Candidate for
School Board Member; Portola Valley School District

Greetings,

As parents, friends and neighbors, we share a love for Portola Valley and all that it brings us. One of the things that makes Portola Valley unique is our school system, from which we have benefited for many years. The schools in the Portola Valley School District have grown and changed over time, and they have histori¬cally provided top-quality education for the children of our community.

Today, we find ourselves at a crossroads. In the past few years, the progress of education has not kept pace with the society in which we live. The move toward "standards" over the past 10 years and the No Child Left Behind law has resulted in an environment where our schools are forced to focus on an artificial "standards" level rather than providing the differentiated education that will benefit each individual child. The California Teachers Association states that "NCLB grades student and school success based on a snapshot of mandated, standardized tests given on a single day. The focus on testing forces teachers to teach to the test and has decimated programs like art, music, social studies and physical education."(1) As a result, despite spending approximately $15,000 per year per student, twice the state average, we have a system that resembles much more of the 20th century mass-production education model than the differentiated 21st century model.

We live in a global society, and the pace at which we operate on a day-to-day basis has accelerated. Information is immediately available, 24x7. The global economy and workforce more than ever require mastery of creativity, innovation, self-discipline and organization. 21st century citizens must be able assimilate and judge the quality of massive amounts of information, be skilled in promoting ideas and beliefs, be adept in working in cross-functional teams, and understand and accept other cultures...and this is just the beginning. Unfortunately, in many cases, our schools are not teaching those skills. We must assess and teach "...students' creative and innovative capacity and their reasoning ability as well as their mastery of fact and procedure..."(2)

Our 21st century children deserve 21st century schools. We must have schools that educate leaders, schools that enable children of every ability level to reach their full potential. These are the schools will help our children excel in the global economy. We accomplish this with three areas of focus:

1) Help our world-class teachers innovate

a. Provide more training and teacher development
b. Give teachers the freedom to lead and inspire
c. Empower teachers to use today's tools
d. Help teachers enrich our children's experience

2) Ensure all children get ahead

a. Help each individual child reach their full potential
b. Keep building core fundamentals
c. Let children use today's tools
d. Teach students 21st century skills

3) Build on the current School Board's work and take it to the next level

a. Set direction, create focused implementation plans, and course correct as needed
b. Evaluate operations and align school priorities with resources
c. Support, nurture, and assist the staff and administration
d. Ensure long-term fiscal responsibility and viability

We can accomplish these things and continue with our commitment to high educational standards now and into the future.

I ask for your support to provide the educational system our 21st century children deserve.

Please vote for me for Portola Valley School Board on November 6.

Thank you for reading.

Brad Turner

650-851-9425

<http://www.bradturner.com>

1: No on Miller/Pelosi NCLB Reauthorization Bill Fact Sheet, <http://www.cta.org/home.aspx> 2: Tough Choices or Tough Times + National Center on the Education and the Economy