Q: Why are you running?
A: As of November 2012, I will have served 22 months on the MHUSD Board of Education. During that period, I have invested the time, energy and study that I believe it takes to be an effective member of the Board. I want to maintain the good governance exhibited by the current Board, which I am confident will lead to improvement in our schools and in the education of our students.
I am not running on a hidden agenda. I am not advocating for or against any programs, projects or segments of our community. I am not running to use the position as a stepping stone to higher office.
I’ve observed, listened, learned. I am ready to lead! I am running for our students, for our future.
In our home we value family, culture, community and education. We may not all agree, but if your values are anything like mine, I hope you will support me.
Q: What are your three priorities?
A: Career Pathways/Linked Learning: The district has invested heavily in improving our elementary schools. We now need to focus on our three high schools and our two middle schools. We need to improve graduation rates, increase the number of students opting for higher education and prepare our students for Post-Secondary School options. ROP classes and classes in Career Technical Education (CTE) stressing Rigor and Relevance need to be aligned with Reality by working with local and regional employers offering internships, mentoring and work opportunities. Career options should start to be made visible at the Middle School level and Career Pathways should be developed. Classes should satisfy both A-G requirements as well as offer Certification opportunities applicable to industry after high school but before college.
Technology & STEM Education: STEM education is an approach to teaching and learning that integrates the content and skills of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. STEM Education and Practices should reflect the skills and knowledge students must master to be prepared to meet the increasing demand of the workplace where STEM skills are required.
The district would like to offer wireless internet access for all students all the time. I would like to see the district eventually create a “1-1 Environment” (1 Electronic Device per student). This will not generate immediate improvement in standardized test scores but will, over time, create a more learned student body, capable of taking advantage of all the offerings of the internet as well as becoming active members of the global community.
Safe Schools: Our students need to feel safe getting to school, being in school, and returning home from school. They need to feel safe from gangs, bullies and cyber bullying. I support programs such as Project Cornerstone (41 Developmental Assets), Rachel’s Challenge, Safe Routes to Schools & appreciate that MHPD’s School Resource Officers are on campus. The interpretation of safe schools could further apply to structurally and environmentally safe schools, as well as safety from predatory adults.
Q: Internally, what is the Morgan Hill Unified School District’s greatest weakness?
A: I would submit that the district’s greatest weakness is in marketing and communications. Some district observers would point to negatives, such things as the test scores, graduation rates and other social or academic shortfalls and criticize the district. I disagree. I would submit that the district fails to effectively communicate and champion the great work that is being done in our schools and for our students. When you address the various sub-groups that populate our district, the English Language learners, the Special Education students, the children from families in the lower socio-economic strata and examine the efforts being made to improve the learning for these students you would come to better understand and appreciate the challenges facing our schools and the good work being done. Moreover, despite limitations and real or perceived deficiencies, we have students graduating our high schools that go on to Ivy League schools, the Military Academies, prestigious private universities as well as into the UC, CSU and community college systems. You might also note that we do this on a Revenue Limit/ADA amount of $5,226.12/student, based upon academic year 2011/2012. So, if we have a weakness, it’s in getting the message out about the great work being done.
Q: What role does a board member play in student achievement?
A: Broadly speaking, I think two words can sum up the role of a board member: Policies, Expectations. Student achievement is at the core and focus of all of the philosophies, policies, goals and expectations in the district. As a board member job one is to work with the members of the governing board to gather input from the District Administration, the teachers and staff, the parents and community, to develop and adhere to policies that best provide an environment that challenges and motivates our students to their highest level of achievement. The second job is to set high levels of expectation among all the members of the education process; students, teachers and staff, district administration, parents, and to hold them accountable. Of course, one must also remember, a board member is one vote on a panel of seven in Morgan Hill.
Q: Should the curriculums of San Martin Gwinn School and Jackson Academy be replicated throughout the district?
A: No. In my opinion the district needs to embrace a spirit of change and a spirit of challenge. By mandate schools have to teach to a common standard or core, whether the student is in kindergarten or the 12th grade. So by definition the curricula for English Language Arts Standards and Mathematics Standards are already replicated among all California schools. The range or scope of those standards may differ by audience, but the standard is established. It is in the application of those standards where things may differ. Subject matter needs to be presented in an engaging and innovative manner. Jackson Academy is focused on math and music. DIME (Dual Immersion Multicultural Education housed at San Martin/Gwinn) is focused on dual language literacy, not just bi-lingualism. Would you deny a student the opportunity to learn in a Dramatic Arts & English Language Academy? I think not. Teaching methodology at Charter School Morgan Hill differs from Silicon Valley Flex Academy, which differs from Nordstrom School which differs from Paradise Valley School. Yet, all are equally successful. Would you suggest that they all operate under the same format? I would suggest the answer is “no.” In the long run the objective is to prepare our students to be contributors in a post-secondary school world, whether that be to attend college in preparation for a future career, to join the military or to join the work force with some form of job skill or certification other than just a high school diploma.
Q: Should it be easier to fire underperforming teachers?
A: I think the question should more appropriately be; “What can we do to get better performing teachers?” Teachers undergo performance evaluations like most any employee. While many companies will provide a ninety day evaluation period for a new employee, new teachers in California school districts can get up to two years of scrutiny and review before a determination is made whether they will be granted a contract and tenure. And while California is an “at will” state and employees can be released without cause, once teachers are tenured, removing them can be a long, tedious and expensive process. So, rather than trying to fire them, I think we need to be better prepared when hiring them
What I believe we should do is:
• Elevate the status of a teacher. A teacher should be like a demi-god in the classroom;
• Demand better teacher training in our colleges and universities;
• Employ even greater scrutiny in teacher hiring practices;
• Provide mentors or coaches for new teachers and those struggling with classroom management;
• Provide for more staff development time;
• Employ more counselors to support students rather than shifting the burden on to the teachers;
• Train administrators to be better evaluators;
• Provide time for administrators to evaluate teachers by providing more staff support;
• Promote engagement, innovation and creativity;
• Recognize excellence;
• Provide time for collaboration, both inter and intra departmentally;
• Use data to better recognize areas of strength and weakness;
For further consideration I would suggest reading Tom Friedman’s Nov.19, 2011 column in the New York Times titled “How About Better Parents?” and Jamie Vollmer’s long list of roles and responsibilities thrust upon schools from his book “Schools Cannot Do It Alone.” There are links to both on my website; www.benevento4mhusd.com.
Q: When a district school goes into program improvement, what do you think the main causes are?
A: There are a few reasons: Poorly written legislation, aka No Child Left Behind; A flawed measurement system; Impossible goals – not measureable, not attainable, invalid time frame; to mandate that 100 percent of students be proficient in reading and math by 2014 is a dystopian goal, one that no nation in the history of the world has ever attained.
Q: What school-specific issue has really grabbed your attention?
A: In Morgan Hill Unified School District, as in many unified school districts, more focus and attention is given to the elementary schools. Ask any middle school or secondary school principal in a unified district and they will tell you that the secondary schools just don’t get enough mind share.
Career Pathways / Linked Learning- the district has invested heavily in improving our elementary schools. We now need to focus on our three high schools and our two middle schools. We need to improve graduation rates, increase the number of students opting for higher education and prepare our students for Post-Secondary School options. ROP classes and classes in Career Technical Education (CTE) stressing rigor and relevance need to be aligned with reality by working with local and regional employers offering internships, mentoring and work opportunities. Career options should start to be made visible at the middle school level and Career Pathways should be developed. Classes should satisfy both A-G requirements as well as offer Certification opportunities applicable to industry after high school but before college. An alliance with a local Community College would complete the eight year pathway, from seventh grade to fourteenth grade. CTE and ROP classes are not the starting point, nor the endpoint. They are just way stations on the journey.
Q: If the BOND and governor’s taxes do not pass, what will be your budget-cutting suggestions?
A: First it should be noted that MHUSD has a positive financial or budget rating as opposed to either a qualified or negative rating, which so many other districts throughout the state presently have. If the governor’s tax proposition should not pass, Morgan Hill Unified Schools would suffer only one additional furlough day, in other words, a day of school closure throughout the district. At present we have one furlough day scheduled this fall, and a second furlough day, if triggered by the failure to pass either Prop 30 or Prop 38, negotiated into the contracts with the local bargaining units in the district (teachers and classified employees). So our position this year is not so threatening as other districts and further budget cuts should not be required for the 2012 – 2013 school year. That said we still need to think long term, as the financial burden placed on the district in the future could be dramatic. As always, the clear objective would be to keep cuts as far away from the classroom as possible. Of course the single largest cost center in the district is the payroll, so it would seem inevitable that there could be some impact there.
But rather than talking cuts, I’d like for the district to consider some “outside the box” thinking and consider revenue generating possibilities. For example, could the district take advantage of our extensive school bus fleet and consider contracting out our transportation services to local or South County private schools and other agencies that may require transportation? Could our food services department possibly become a supplier to other schools in the district or to other nonprofit agencies?
Q: Who is your favorite teacher and what did they do for your life?
A: My favorite teacher was my high school physics teacher, Mr. Ed Turco. Mr. Turco helped set a standard in my mind for what a teacher should be. Always dressed professionally in either a sport coat or lab coat and tie, he had such command of the subject matter and such a comfortable classroom demeanor that he made a tough subject enjoyable. That fact that he made himself available for extra help every day also made him a big favorite with his students. Being the baseball coach he understood the concept of teamwork and in that context kept the class “together.” After I graduated he left the classroom and became a principal in a neighboring district high school. One of the things I remember fondly was that even though he was a busy guy, whenever I stopped by his office at his new high school, he always took the time to meet with me and provide sound advice. One of the things I learned from him…try and learn something new every day. To that end, become a lifelong learner.
Q: What’s the last good book you read?
A: Actually there are three books I want to mention. First, the book that motivated me to strive for a position on the board. That book is: “The Life and Death of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education,” by Diane Ravitch. An education historian, she served under two presidents, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. An early supporter of No Child Left Behind, she now is a strong antagonist of the policies espoused by George W. Bush and Barack Obama. This book was provided as a gift and moved me to get further involved with our schools.
The second book is “Coming Apart: The State of White America 1960 – 2010” by Charles Murray. Murray has been critical of the No Child Left Behind law, arguing that it “set a goal that was devoid of any contact with reality.” This book came recommended by Fareed Zakaria on GPS (CNN). It was an interesting read.
The third book is “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln” by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Kearns Goodwin is a frequent panelist on Meet the Press. It was a tremendous read, a testament to one of our greatest presidents and a lesson on leadership. This is the most recently read of the three noted herein.
