Incumbent stresses academic success
Morgan Hill – Running for a second term on the Morgan Hill Unified School District board is not something Trustee Amina Khemici takes lightly; she said she sees the opportunity to work for all the students in the district as an honor and a serious responsibility.
“I am not a politician, I’m just here for the students,” said the 44-year-old mother of three. “All of the students. I want to make sure that we make the best decisions for them that will give them the best education possible.”
One of the things she believes is important to the district and its students is the employees.
“I think that we need to give our employees, our teachers, our classified staff, more support,” she said. “We need to show them that they are valued and recognize what they do for our students. I also would really like to see more community involvement. We need to reach out.”
Khemici, who has a bachelor’s degree in special education from Jersey City University, N.J., said she believes community involvement and increased support and respect for employees will ultimately benefit the students, which, she said, is her main motivation for serving on the school board.
“I don’t want to use this as a stepping stone to go somewhere else, I just want to do what’s right for the students because I care,” she said. “One of the things that I hear when I talk to parents in our district is that they want their students to have a well-rounded education. I think having high expectations is very important, but at the same time, we need to be realistic about everyone. We’re not going to have all doctors and engineers, we’ll have bakers and mechanics, too.”
It is important for the district to continue to offer vocational programs, even expand them, she said, and to offer students more choices in the arts.
“We have so many kids who are very gifted in different ways, and we need to give everyone an outlet,” she said. “Someone who does not excel in math may find that foreign languages or art or music is what they are good at. You can offer these kinds of things for our students and still have high academic expectations. These kinds of electives and choices make our schools interesting and exciting for students.”
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or at md****@*************es.com.
