Candidate for
Board Member; Modesto Elementary & High School Districts

Top Priorities for Cindy Marks, Modesto City School Board

Today's children are our future leaders. Investing in their education will pay off for many years to come. I am committed to ensuring that the investments we make reap a top quality education for every child enrolled in Modesto City Schools.

In my last term as a school board member, I focused my attention on three of the primary challenges facing our schools today - campus safety, academic excellence, and parental involvement. If you elect me to a second term, I can assure you that they will remain my top priority.

Campus safety should be paramount in education today. Our students and teachers have a right to attend school in a safe environment. To help foster such an environment, I have served on the district's Character Education Committee for the past four years. We have added values such as integrity, responsibility, respect, and compassion to the district's teaching curriculum, which has proven successful across the country in building character in students and creating safer campuses. In addition, I have 12 years of experience working with at-risk youth and students involved in gangs. I have witnessed first-hand the destructive impact they have on the lives and education of our youth. Our schools must incorporate mentor programs designed to give at-risk young people a positive vision for their future.

Striving for academic excellence should drive all of our decisions as a school board. I am committed to improving student test scores by ensuring that the school district's dollars are spent on providing resources for quality classroom instruction.

Finally, making decisions that foster more parental involvement in schools will continue to be one of my priorities on the school board. It is proven that students whose parents are actively involved in their education perform better in school. Furthermore, I will continue to help make parental notification of school activities commonplace, and I will vote to allow parents to opt their children out of objectionable books and videos.

I would be honored to serve a second term as one of your dedicated school board members. I respectfully ask for your support on Election Day. A vote for me is a vote for our children - the leaders of tomorrow.