Why do I want to be a Board Member in the Alum Rock Union School District?

With a degree in business administration and a Master of Sciences to companies in planning and regional development, I strongly believe that education is the only key that opens all doors.

When my son was born I decided to walk beside him in his academic preparation. In 2005 we joined the Alum Rock Union School District and I found a difficult and complicated process to get involved as a volunteer parent in my child's daily activities inside and outside the classroom.

At that time, there were no group of volunteer parents and I went through the whole process (TB test and fingerprints to check my background) to gain access to the halls of the classes -please note that for the above process, parents need to be legal residents in the country and a large number of them are not, so even if they want to volunteer, they cannot-.

When I did finally pass all the tests and had access to the classrooms, the only assistance required from me was to make copies and staple work packages.

I did observe classes many hours and I realized that teachers were using alarm clocks to change class topics. But also I noted that only a small percentage of children paid attention and the rest of them were reading comic books or they were distracted by misbehaving kids in the classroom.

This was a big concern for me and so I asked the teachers when would this issue be assessed or reviewed –the issue being-: Spending more time on a specific class topic or curriculum so that each child had a better understanding of the lesson-; and if these topics would be included in the California’s Standard testing assessment because it was obvious that more than half of the class did not understand what was being taught.

The answer scared me "we are not reviewing the topic again" the teacher said, "The District requires us to be in a certain page of the book every day and no time to review that topic again."

I asked the teacher if I could have the curriculum for the rest of the year so I could help my son from home- never got a response from the teachers.

For three school years my son was "far below basic level" (according to the California standards) at Cesar Chavez Elementary School, it was then when I decided to try other options.

From grades 5th, to 10th my son has been tested and at the school level requirements.

Many of my son’s fellow classmates from second and third grade have joined gangs -now these children should be in 11th grade but they are not-

This social problem concerns us all regardless of the school choice that we have, all schools must offer the same quality of education. I SEE THE FOREST AND NOT JUST A TREE.

I have volunteered in every school where my son has attended and firmly believe that the only option to improve the school dropout trend is to shorten the achievement gap. We need to assist every child and bring them to the school level requirements that the State demands. This will ensure they have a better opportunity to be accepted into a college and/or universities.

One of my major decisions to be a candidate for Board Member at Alum Rock Union School District is because I want to ensure that parents will have the opportunity to get involved in their children's schools and they will have easier access to work with teachers.

Accomplishments:

·         Masters in Science Degree from Public education system

·         Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration

·         Former Professorship in  Mesoamerican University

·         Benefits Specialist in a non-profit  agency

·         Volunteer during my son’s 2^nd and 3^rd grades at Cesar Chavez Elementary School

·         Volunteer during my son’s 5^th to 8^th, grades at ACE Charter School

·         Volunteer during my son’s 9^th, 10^th, grades at Summit High School

·         Former Board Member at ACE Charter School

·         Parent Advocate for a higher quality of education with PICO in Washington D.C

·         Working with “Parent empowerment” in  Sacramento CA