. . .MY MAIN GOAL AS A MEMBER OF THE SBOE - “Right now, there is a major disconnect between education and the demands and expectations of the real world!  We are not listening to what business and industry needs from our graduates and as a consequence, many young Americans are losing jobs to their global competition.  Our educational model follows an antiquated model that was successful in-the-past.  We don’t seem to have a clear focus for education in a new millennium and are getting left behind in the global market.  We need to introduce more real-world courses that teach students to think outside the box, to challenge the status quo, and to solve problems to questions that don’t even exist.  We need to stop teaching to the test and teach our students to “think”, “create” and “solve problems”.  My goals on the SBOE are to address these deficits in education and to challenge our schools to meet the demands of the real world.”

. . .ON THE ROLE OF EDUCATORS, GROUPS AND POLICY DECISIONS MADE BY THE SBOE - “I believe the role between educators, educator groups and the SBOE should be one of collaboration and professional partnership.  This is the only way we can attain the educational goals needed that will ensure success in our schools.  Without collaboration and partnership, the SBOE operates at a huge disadvantage.  In the classroom, we know that when students work in collaborative groups, the end product is not only representative of all, but is a stronger product that addresses the needs and successes of everyone.”

. . .ON STANDARDIZED TESTING -”I don’t support standardized testing.  The problem is that one test is administered to a diverse student population using the same criteria, without taking diversity and the complexities of the human being into consideration.  Worse yet, when schools hinge their fates on the results of how well students perform on these tests, well, we get what we pay for.  Also, when some schools are underfunded and lacking in resources, it should be no surprise that their students perform the lowest on these tests.  A student’s growth should be tracked over a long period of time to determine how that student is growing.  One test, one day, one time, I wouldn’t want to be evaluated that way, would you?”

. . .ON THE SBOE TO REJECTING TEXTBOOKS - “Textbooks in the classroom must represent FACTUAL information and must be written by scholars who have spent years dedicated to the study of their subjects.  Textbooks should align with our leading universities and should never be selected based on personal, political or religious ideologies.” 

. . .ON OVERCROWDED CLASSROOMS & BUDGET CUTS - “Texas cut over $4 billion from education this year, one of the largest cuts in state history.  More than 12,000 teachers and support staff were laid off and more cuts are expected next year.  To make matters worse, the cuts forced schools to make do with less, cram more students into already filled classrooms, and utilize less resources.  Gayle Fallon, President of the Houston Federation of Teachers, made the statement that her teachers had so many kids in the classroom that in order to get their attention, they had to teach toward the center!  All this, while our state sits on $5 billion in a rainy day fund that is set aside for such times of need.  This is completely unacceptable!  Education is not negotiable and our legislators must not put the lives of our children and the educational future of our state on the chopping block.  This insanity must stop.

. . .ON PHYSICAL EDUCATION & RECESS - “The percentage of children ages 6-11 who are overweight has more than doubled in the past twenty years, and the percentage of teens who are overweight, has more than tripled! This is our wake up call!  We need to address this health crisis immediately!  We need to bring back recess and physical education and make it a requirement.  Studies show that children who are overweight experience many symptoms directly affecting how they learn, affect their attendance, energy levels and more.  We cannot ignore this.  We must bring back healthy and wholesome foods into our school cafeterias, educate young people on the importance of eating healthy, and set the example by giving health and nutrition and physical education curricular value and importance in our schools.”

. . .ON THE DROPOUT EPIDEMIC - “Graduation rates are an indicator of just how our nation’s public school system is doing and it’s no secret that there is a direct correlation between education, job availability and earnings in the workplace.  Having a high school diploma and the skills to succeed in college and beyond are absolutely essential however, nationally one-third of our students---approximately 1.3 million people each year---do not earn a high school diploma.  Texas has gone from 46th in the country to dead last, 50th, in the population that graduates from high school!   We must address this failure on our part to keep students engaged and in our schools.”

. . .ON THE EXPANSION OF CHARTER SCHOOLS - “While some charter schools like Kipp and Yes have been largely successful, I believe we need to look at their model, learn from it and apply where necessary.  Charter schools exist because public schools have failed.  But instead of creating more charter schools, we need to address the problem.  Creating more charter schools does not address the problem, it simply creates a good school in another location and a few very lucky students get to attend that school.  It does not address the fact that thousands of students get left behind.  We need to look at a successful charter school model, see what works and what doesn’t, and move our public school system toward one that prepares students for the real-world global demands of the workplace.  It may even mean abandoning the existing educational model and building one for the new millennium.”

. . .ON THE IMMIGRATION ISSUES - ”I believe America is strong because of the diversity of our people.  My own parents emigrated to America from Mexico, but they did this legally.  I believe in upholding our laws and do not support breaking the law.  That being said, I have had many illegal students who wish nothing more than to be successful, contributing members of society---like you and me.  They have spent a lifetime in a country that doesn’t want them and has locked them out of the only system they have ever known.  I support the Dream Act that allows illegal citizens to become legal Americans so that they can become the law-abiding, contributing Americans our country needs.”