Begin discussions with the community to move the school year to a year around calendar.  The current model stresses both students and teachers, takes students out of an academic environment for too long in the summer, and does not allow for timely remediation of struggling students.

• Curriculum tied to CA Content Standards and an elimination of dumbed-down courses. Nearly all curriculum is now aligned to standards and these weak courses are almost completely gone from the district.

• Additional choices for students and parents, including a High Tech High associated with one of California’s leading charter management organizations, High Tech High Communities (www.hightechhigh.org). This school anticipates a 2006 opening.  I have also supported smaller learning communities at Hillsdale High School and the International Baccalaureate program at Capuchino.

• Work with the teachers union to develop a plan to increase starting salaries and reward our best teachers who consistently add the highest value to student academic achievement.  Teachers must have a career ladder and incentives to excel.

• Education reform has become a major focus for me. I have nearly 30 years experience in government, public policy, and business.  On the left margin you can link to my biography and the papers and articles I have published in recent years.

I am proud to have served as Governing Board vice president.  My school board colleagues from across San Mateo County have elected me treasurer, vice president, and in 2004-05, president of the San Mateo County School Board Association.  They also elected me to the California School Boards Association’s (CSBA) Delegate Assembly, which makes policy for that organization.  

CSBA selected me for its High School Reform Task Force, a select group of eighteen school board members from across California that includes the current president and three past presidents of the Association.  We are meeting throughout 2005 to develop the Association’s policies for improving high school performance.  In 2004 I received CSBA’s Masters in Governance after completing its extensive training program.

I renew my commitment to you from four years ago - I will continue to fight hard to break the status quo and replace it with a system that serves all our children well.  We need citizens that think and work at increasingly demanding levels.  We have made progress and with your support, educational opportunities and results for students in the San Mateo Union High School District will continue to improve.