How should the district address declining enrollment? Will it, at some point, be necessary to consolidate or close any campuses or reduce staffing from today’s levels?
The district is currently addressing the decline in enrollment by marketing to students outside of the LBUSD.
In September 2023, the Long Beach Business Journal reported, “the district continues to monitor population fluctuations, housing and rental costs, and projected birth rates.” The monitoring of the various impacts and the changing of the demographics has led the district to make complete changes of schools in various communities. Over the last few years, the district has changed the type of schools to meet the changing of the demographic, such as changing a middle school to a high school and an elementary school to a middle school.
With a decline in enrollment comes a decline in funding. If the decline continues at the rate it has over the last decade, the district will need to reduce staff. The district needs to take a thorough look at the outcomes of the educators who have been moved from the classroom to positions outside of the classroom in order to not reduce staffing. Are these staffing moves improving student outcomes? The district should not be holding on to positions that are contributing to a future financial burden of the district especially if the position is not improving student achievement.
Students are still struggling to recover from learning loss during the pandemic. What more should the district be doing to help students meet basic reading and math standards, especially low-income and English-learning students who were disproportionately hurt by school closures?
Students were struggling before the pandemic. The pandemic further exacerbated the challenges students were experiencing in basic reading and math.
During the pandemic, the District issued Chromebooks to all students, as well as provided Wi-Fi access to families that did not have it available. I believe that the district should continue to provide the necessary tools and devices to students in need. Having access to tools such as a Chromebook and Wi-Fi is necessary for student success.
The district currently offers tutoring opportunities at school sites or via online mediums, unfortunately, many families are unaware of what is available to them. I believe the school sites, via the teachers, counselors, or interventionists, must connect directly with the parents and guardians of struggling students to enroll them into the various tutoring opportunities. Parent involvement in accessing tutoring resources is necessary.
The district must invest in early interventions. Waiting until a student is in middle school or high school is too late to help a student struggling with reading and comprehension.
The renovation of the Jordan High campus started a decade ago, and some campuses are still waiting for long-promised air conditioning. What can the district do to get renovation projects moving more quickly and cheaply?
The district is currently taking the necessary steps to move projects forward more quickly than before. Contractors are being vetted and receiving pre-qualified status. Once it has been determined that the contractor meets the necessary requirements the board approves the contractor for future contracts. I believe that the contractors should be selected based upon a competitive bidding process, not necessarily who is the cheapest, yet select a company that can provide the best quality of service at a rate that does not exceed the budget for each respective project.
There have been recent concerns about crime and violence at campuses, including a student bringing a gun to Wilson High School and a lockdown at Cabrillo High School because of a nearby shooting. How do you make sure students feel safe in class and around campus?
We make students feel safe by listening to them, addressing their needs, and creating a sense of belonging at their school. If a student does not feel like they belong in an environment, they are likely to be careless and create harm to self or others. Students need to feel cared for by the adults in their lives, and that includes me, you and LBUSD staff and teachers.
Parent involvement is key to student safety. Parents must be aware of what is going on with their children. If the child is displaying disruptive behavior that creates an unsafe environment for other students or educators, parents must work directly with the appropriate staff of the school to remedy.
If elected, what is a concrete policy change you will immediately advocate for at a school board meeting?
I will advocate for a policy that calls for the implementation of a Department of Counseling and the adoption of counseling standards that are representative of the best practices outlined by the California Association of School Counselors (CASC). Currently, LBUSD has approximately 120 school counselors across 84 schools. According to CASC, the ratio of counselors to students should be 1 to 25o. There are some school counselors that have a caseload of over 700 students. LBUSD recently reported that they have 146 counselors, yet the total includes individuals working in wellness centers and social workers, not just counselors working directly with students for academic support.