Candidate for
Board Member; Gilroy Unified School District

55 Years and Counting !

When I retired from Gilroy Unified School District in July of 2003, I realized that I had been going to school every year for 55 years ! No wonder I felt a little nostalgic about not having a school to go to the following September !

I was raised in a large family in Denver, Colorado during a hopeful time in our country's history, but my family was not without challenges. When I think of my parents, I think that I always had such strong role models in working with children. In addition to their own six children, my parents brought 45 foster children into our home in a period of 10 years. In my memory, there is always a baby or toddler because we took many babies as newborns directly from Catholic Charities and raised them until a social worker would show up to take them to their next stage in life. We always resented having "our" children taken away from us !

It was obvious to me when I turned 18 that I wanted to go into education, and did so at Colorado State College in Greeley, Colorado. During summers, I worked as a playground supervisor on various playgrounds around Denver..there I was with kids again ! During these years, I thought that I would really like to teach at the high school level and obtained a degree in secondary education with a major in Physical Education and a minor in English.

My next goal was California ! And in 1966, I came to San Leandro (site unseen) to teach at San Leandro High School. Two years and one baby later, I found myself teaching at a k-8 school in Morgan Hill and finally began using my English minor. One year and another baby later, I began substitute teaching in Gilroy Unified School District at the elementary level. I had finally "arrived" at the exact place I wanted to be ! I found the elementary curriculum to be so exciting and rich and full of variety. And, for the next 14 years, I taught grades 4 and 6.

With three children in school (elementary through high school) and while serving as a mentor teacher in addition to teaching full-time, I began my Masters Program in Administration at USF and finished Tier 2 Masters studies at Santa Clara University. Stepping into administration in 1988 taught me so much more about education and myself. I learned so much about teaching and learning when I began to work more closely with adult learners. While working as a principal, I took advantage of many staff development opportunities that came along (Accelerating Literacy, RESULTS, Lit Conn, Step-Up-To-Writing) and soon spent many days training hundreds of teachers in best practices. During 2003-2004, my first year in retirement, I was hired by the Stupski foundation (a G.U.S.D. sponsor) to lead monthly traiining sessions for principals and lead teachers in an Instructional Leadership Academy (ILA). A wide range of topics were covered including best practices, research data, leadeership practices, and staff recognition. Perhaps my favorite part of these sessions was our Book of the Month project. I purchased the same book for the 60 participants, assigned specific pages or topics for reading, and led discussion groups. I modeled this after the "Principal's Book of the Month" program that I had done at Antonio Del Buono School for 3 years. Books shared included: BECAUSE WRITIING MATTERS, GOOD TO GREAT, and DAILY DISCIPLINES. Our discussions were lively and rich..almost a dream to be able to sit and have deep discussions about our practice !

The highlight of all my years in education would have to be the opportunity to open a new school, which the superintendent gave me in 2000 with the opening of G.U.S.D.'s newest elementary school: Antonio Del Buono. It felt as though every aspect of education I had ever experienced came together in this effort and I helped with colors and designs, chose furniture for the entire building, ordered all materials, and put together a team of teachers committed to creating the best possible academic environment for the children of Gilroy. We started on the "right foot" with clear direction and commitment, and worked rigorously on building the capacity of all staff members through specifc training and coaching of best practices. Each year since, the API for this school has grown more than any other school in the district ! Truly, a wonderful place for our young learners to grow .

Throughout these years, i learned that being the parent of children in public education is also an excellent way to gain information about the system. My three daughters attended a very small, rural school that had begun in 1835 and was one of the oldest schools in Santa Clara County. More than anything else, my daughters were secure and nurtured in this environment as their teachers worked to give them a solid foundation in elementary education. Although they were all identified for the G.A.T.E. progam (a self-contained program at another site), they remained at San Ysidro because my husband and I felt that ,if they were adept learners with high inelligence, we, as parents, should be affording them many opportunities for growth.. We did this through a variety of experiences including travel, raising 30 head of cattle, growing hay, participating in 4-H and F.F.A., and playing sports. We felt that the education of a child is the shared responsibility of parents and schools. Some years were more exciting than others as they progressed through the grades, but they all graduated and attended Cal Poly / San Luis Obispo in three different fields of study. They are now contributing, independent, employed members of society, which, to me, is the ultimate goal of education. As parents, we communicated often with the school, volunteered, and served on School Site Council.

My experiences in the field of education have been many and varied, and in retirement, I know that I'm at a wonderful point in my life to give back to my community . I feel that each of my experiences can be helpful in decision-making that will impact children and families in our district.