November 2nd you will be able to vote for THREE School Board candidates

Question #7: With academic performance so low, and one campus in jeopardy of being taken over by the state, how do you plan to increase student performance?

Kimberly Rivers: To improve student achievement there is no quick fix or single thing that will work for all. Improvement will come with incremental and important changes that begin with the culture of expectations. First, I think the District must ensure that 100% of the staff expects ALL students to succeed. Second, we need to keep what works, and change what doesn’t. According to current stated policies “ultimate accountability [rests] with the Board” for all of the Districts programs and operations. The role of the Board is to evaluate and approve programs it supports or suspend and remove those failing to meet Board expectations. This is why it is vital to student achievement that the Board has the leadership and courage to examine and evaluate all departments and programs to assess what is working. Where a deficiency is found, the Board must lead the way in providing support and development to that area or if needed make a change. Any evaluation must include input from the entire community. Third, encourage new ideas and QUESTIONS. Every staff member, student, parent and community member must know that they can ask any question, bring any idea to ANY member of the Board or District staff and they will be valued. This District’s greatest resource is people. The Community. Imagine if everyone was on the look out for new ideas for our students, if everyone knew they would be welcomed in providing input and help. Imagine that. www.votekimrivers.com.

Tony Prado: Students throughout California are subjected to yearly testing. We have API, the Academic Performance Index, AYP, the Academic Yearly Progress report, and PI. Program Improvement. These state and federal titles are designed to give the community are designed to give the community an accountability report on the progress of students in the District. The manner in which they measure succsess or failure has become very controversial as to whether it really gives an accurate measurement. When non-English or limited English students are forced to test in English-what would you expect the outcome to be? FUSD has a high percentage of these students who bring down our scores. The goal is to make these students proficient in English but not at the expense of other students who are highly successful at FUSD. Just look at our graduation rate and those going on to higher education.
Increasing student performance is my number one goal. Three of our schools have gone through a "Curriculum Audit". This report, completed by the County Schools Superintendent"s Office reveals the strengths and weaknesses of the schools. These schools are in the process of implementing the recommendations. The schools are showing tremendous improvement.
Consider: - every student would have an individual learning plan so no student will remain unattended as they go from grade to grade with below-basic skills. - instructional coaches and Master Teachers to regularly observe classroom practices and work with teachers to improve their skills. - schools would start an hour later to allow time for a before school intervention class for Reading and Math improvement. - increase outreach and counseling for families whose child has below basic skills.

Lucy Rangel: With academic performance so low, and our Middle School in jeopardy of being taken over by the State, there are some ways to increase student achievement. Some of these are: 1. Improve attendance. Students can't learn if they aren't in school. Recognize or reward students for good attendance.
Counselors and administrators need to work with the families of frequently suspended students to keep them in school. 2. Create a link for each teacher on the school's web site. Teachers can post homework, due dates for projects, information on field trips, fundraisers, etc. This is an excellent way to communicate with parents. 3. If a student turns in late work, accept it. It is better to have a student learn from completing an assignment and earning an F than not turning it in and getting a zero. 4.
Since secondary teachers can have 170 or more student contacts each day, each teacher could become a "coach" to a homeroom team of about 30-35 students. They would motivate, inspire, and build self esteem and rapport with these students for the entire year. 5. The principals can collaborate with the administrators from Mountain Vista and San Cayetano Schools where teachers and staff are committed to character education.
I strongly believe that a student's character development and citizenship are equally as essential as their academic performance. If students feel good about themselves, and they know that you care, you will be amazed by the performance and effort they give you!

Dave Wilde: School performance is the responsibility of the site administrator and ultimately the district superintendent. There are lots of ideas being put into place around the country that have proved to be
successful. Principals and superintendents should be constantly searching for those strategies that may fit the needs of our students. No one in the district should be shy about making changes to instruction when needed.
The past six years I've had the luxury of working with Teacher Support Services at the Ventura County Office of Education, and we constantly hear what research says about student learning.
The number one constant with student learning is teacher effectiveness. We should ensure that all site administrators are properly trained to assess teacher effectiveness during classroom instruction, and when adjustments are needed be able to make that happen.
Site principals and the district administrative staff must continue to encourage teacher collaboration. Department, and grade level teachers must continue to identify deficiencies in student learning, assist colleague who are experiencing difficulty, make adjustments in instructional practices, and encourage parent participation to promote student learning. We have a lot of great teachers in this district that have the ability to make that happen.
Fillmore school sites are now looking at a program that will allow parents to check on theirs child's academic progress at any time on the internet. I think this practice would be a great step towards fostering parent awareness and involvement. Many districts already have this program in place.

Mark Austin: In order for student success and low achievement scores to be raised, students need to understand the importance of obtaining an education, be motivated and interested in the subject matter, and be held accountable by both their parents and the District. I believe that the issue of low achievement scores is not just the District's problem to resolve, but is a communitywide issue that is based on a multitude of things. My strategy, with assistance from other Board members, would be to look for ways to accomplish this task by forming a communitywide group consisting of all the major stakeholders.
These would include representatives from the City Council, business community, family and youth community groups, school board members, parents, classified and certified staff, and administrative staff. This communitywide group would be assigned to develop a strategy to solve our school performance issues and to design a method to ensure student success and increase achievement scores. votemarkaustin.com