Roseann Torres District 5 School Board Candidate Questionnaire

Transcription

1 Roseann Torres District 5 School Board Candidate Questionnaire Why are you running for the Oakland School Board? I am running for School Board because I am a proud parent of an Oakland public school student. As a parent I have the utmost concern for the quality of education my child receives, I feel that a public education is her right and the right of every child in our society. I feel that my work as an attorney and business owner have given me the critical tools to tackle issues facing OUSD s effective leadership. New leadership with a variety of skills and diverse experiences what Oakland schools need to achieve greatness. I have these skills and wish to use them to better my community at large What skills and experiences do you have related to: (1) budgeting and fiscal management, (2) long-term strategy, (3) making decisions with others, and (4) other areas, that will help you be a successful board member? I have been running my own law firm for the past 7 years, managing a fluctuating budget as every small business owner does. Thankfully, I have been financially solvent to never miss payroll and in fact, my firm has experienced consistent growth for 7 years straight even with the past 4 years of tough economic times. I have learned that as a result of the growth, I have been a resourceful staff manager, while conducting legal services that are sound and consistent. Utilizing coaches for strategizing growth has given me insight into new ways of doing things in addition, I have attracted employees that are willing to contribute ideas and exercise their individual strengths while supporting their development and professional growth. Other experience that will lend itself to my success on the School Board is the fact that I sit on various boards, in particular Centro Legal De La Raza is one that I am most proud of. I became a volunteer attorney with Centro over 5 years ago, and eventually joined their board at a time when there were major budget issues to address due to the economy. Centro has existed since 1969 and there was no option to let Centro close and as a board, we made sound and tough decisions to lead the organization through the worst of it in my opinion. We found creative ways to get through the past two lean years, while also finding alternative income sources. My

2 experiences as a board member have given me tools that I could not acquire simply as an attorney and I have grown to appreciate the process of being in the minority at times, while in the majority at others. In the end, focusing on the needs of an organization is key and I have learned to do just that. In what ways have you embodied GO s Core Values (see In my law practice, I work with families often with children, and I stress the importance of putting the children first above all else. Being able to bring parents back to the focus of what is undoubtedly the most important aspect of their lives, their children, is what keeps me doing work that is often stressful, thankless and downright difficult. Assisting families to heal and secure a better life for their children is work I am proud of and as the next school board member, I would put students first when making decisions on all levels. This is what the voters want, the community and the children too. In addition, working with my clients also requires me to educate them on the law and what justice really is, since it isn t one size fits all and cooperation can reduce litigation costly delays in the process. For me it is always about fostering fairness, creativity and when possible compassion for the parties suffering, through fleshing out perspectives that are different to bring about understanding and resolutions. I do my best to make sure that people try to work together for the sake of a relationship that requires co-parenting since children are not given a significant say in the process but are the ultimate recipients of the outcomes. This would be a similar process of getting teachers, administrators and parents to understand that we should all put children first, above our own interests. Therefore, in all, my work experience is aligned with the values of GO in a significant manner. What are the three highest-impact policy changes you would make to improve Oakland s public schools? First, I believe that safety is a parent s first priority since without it, children cannot learn. In that regard, it is important that schools fairly impart quick action to address problems at school where discipline is required. In addition, it is urgent that each school environment fosters learning because when schools are run down and underfunded, children know and feel the inequity. Second, I believe the role of education is to transform children into young adults who can acquire a job in the 21 st century in this global marketplace. I have been a volunteer at McClymonds and Castlemont for the past 3 years with a group of attorneys who speak to the issue of A-G requirements and reducing drop out rates, however, I often hear the sadness and anger from students because these courses are not available nor are counselors because they have been cut from the school. We have to stop letting our young become hopeless about their future. Third, we must ensure that a broader base of our business community partner with

3 OUSD to provide new revenue streams and partnerships wherever expertise lies that can improve the lives of students and teachers alike. My business has taken on interns from Girl s Inc. and other independent means to provide young people a chance to see the practice of law firsthand. I allow the interns to shadow me in court and see the reality of practicing law is nothing like TV. This summer, my law firm provided resources for several students to attend Academy of Art University and it gave me great pleasure to see thank you cards with artistic flair from students happily learning new things and growing closer to their dreams of being working artists in the future. All businesses can contribute something to their community, therefore, I would like to unveil a Business Ambassador for schools program to keep this going. Do you have any non-negotiable policies on which you would refuse to compromise? I do believe that every policy must do its best to put children first where it concerns striving to increase the expenditure ratio on actual classroom instruction. I won t compromise to policies that would not put students and teachers first. What actions has the board recently taken with which you have either strongly agreed or disagreed? Bringing local control to schools particularly focusing on the hiring and training of teachers thus generating community and autonomy. Nearly 20 percent of Oakland s students are enrolled in public charter schools. Additionally, in District 5, Learning Without Limits, ASCEND, and Lazear have recently become partnership charter schools. How would you approach the role of public charter schools and partnership charter schools in Oakland? Oversight and management are the key factors that must be of great concern since the trend in charter schools is something that will not reverse itself but clearly has the tendency to evoke high emotions and is often mistaken as a takeover of the institution of public education. I believe we need a better way to communicate how this trend toward charters began since in some arenas it popped up out of nowhere and if parents can understand the changes more clearly, their fears and stress may reduce, which lends itself to collaboration and working together. I am a parent and work and run a business so the time commitment it takes to also keep up with the world of education and how fast things are changing is difficult, and I imagine this is true for many parents. If we are all in this together, meaning working toward making Oakland a safe and healthy place to live where all children receive equity in their education, then we have to divide ourselves less and look toward the commonality more.

4 What do you see as the major obstacles for English Language Learners and how would your approach to the issues be different from the current board? The biggest obstacle for English learners is the lack of connection to the community that makes up their school. Many times parents who cannot communicate with the teacher or principal will simply avoid a problem or issue and their child will suffer in silence. I have heard many stories from parents about issues with their children who are students but because parents do not have a sense of trust they simply avoid addressing things and often the underlying issue has to do with race. As a school board member, I would be adamant about making myself available to the community of monolingual families and would like to find the leaders in the communities of immigrants who can help voice the concerns of the masses. In addition, it may be that more anonymous means of voicing concerns can help to uncover areas for improvement. What, in your opinion, are the long and short-term causes of the tension between district leadership and the Oakland Education Association (Oakland s teachers union)? What would you do to improve this relationship? There are many changes happening in Oakland schools and this in and of itself is creating stress and tension between the leadership and OEA. It is critical that each side come to the table willing to make a degree of movement toward achieving common goals, since that is the only way to make real change. My work as an attorney is to always uncover the real issues keeping people apart which often they do not know how to identify and voice, and my job is to help frame it, therefore I believe I can be an asset to OUSD in this manner. As a board member, how will you ensure OUSD provides our teachers with the supports they need? Listening to teachers is the key to serving the teachers. I meet teachers who spend significant sums of their own salaries to provide their students resources and yet, they are underpaid and under supported, therefore, we have to change this trend. It is critical that we mentor the younger students by pairing them with the experienced teachers who are getting results, since there is a difference between experience and quality teaching. What are the benefits and drawbacks of using student academic growth in teacher and principal evaluations? What is your position? The benefits are that we can measure it in a more systematic and simple way but it creates a pressure that takes its toll on teachers and principals in a way that gets away from real learning. There are teachers I have known who are excellent and caring but are for those very reasons, they have been placed in schools with the most undervalued and underprivileged students.

5 Therefore, the measurement for growth they experience is not on the same scale as the teachers at higher performing schools to begin with, and the lack of equity to begin with means we are not properly addressing the real work being done. Therefore, we have to tailor our measurements in a way that calls for more individualized evaluation rather than standardizing which is obviously a method that would be easier, but it cannot work with so much inequity. Do you the support the Board s Theory of Action around site-based decision making? Why or why not? How do you think that should impact the implementation of the strategic plan? Theory of Action, Putting children first, building leadership capacity and strengthening the parent community is my platform as a candidate and will be my focus as a school board member. What actions will you take to empower schools with increased local decision making authority over budget, staffing, curriculum, and scheduling? To empower local schools with more control of budget is best handled by providing resources for increased understanding of budget restraints and areas for change or renew revenue streams. Less restrictions for making changes where needed. If the principal is an effective leader the other issues can be addressed clearly such as staffing curriculum and scheduling. Therefore, principal training is a high priority to bring all schools to the same level and stretching the school communities What are your priorities for the school facilities and the upcoming facilities bond? My priorities for bond focusing on the schools that need the funds most urgent like low performing areas as well as schools facing immediate public safety issues including infrastructure. Have you engaged in advocacy work to improve public education in Oakland? If so, what did you do and what was the impact? As a parent I been devoted to strengthen parent communities always volunteering and participating.my daughters father and I have been involved in OUSD athletics with our child and serving as a bridge to monolingual parents who with out our advocacy would not participate in sports or after school activities. I ve also been engage in speaking series organized by attorneys of color addressing the highest drop out risk population with motivational testimony of my own journey in education and the value of AG requirements along with college degrees.

6 What will your ballot designation be, and what are the top three arguments you will make for why you are the best candidate? I am the best candidate are that I am vested in the outcome of education in Oakland since my child attends public school here and is in her final year of junior high, which is the pivotal stage when families move out of Oakland. I am also a business owner who plans to continue running a business in this city for many years to come, with the goal of hiring local to keep our community vital and strong financially, so I can continue to give back to youth. Lastly, I have the leadership skills from having developed deep roots in a matter of 8 years in Oakland from the vast relationships I have built around being a parent, a lawyer, business owner and volunteer advocating for change, access and justice. What/who are the key endorsements or community support you have for your candidacy? Key endorsements are Supervisor Richard Valle, City Councilwoman Nancy Nadel, City Councilman Francisco Zermeno of Hayward and a variety of teachers from Oakland and the college of U.C. Berkeley. What experiences do you have that will help you be a successful candidate for the board? My experiences as an attorney, dealing with negotiations, mediations and arbitrations for the past 12 years since becoming an attorney are the primary sources for believing that I will make be a successful Board Member. In addition, the Boards I have served on are dramatically different, from youth oriented organizations, to those for the advancement of women in political office. In the end, being a mother who has volunteered hundreds of hours in schools has given me a view of the direct impact made by those at the decision making table. What have you done, to this point, to lay a foundation for a successful candidacy? I am meeting weekly with either parents, teachers, leaders in the field of education to learn as much as I can about what works, what doesn t and what can be improved. I work on behalf of my community already as a business leader and know that there are many more concerned citizens who do not know how to get involved but with a bit of direction could and would make a difference so that all of us benefit in the end.