.
“So how would I rate Dr. Nishino? I would say he is exactly what I was hoping for.”
Amina Khemici:
“Dr. Nishino’s performance as a superintendent of school is satisfactory. He is working hard to move the district forward. Student achievement and closing the gap are his drives.”
Don Moody:
“The specifics of Dr. Nishino’s performance appraisal are confidential. There were some specific things that I looked for when we conducted our search for a new superintendent and I still feel Alan is meeting my expectations in those areas. He is focused on improving the academic standards of our students. He is making impressive strides towards standardizing the education our students receive at each of our schools. Alan has a strong financial background and I feel he has a handle on where we are fiscally. He has a history of dealing with developers and I am satisfied, for the present, with him representing our interest in Coyote Valley.
“There are some areas that Dr. Nishino needs to focus more on. Communication is a big issue in our district. We need cable television coverage again at the board meetings. We need more and regular written communication from the superintendent through the print media. A regular column or more frequent letters to the editor have been suggested but to date have not happened. Another goal that needs more attention is value, respect and support our employees. We have resources right in our own district that need to be better utilized.”
Shelle Thomas:
“Under state law, the superintendent’s evaluation is confidential. His evaluation has been considered and reviewed during closed session as a personnel issue.
“However, I suggest an evaluation policy be established to let the public know how the superintendent’s evaluation process works, and what our obligations are to the public. One part of the superintendent’s evaluation could be communicated in public, perhaps comparing the district goals against the district academic performance.
“To continue to be effective, communication is paramount – from the budget process and allocation of funds – to superintendent and board relations, to staff relations and community interactions.
“I believe in keeping teachers involved in the curriculum processes such as textbook selection. This involvement is key to student achievement and educational improvement. Teachers are the professionals. Ensuring collaboration with these professionals is paramount to the success of curricular implementation. Our established policies and practices work.”
What specifically do you intend to do to improve academic performance at MHUSD schools?
Bart Fisher:
“First, I don’t think you can begin to address academic performance issues without ensuring that your teachers have the resources, skills and support to successfully help students reach the standards set for them. This means continuing to look for opportunities for staff development. The three staff development days negotiated in the most recent contract are a good start. Also, we should ensure that the technology systems we put into place to monitor academic performance meet the needs of the teacher in the classroom. Second, we must plan now to meet the challenges of the increasing academic standards that the federal No Child Left Behind law will impose on the district in the coming years. We need to have individual plans for each school that align with the overall goals for the district and give principals and teachers the ability to create measurable expectations for improvements in specific areas. Finally, in talking to parents, teachers, and community members, I’ve learned that we must do more to help our middle schools successfully transition students from elementary school to high school. The success of students in passing high school exit exams and as productive members of society often hinges on their math and language arts skills.”
Mike Hickey:
“Teachers are the professionals; they do the teaching. We do, however, need to work through the superintendent to make sure they have the necessary supplies to be effective teachers (i.e.: current state standards, materials, etc.). They also need to have staff development time when they can collaborate with other teachers to see what works. We need to make sure our principals are being supported. I believe over this last year our principals have been trained more than ever before. To be truly effective, they have to be kept up to speed on current laws and policies. This is happening and it will continue to happen. We need to have a clean and orderly environment in which kids can learn. I need to make sure all those dealing with our kids, including classified workers, have what they need to be successful.”
Amina Khemici:
“I would like to see more community involvement. Reaching all students, making them lifelong successful learners. I would also like to train and support teachers and classified (employees), work collaboratively with parents, community, teachers and district administrators to better help and support our children, and spend money and tax dollars wisely (in the classroom).”
Don Moody:
“Insure that our students are exposed to a multitude of opportunities in and out of the classroom. Make sure all students have equal opportunities to achieve at all schools and at all grade levels. Insure that the curriculum is aligned in the core curricular areas. Provide our students that need additional support with help and intervention. Provide a work environment that will insure our district employees are proud to come to work and one where they are adequately supported so that they can remained focused on what they do best which is the education of our students.”
Shelle Thomas:
“Over the past year, our superintendent has overseen the alignment of the core curriculum K-12 to match state standards, developed intervention strategies for at-risk students, analyzed data and trained teachers in data analysis.
“However, I think we need to focus efforts on the classroom by supporting our teachers with sufficient resource allocation, supplies, materials, technology and meaningful differentiated staff development options, time and high academic standards and expectations.
“We need to emphasize and capitalize on the strengths and knowledge of professionals already serving our students.
“It is imperative that we retain and recruit a professional staff of highly qualified teachers and administrators. To retain teachers, we need to offer them support and sufficient materials and training. We need to nurture our new teachers with experienced teachers and competent administrators. We must have salaries, for both certificated and classified staff, that are comparable with other districts to our north.”
Measure E failed during the primary election, what specifically can you do to improve technology support in MHUSD classrooms and upgrade district infrastructure, agriculture, music, art and sports programs?
Bart Fisher:
“While I realize that these were the priorities listed in Measure E, my first step would be to determine if these are the priorities the board should be focusing on. The board’s role in addressing all of these issues should be to set up a context for the district and community to jointly develop priorities and understand the trade-offs of different solutions. To do this, I would look within the district and out to the community for help in determining these priorities. Within the district, I would do a comprehensive review of the budget and set aside monies from the discretionary portion of the budget to address our highest priorities. I’d also use this investigation to begin teaching the public about the constraints that exist in a school district budget, both in terms of the strings attached to federal and state monies, as well as the legacy of past decisions such as Proposition 13.”
Mike Hickey:
“As a district, we are only allotted a certain sum of money in which to work. So many of the things we were hoping to get done will get done, it will just take longer. For example: We were hoping to get security cameras and phones in all of our schools over the next year. This will not happen. It will now take us somewhere in the range of five years to have all of our schools equipped with this new technology. This is a decision that a community makes when it votes. There are only a couple ways to offset some of this – if we are allotted more money than anticipated from the state or federal government. If this happens, we hope to use some of the monies towards these types of programs. We can also look at hiring a grant writer for the district.”
Amina Khemici:
“We are supporting and maintaining our existing programs.”
Don Moody:
“There is no question in my mind that many of the upgrades required by our district will require additional funds. This is why I supported Measure E and was disappointed when it failed to pass. Years of diminishing financial resources have left our schools with antiquated technology and inadequate financial support for our extra curricular programs.
-“We need to go after outside funding sources such as grants through the state.
-“Reach out to industry and partner with them. We live in Silicon Valley; our schools should be on the cutting edge of technology.
-“Support our parent, booster groups that work so hard for our children. Don’t put roadblocks in their way that make their jobs more difficult or deplete their financial resources.
-“Maintain existing programs in the classroom such as elementary music and middle school and high school ASB. Treat these programs with the same degree of importance as other academic programs.”
Shelle Thomas:
“One of our district goals is to improve our use of technology and update our infrastructure. Included in this broad district goal are these issues: parents need access to online standards-based curriculum; real time information on student progress, activities and homework. Students need better technological support, training, facilities and equipment. Funds and sustainability need to be a part of a community conversation. A comprehensive technology plan and a knowledgeable oversight committee should be in place to see this goal become a reality.
“In the last year, the district has spent more than $200,000 for technology programs; Compass Learning, an electronic curriculum accessed from home by students; Advance Academics, a tool used to prepare for the high school exit exam; DataWise, a tool used by principals and teachers to continually interpret data in an effort to increase academic achievement; and ConnectED, a program that allows school-to-home communication. Live Oak is updating its technology infrastructure and security surveillance.”
“Over the years the erosion of state funds for music, art, sports and programs like FFA have made teachers and coaches, bandleaders and parent volunteers ‘fundraisers.’ Teachers, parents and volunteers continue to sustain the programs!”
What are the top three issues in your campaign platform?
Bart Fisher:
-“Building accountability: Create clear, concise, and measurable goals and an organization aligned to reach them.
-“Championing development: Focus on ongoing improvement and learning for our students, teachers, administrators, and the board itself.
-“Increasing outreach: Work to ensure that our schools are seen as valued community assets, with active partnerships between schools, businesses, and the community.”
Mike Hickey:
-“Construction: Over the last few years, we have done a lot of construction in Morgan Hill. We are currently under contract with an architect to complete the remodel of Live Oak High School. I believe it is imperative that we finish what was started at Live Oak. I want our community to walk into Live Oak and say that this is an incredible-looking school.
-“Safe schools: I believe it is essential that our children and employees feel safe. I believe we need to continue to update our schools with the latest securities measures. I believe this is something our entire community needs to get involved in.
-“Parental access to student’s education.”
Amina Khemici:
-Academic success for all stu-
dents.
-Value, respect and support all
employees.
-Trust in our community and
community involvement.
-Student achievement.
-Value, respect and support
school district employees.
-District and board communi-
cation.
Shelle Thomas:
-“As trustee, my work is to continue to improve the way our district educates our youth by taking the time to build understanding, support and participation. Clear information about district policies, programs and our fiscal health must be provided to the public.
-“We have to re-establish a positive working relationship at the municipal level with the City of Morgan Hill through the city school liaison. We have to work with the City of San Jose in a cooperative, ongoing manner over the proposed development of Coyote Valley.
-“For the community to stay informed our board meetings must to be televised. And we need to develop a forum to allow the public, our constituents to come forward with questions and concerns.
“A trustee plays a critical role in building and maintaining support for schools and engaging the community in support of our schools. Â Excellent schools are grown in a supportive climate of excellence, pride and ownership.”
