Candidate for
School Board Member; San Mateo Union High School District

Being the parents of six children, my husband and I have always been interested and involved in their educations. When our youngest started school, I returned to the University to complete my Bachelor's degree, and went on to earn my California Teaching Credential. This made it possible to do even more than volunteer work at their schools.

I tutored both gifted and at-risk students over the years, and taught Language Arts at the Middle School level. I have also earned both a Masters in Language and Literacy Education, and a California Reading/Language Arts Specialist Credential. This I have done because I am passionately concerned with the low reading levels of too many of our students, and want to make a difference in their lives. I am part of the National Council of Teachers of English, and the California Reading Association. In addition, I make time to volunteer for the American Heart Association, Arthritis Foundation, and the March of Dimes fund raising efforts, among others.

Being a Trustee on the San Mateo Union High School District Governing Board has made it possible to continue our family's commitment to providing the best education possible for not only our children, but for ALL students in the District. It has been exciting, challenging, and very rewarding to serve on the Governing Board.

Once the State established content and achievement standards, we began working on aligning our curriculum to meet those standards. Graduation requirements have increased, as has the rigor of a solid academic core for all freshmen and sophomores, enabling them to build a strong foundation to draw upon should they decide to pursue attending the UC system, or other universities.

Our District's percentage of seniors who have passed the California High School Exit Exam exceeds that of the State. I believe this has occured partly due to our increased academic standards for all students.

I hope to continue to serve the public as I have been, and welcome any input from the community members in our District. I am the ONLY candidate who is a teacher. I believe it is crucial to have at least ONE educator on the Board to maintain the perspective of a teacher when making curricular decisions!