Candidate for
Board Member; Belmont-Redwood Shores School District

As a candidate for school board I have the perspective of a person that grew up on the Peninsula and attended schools in the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District (Cipriani and Ralston in the 1970's and early 80's). Like many of the children attending our district's schools today I benefited from excellent teachers and a dedicated staff throughout my K-8 education in BRSSD. My experience in school was genuinely positive, as outstanding teachers continued to provide a stimulating and rigorous education despite the major cutbacks resulting from Proposition 13. Teachers such as Dr. Jensen, Mr. Chin, Ms. Fruwirth, Ms. Hanlon, Mr. Yaeger, Mr. Federighi, and Mr. Kimball along with many others made an indelible mark on me along with my parents, Edith and Robert Smith. In addition, I was lucky to play Little League and Babe Ruth baseball thanks to the many parent volunteers who enabled those leagues to be as successful as the programs we have today. When baseball was out of season I would participate in the after school sports program run by the Parks and Recreation Department at the elementary school level and ultimately the flag football and basketball teams at Ralston. My educational experience at Cipriani and Ralston enabled me to be successful at Serra High School where I graduated in 1986, and continued on to UC Davis where earned a bachelor of arts in political science in 1990.

Upon graduating from Davis I was unsure of my career aspirations and decided to work as a sales representative for Sherwin-Williams for a couple of years. Realizing that working for a large corporation was not my true life calling I entered the San Francisco State teaching credential program in the fall of 1993, and after some substitute teaching, began my full time teaching career at South San Francisco High School in the fall of 1995. Besides teaching US History I coached football at SSFHS along with the varsity softball team for three years. In the fall of 2001 I moved down the Peninsula to Woodside High School where I have been the social studies teacher in the Business Technology Academy for the past 12 years, and continue to coach football intermittently. The Business Technology Academy at Woodside focuses its efforts on helping at risk students within a heterogeneously mixed classroom. Offering smaller class sizes, a collaborative teaching environment, technology training, mentoring and soft skill development the Business Technology Academy creates an atmosphere in which all students can be successful in school. This experience has cemented my conviction that quality teaching and learning must go beyond one teacher having a great lesson in a single classroom. Quality education must be a community partnership involving teachers, counselors, students, administrators, parents and the community as a whole. My experience as a teacher motivated me to apply for an opening on the Belmont-Redwood Shores School Board, and I was appointed to the board in April of 2011. Although I have been in public education as a classroom teacher for nearly twenty years, my time on the board has given me the opportunity to see public education, and specifically K-8 education, from a different vantage point. However, although I may be a trustee, I still hold true to my beliefs as a teacher, that a successful education for children must extend beyond the classroom to include all stakeholders.

Although I have been very fortunate to have a successful career in public education, teaching a subject matter I truly enjoy in conditions that enable my students to achieve, my greatest joy comes from my family. I have been happily married to my wife, Faith, for over 20 years and we have three children attending BRSSD schools (Jackson and Alexandra are 8th and 6th graders at Ralston, and Savannah, a 4th grader at Central). As long time residents of our community both my wife and I understand that a successful community requires involvement, and we have volunteered at our children's school through traditional avenues such as PTA and School-Force. In 2008 I co-chaired the Measure U parcel tax campaign, introducing me to an entire new group of wonderful people who shared the same passion for public education. In addition, like so many parents, we have volunteered in numerous capacities outside the school system, supporting youth sports as coaches and team managers in softball and soccer. Away from work and the coaching duties I love to garden, hike, and at the age of 41 began downhill skiing. Having lived on the Peninsula for 35 of my 45 years I have witnessed many changes ranging from the size of our community to the nature of major industries. However, the fundamental core value that a quality public education system is essential to a strong, vibrant community remains a constant.