Why I'm Running

By James Harris

A Letter from James Harris

I believe that focusing on what's best for our kids is the key to making East Oakland a better place to live. Because only if we truly commit to providing our kids with what they need to succeed will we see our community become what we all know it can be: safer, cleaner, and more economically vibrant. I'm running for School Board because so much of that effort starts with our public schools. I want to lead the effort to stop talking about the problems we all know exist + low graduation and high truancy rates, overcrowded classrooms, black and Latino students who are falling further behind + and start solving them.

If we're going to provide our children with the support they need from the cradle to college and career, we need a School Board member who focuses on nothing but what's best for our kids + before, during, and after school. I am open to any solution, working with any partner, doing whatever it takes to make our public schools into places where our kids can learn, grow, and prepare for a life of success. When it comes to our kids, I have no patience and no time for political games - our schools are in a crisis, and my only concern is fixing it.

In East Oakland, many of the neighborhoods are high in crime and violence, which makes it extremely difficult to grow and maintain quality schools. Our community schools have institutional problems that will require years to solve. But I believe that we can't simply wait for long term solutions to take effect; we must take immediate action to tackle some of our most pressing problems. We cannot keep hoping black, Latino, and our poor white students will start to perfore; we have to push the boundaries and get on the ground, talking to every student so that they have a plan for graduation and life beyond graduation. We cannot sit by while 50% of our kids drop out, or while our kindergarten classrooms have 35 kids and only 1 teacher. We cannot allow a culture of mediocrity anywhere near our classrooms, especially in East Oakland. I am committed to making structural reforms that push our schools and students towards lasting success, but I'm not willing to sacrifice the kids that are in our schools now and need help today.

As your next School Board representative, I won't just cast votes or show up to meetings, I'll work to inspire a passion and commitment in our community to make things better for this generation of East Oakland kids, and for the generations to come. Whether it's mentoring a student, volunteering at an after school program, or even just helping to clean up the local school or neighborhood + we all have a role to play. I will do my part as East Oakland's representative on the School Board, but it's up to all of us to actually make the change that needs making.

So during this campaign and beyond, I'm going to be visiting the schools and the neighborhoods of District 7 to ask you to join me. Our children need us to take responsibility for what's going on in our community and to take action to do something about it. I'm willing to give my time, energy, heart and soul in that cause, and I hope you feel the same.