COMMITTED TO CHANGE...for a Brighter Future

By Eloy Castro

I have an extensive background in teaching, pedagogy, educational theory, policy and the foundation of what a quality education should be. I bring many years of education experience working for 10 different school districts, and in two different states. If elected to the school board, one of my main focus will be on teacher retention and recruitment. After spending most of my life in this profession it is time for me to give back to our schools at this level of policy.

My experience as a classroom teacher for many years gives me this knowledge and understanding. I am up to date on current educational issues in our school district and I am aware of the different levels of policy from school site, district, state and up to the federal level. I am also aware of the issues that surround our school district in the areas of curriculum, academic programs, funding, zoning, growth and so forth. Being a Hispanic immigrant and educated in U.S. public schools, I understand first hand what foreign students, and parents face in this country, and the struggles they face daily with a new language and other cultural differences. I will represent teachers, support staff, parents, and the community if elected. I have spent my entire life in this field and have made it a career as an educator. After spending most of my life in this profession it is time for me to give back to our schools at this level of policy.

What concerns do you have, if any, regarding teacher recruitment and retention?

I think that we are slowly moving in the right direction with increasing teacher salaries and offering other incentives to retain and recruit them. We need to have a comparable and competitive package similar to other counties and states. My concern is that we are not moving fast enough in this direction. If we do not become competitive with other school districts in our state or other states, we may loose some of the finest and best teachers that I have been privileged to know and work with. On this same note, we will not be able to recruit highly qualified teachers to our school district if the incentive is not there. We specifically need to offer incentives to teachers who posses certain skills in areas such as special education, second language instruction, and teachers qualified to teach our growing diverse populations. Offering incentives in these specialized areas should be part of a "package" deal to recruit better teachers, not just from within the state, but from all over the country.

What do you believe is the role of the school board?

The board should support what is best for our students. However, without quality teachers in our classrooms we cannot expect our students to excel academically and socially. Teachers are our greatest assets in our society and we need to compensate them for their efforts, dedication, and commitment to all our students. I support teachers in every endeavor from class size reduction, training, curriculum and certainly monetary compensation and other benefits. Teachers should be our priority in almost every decision that is made at every level of policy. Without qualified teachers we cannot expect a quality education for our students. Many educators focus their attention on students and student achievement, however, my focus is on teachers. Teachers are the key to the success of our students, not programs and curriculum adopted by school districts or schools. We should support our teachers fully and they in turn will be able to do a quality job with educating students. Certainly, we should not set aside other important areas of education, such as curriculum, intervention programs, and so forth, but without a strong teaching force, minimal if any progress will be achieved.

Finally, if elected to the board I want to be available, visible and attentive to our students, parents, community, administrators, support staff, and certainly to our teachers' needs. My main focus as a trustee will be the retention of our great teachers and administrators in our school district and always try to reward (not just monetarily) them by recognizing their academic achievements, commitment and dedication to all our children and our community.