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San Diego County, CA November 6, 2012 Election
Smart Voter

By Linda Vanderveen

Candidate for Board Member; Poway Unified School District

This information is provided by the candidate
Background and Accomplishments
When we moved to Poway 29 years ago (for the schools) I was told "join the PTA Board'" as a way to meet people. A year later I was president of the PTA, then Palomar Council, then VP of communications and legislation at 9th district PTA, which encompasses all of San Diego and Imperial Counties. Along the way, I also volunteered in other school and community programs including numerous PTA positions, school site council, classroom volunteer, team mom, scout leader, grad nite co-chair and Poway high school PTSA president. I was appointed to the school board 14 years ago from a field of 26 applicants. In the intervening years, I helped pass the successful bond to build the new Palomar Hospital, chaired the campaign to build the Poway Boys and Girls Club, and was president of the CA Association of Large Suburban School Districts.

During my tenure on the board, we have tightened graduation requirements and made A-G the default curriculum. More students than ever are taking AP classes, test scores have risen consistently, the district API score is an impressive 892 and we are making significant progress in the district goal of "College Readiness for All". We passed two successful bonds and completed the "Building for Success" program, renovating or rebuilding our 24 oldest schools. We opened 7 new schools including 2 high schools. Planning and construction are under way for a new and innovative K-8 school.

Our schools and students are continuously recognized for achievement locally, state wide and nationally. Recently, the San Diego County Grand jury awarded us a commendation for our numerous accomplishments. While I can't take all the credit for this success and our culture of excellence, I can certainly claim some of it. I want to continue my service because I think the most important thing we do as a community is prepare our young people to be productive members of society. The stability, leadership and expectations of the school board have allowed PUSD to be a leader for changing the way we educate today's students. I want to continue being a part of that change.

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ca/sd Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 22, 2012 11:03
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