001Well, good evening everybody welcome to the board vacancy interviews today We're really glad to have you here whether in person or watching online. Thanks so much for joining us Adriana, can you do a roll call, please? Director Alvarez Here vice president at home present president van here and to my left is our superintendent Dr. Durin, so just want to share with everybody the board received 13 applications from the our communities Members that were interested and on serving on the board eight from district four and five from district five after reviewing all applications We invited ten candidates to move forward in in the interview process five for each open seat. So since then Two candidates from district five withdrew. So tonight will we will be interviewing eight candidates Five from district four and three from district
002five We also wanted to take a make sure that the community had a voice in this process through thought exchange We invited input on what questions to ask from each of the committees and groups from there We identify key themes and created a list of questions for this evening Making adjustments for clarity and to also remove any duplications Board members will also have a chance to ask additional questions beyond those submitted. So Finally, we are really excited to have a highline student a fellow Thai alumni or a fellow Thai student. I'm an alumni helping facilitate tonight's interview Please join me in welcoming journey Robinson journey. Thank you for being here and leading us through this With that there we go so as Director Van already said tonight we will interview each candidate one at a
003time for approximately ten minutes each We will interview district four candidates first and then district five We will interview them in alphabetical order except for one candidate Which is attending attending virtually due to a family emergency Sarah Postol who will go last? She is a candidate for district four, but she will be going last because she's virtual All right, can we please welcome in Damaris Espinosa welcome and thank you for being here. How are you? Okay, there we go. Perfect. I was just saying I'm doing very Tonight I'm going to ask you six questions You will have a minute to answer each of them The questions are in front of you if you would like to read along and in order to be fair to all candidates You will hear a timer when your time
004to answer has expired So for question one, this question seems are from our principles. How do you define equity? What do you imagine this would look like in Highline schools and how would you leverage your position to fulfill Highline's promise? Thank you This is a very important question for me. I have dedicated my life to doing equity work In my personal life and in my professional life to me equity means that all of our students our staff and our families Have the resources access and power to achieve their full potential and Not just inside the classroom or in schools, but outside in community To address all of the aspects that create us whole and make us healthy and happy How I imagine this will look like at Highline schools. I Think that we have a
005very solid and thoughtful Foundation to stand on with the strategic plan how equity is outlined and defined there I think there's always opportunity for growth and to adapt to the current political social climate in which we're in Thank you This question seems are from our community The board has one employee part of the board's role is to hold the superintendent accountable by evaluating his annual performance What are some academic or other data points that are relevant to that conversation? So again, I believe that it's important to build upon the valuable work and foundation that's already been laid out most of it captured in the strategic plan there are Clear actionable measures for success there. So I would start there In reviewing the strategic plan. I know that in the progress report I know that there's
006areas of growth for increasing a sense of belonging for staff and students and then also Academic and learning achievement. I will hold the I would help align with my other board of directors The superintendent accountable by drawing on these measures of success Hearing feedback and evaluation Uplifting amplifying the voice of students staff and families so that they are also part of the evaluation and the accountability process Thank you For question 3 this questions theme comes from our super superintendent student leadership team What is a pressing issue within the district that you you believe needs to be addressed? I'm the proud mother of three children at Highline schools a fourth grader A first grader and an intern kindergartener and My kids are very important to me and I know that kids are important to all of
007us So I think the most pressing issue is to create a climate of belonging of uplifting our young people Supporting and elevating the leadership of staff and teachers. I really support our youth on a daily basis and I would Do that by having a continuous and nurturing relationships with our families and community and Really being the bridge for our young people as to what happens out in community is manifested in the classroom And really supporting them through that Thank you This question seems are from our teamsters as a potential school board member How do you intend to engage with the support and support classified stacks? Yes Thank you another important question. So I'm a first generation college graduate I have a PhD in medical anthropology from the University of Washington My parents are working class
008They came to the United States undocumented And have four to classified jobs union jobs frontline staff jobs all their lives So I I believe in the incredible Value of frontline staff staff that do the daily work and valuable labor to keep our community safe I Intend to engage with the staff by being present by leaning into the values and the principles outlined in our strategic plan in our promise And then also to capture and engage their feedback incorporate that into our policies Practices and procedures as a board Thank you This question's theme is from our family action committee committee. What do you feel the most important qualities and abilities in a superintendent? I think the superintendent is the key leader in our schools in our communities. I think the quality and abilities of any leader
009is To bring others along the work of a leader is not alone. It's in community To value the perspectives and the voice of others to be humble to learn To be held accountable to communicate challenges and opportunities I'm really moved by the Honesty in your reporting as you progress in the strategic plan I participated in the listening sessions that created the strategic plan So I see my voice present there and I value that it's a continuous conversation So to close It's about accountability transparency and communication and above all our relationships with our students families and staff Thank you This question seems are from both the Highland Education Association and the superintendent student leadership team How will you ensure that school board policies uphold the rights of students to feel safe? Welcome and valued and ensure
010each and every student gets a high quality education Be a living Entity that have to be adapted to our social political context climate of belonging bringing people in and amplifying inclusivity Is really adapting and and leaning into those values that we have already established I Think it's important to understand the very intimate relationship between a Sense of belonging and academic achievement you you you cannot succeed it as a student You cannot succeed as a parent or a family unless your children your students and your staff feel that they belong And then also engaging in intentional Community building and relationship building with students. I think that young people are critical in this process It's not just the board or staff imposing on to you or on to young people What the framework or what the practice
011should be but it's also learning from young people like yourself journey and others Thank you Now each director is going to have an opportunity to ask you an additional question You will have one minute to answer each question president man, thank you so much So this is in regards to balancing priorities How do you balance the sometimes competing needs of our schools with the broader interests of the community when making policy decisions? It's a very important question I think policy decisions are not Created or decided on the whim of individuals, but they are firmly rooted in data and science and the lived experience expertise of People who are given the privilege to serve on these boards and in leadership positions So My work as a leader advancing equity in county government state government and nonprofits
012Is that there needs to be a really strong case? For why an initiative or a policy has to happen Capturing the outcomes the impact and Sort of drawing on the historical processes and then also envisioning what the impact in the future will be Thank you vice president at home Another question regarding balance. How do you anticipate balancing your work home life? With all the the duties and responsibilities that come with being a board director What would that look like for you? And are you prepared for that commitment? Yes, I think many children of immigrant parents first generation Graduate students know this balance very well We're high achievers were dreaming that we're living the dreams of our parents and our ancestors And so I carry that responsibility very deeply in my heart I have a really
013incredible community support a partner who supports me Grandparents who are there and just the network of people who hold me up. I am also very Proactive and in addition to being a mom of three. I have a full-time job at a non-profit I teach at the University of Washington. I'm a small business owner And an active member in my community and all of these things are not separate they're interrelated and Really inform my approach to life and work Thank you. I have one more question Why do you want this position? There isn't anything in this world that is most sacred to me than my children And I know that all young people are sacred and important and what I feel for my young people is what all of us feel for our young people so
014it is An opportunity to step into my values and my commitments to be there be present and share what I can For all of us in our community Thank you director Alvarez Thank you How do you see supporting our superintendent in our district in achieving the success they deserve? I Think in terms of governance in leadership The community is only as strong as the leader is strong and the leaders only as strong as the community is strong So those relationships are interdependent. I Am rooting for the superintendent For dr. Duran Because his success is the manifestation of our students success and our community success and I do believe in the value and the insight of the board who hires the superintendent and builds practices and procedures to hold them accountable and evaluates progress Thank you.
015All right for your final question Please share a two-minute description of why you are the best candidate to be appointed to the role of board member. Thank you I had mentioned earlier that I am a social scientist by training in medical anthropology which is a fancy way of saying my superpower is to find solutions for very complicated problems and I have dedicated my life to doing that there isn't a more pressing problem in my Experience both professionally and personally then to making sure that all of us have the tools or resources and the access to live full and complete lives I think serving on the board of directors is one avenue to Put my part into the solution for making sure that students Families and staff have everything that they need to succeed in their
016role and in their goals. I Am deeply rooted in community. I have been part of the Highline community for 10 years my my kids are student our students at the school district and I am privileged enough to know The importance that the schools and the teachers have on the lives of children We've been blessed to have really positive teachers in our children's lives we homeschooled our children for a while, but just seeing how they're held and how their identity as indigenous people is uplifted is really important for our family and I want to be able to Help providing the right conditions for that to happen for all students and for all families Thank you for your interest in the Highline school board may have a round of applause Now can we please have Kenneth Kemp
017welcome and thank you for being here. How are you today? Good. How are you? I'm good I'm going to ask you six questions You will have one minute each to answer them The questions are in front of you if you'd like to read along in order to be fair to all candidates You will have a timer when your time to answer has expired. Okay Question one the questions themes are this questions themes are from our principals. How do you define equity? What do you imagine this would look like in Highline schools, and how would you leverage your position to fulfill Highline's promise? I like the superintendent's description of equity that we got an email last night. I believe the equity is an even platform for each child to achieve greatness and to be able to
018Start off no matter where they're coming from whatever foot they start with to be able to continue on and achieve success No matter what What they decide Thank you Question to this questions themes are from our community The board has one employee part of the board's role is to hold the superintendent accountable by evaluating his annual performance What are some academic or other data points that are relevant to that conversation? well, I mean ultimately our job is as a board member is to look and deal with the superintendent as Equal partner His job is to evaluate The staff and the students and our job is to look into that evaluate him and then go from there with our decisions, but work with him in tandem instead of opposition I think Thank you. This question seems
019from our superintendent student leadership team What is a pressing issue within the district that you believe needs to be addressed? Well, I believe that one of the pressing issues is Conducting ourselves in a manner that pushes the children to achieve greater heights. I believe that we can do better with facilitating Education and having them go forward but also To make sure that we are providing an opportunity in a platform for the children to achieve their greatest possible ability Thank you This seems are from our teamsters as a potential school board member How do you intend to engage with and support classified staff? I believe in the policies Our interaction with the staff goes straight through the superintendent So we would have to go through the superintendent and then the classifications and things like that would
020be Board voted and then put through due to our policies through the superintendent and working with him directly Thank you Thank you Question five this question seems or are this question's theme is from our family action committee How do you feel are the most what do you feel are the most important qualities and abilities in a superintendent? Well, I believe the superintendent has a pretty A pretty rough job because he's got to deal with the board and the different personalities that go along with it But he also has to deal with all the teachers and every complaint that they may have He also has to deal with the parents And he's kind of the go-between kind of like a foreman on a job site he he gets it from both sides so I believe that
021the best qualities are somebody who can deal and manage with multiple storms at the same time while still being able to delegate to his Staff his cabinet of eight and then also deal with the board of directors Thank you question six this question seems are from both the highland education association and the superintendent student leadership team How will you ensure that school board policies uphold the rights of students to feel safe welcome and valued and ensure each and every student Gets a high quality education Well, I mean, I think it's the duty of each and every person in the community No matter what district you come from to make sure each kid feels safe when he walks through the doors cared for loved And preferred as a person to be able to grow and thrive
022in our community Um as a board member, I would make sure that those things are um are upheld through my life. I've always been a proponent of anti-bullying anti Exclusion and I think that um through my life I've been raised to be a leader and that's why i'm stepping forward because The children need leaders to say that you're okay the way you are And it's okay for you to come in and be safe and it's our job to protect them Thank you Now each director is going to have an opportunity to ask you an additional question Okay, you'll have one minute to answer each question president van Thank you so much. Um, this is in regards to personal reflection to talk a little bit about the community here What personal experiences or community interactions have
023have most influenced your approach to supporting educational policies? Well, i'm a fourth gender We have four generations in my family from my grandpa all the way down to my dad who is a school teacher at highline high school uh myself my siblings and then My children all my nieces and nephews. So we have four generations that have been immersed in this community and I believe that um it's our part as people who are in the community not to sit back but to step forward and make sure that we Provide the platform for this to be the best school district in washington and the best school district that we can make it Thank you very much Um, what involvement do you have in the community and in highland school districts? Uh in this community in a
024highline school district. Um, i've been a baseball coach, um for little league pac west little league um I am involved in our church youth group. I'm involved with Um with community projects Um, and I have a business here that i'm that i'm growing here in the community. So my entire life is built in this community Thank you. One more question. Um, you said that you were raised to be a leader and that's why you're stepping forward Can you elaborate a little bit more on why you want this position? Yes, um I was like you said I was raised to be a leader. Um, my parents always told us that um, you can either Um afford yourself to Say things and not do them or you can say things and do them and to be a
025leader You have to be a good follower, but you also have to be the person that steps up when the opportunity arises Thank you Director alvarez, sorry Thank you. Um, we hear a lot about supporting um each other supporting For us to support others But um, i'd like to hear how will you support our superintendent in our district to achieve the success it deserves Well, I mean it's our part of our policy that we go through and we directly deal with the superintendent He makes suggestions and then we make deliberations through our board And to support him It's our job to be able to communicate properly and to make sure that he has all the information and we all Dedicate ourselves to making sure that that working um Relationship stays strong, uh, whether it be
026a disagreement that we can come to agreement on or That we can make sure we have deliberation and That we can Come to an agreement ultimately Thank you for your final question Please share a two-minute description of why you are the best candidate to be appointed to the role of board member. Okay? Um As I said before fourth four generations in our family have been in this community in the highline school district in particular Um, I come from the private sector. I was a foreman a local 26 plumber pipe fitter I was a welder and a foreman and a general foreman I ran crews of over 30 people at chemical plants Fuel refineries and you deal with a bunch of different demographics when it comes to that with beliefs Ideologies and all that But you
027have to learn how to make people work together You have to use people to their talents and you have to be able to blend those things together to get the end goal Accomplished and it has to be done in a timely fashion and in a budget And so those are things that I have to work on for the last 18 years and now starting my own business I realized that Even though i'm not running crews of 30 people and also Um still having to maintain budget and um appropriation for my own business and accountability and I think that's Pretty important for a board member to be to be accountable and to make sure that they are able to work in any demographic and come to a Final conclusion to make sure that the ultimate vision
028goal is is attained All right. Thank you Thank you for your interest in the highline school board may have a round of applause Yeah Do you want me to take this with me? And can we bring in michael mccurdy? You're doing good journey. You're doing good. Thank you All right. Thank you for coming. How are you doing today? Oh wonderful. How are you? I'm doing just fine. Thank you I'm going to ask you six questions. You will have one minute to answer each of them The questions are in front of you if you would like to read along in order to be fair to all the candidates You will hear a timer when the time to answer has expired Um question one this question's themes are from our principals How do you define equity? What
029do you imagine this would look like in highline schools and how would you leverage your position to fulfill highline's promise? So to me equity would be defined as every student being given the tools that they need in order to succeed uh, and In highline, I would imagine this To be achieved through Resources, I will use my position on the board to really try to Generate more resources for the district to to meet that end of providing equity so that um as an example in my in my son's school, there are integrated classrooms with Kids that have special needs as well as you know Non-special needs students and I have really come to value that approach in the highline school district because um, there's all sorts of people in the world and That is something I
030want my sons to learn early in their lives uh, and in an educational setting that means They need para educators and those para educators are are that equity gap for time? Thank you Thank you Um question two this question's themes are from our community The board has one employee part of the board's role is to hold the superintendent accountable by evaluating his annual performance What are some academic or other data points that are relevant to that conversation? Um, I would say uh enrollment would be would be one that comes to mind in no particular order enrollment what's the what's the community and district buy-in from members of the community and uh, You know, how many people are we getting into public schools versus parochial or private schools? Another is, you know, the the traditional the
031metrics of of test scores and achievement community engagement um as as measured by Events around the district within within schools district-wide engagement from from parents and educators in those events And uh I think that would be those those would be some of the big ones that come to mind at the moment for me Thank you This question's theme is from our superintendent student leadership team. What is a pressing issue within the district that you believe needs to be addressed nothing super, uh, I I would say I I come from a fortunate position to not have to um Witness or experience any any difficulties yet with my with my son's education and our experience with the district. It's been great I would again come back to the theme of of resources and you know, we can
032always have have more and better um And we can always provide uh Different things for our students that they might not otherwise be able to get currently um for for that be eighth grade able to take a trip to learn about the importance of civic engagement and and um, You know have it underscored by you know, putting our money where our mouth is and sending them on The board member, how do you intend to engage with and support classified staff? Can you define classified staff? I'm not sure president vander our classified staff are our um social workers are just sort of Support they're non-teachers not thank you. We're all learning. This is great. All of our support staff. Okay Got it. Um I would I would You know find out what they need. I don't
033I I have without you know Knowing them, uh at the moment obviously and without having uh An understanding of what their day-to-day looks like what their day-to-day lacks currently and how we fill those gaps I would I would just have have the conversations to just have them to me What what do you need and then again coming back to? Resources, uh, I would I would love to see a um a robust like Grant program within within the community. I think they're Thank you All right question five. This question's theme is from our family action committee What do you feel are the most important qualities and abilities in a superintendent? uh being able to uh execute on the the Goals and the mission of the of the district on the wishes of the the parents and
034the community and the teachers and all this all the stakeholders um, I think that um Empathy is important. I mean empathy is kind of important for all of us to uh to exist in a civilized society but specifically with the role of a leader in in the Um empathy and uh and decisiveness in in in execution Thank you Question six this question's themes are from both the highline education association and the superintendent student leadership team Do you ensure that school board policies uphold the rights of students to feel safe? Welcome and valued and ensure each and every student gets a high quality education It's a good question uh, I will um I will I will again listen to how people need me to fulfill those needs listen to um Explore my options for how I
035can how I can best execute on um, you know making everybody feel safe valued and welcome I am uh, I am The youngest of eight kids and so I know what it likes what it's like to come from a from a big welcoming community And I would look to replicate that within my within my role on the board All right. Thank you Now each director is going to have an opportunity to ask you an additional question You will have one minute to answer each question president man Thank you so much So how would you balance sometimes the competing needs of our school with the broader interests of our community when making policy decisions? Are you talking about for particular schools or overall overall? Balancing the need of the schools versus the overall community uh, I
036I think it would um, it would come down to just needing to make the the decision that's right for The community as a whole and explaining that decision to the schools, uh, you know that May not like it but handling it as diplomatically and again as empathetically as possible to say, you know, it's it's definitely something that we understand you need but not something that we can do at this time or whatever the particular situation might be just kind of speaking in the abstract but Just being being empathetic. I think would be the underpinning there Okay. Thank you vice president tidholm Um, you mentioned a number of times like resources and having a grant program um in this environment where a number of school districts are in a financial deficit, how would you How would
037you anticipate? Just handling like the budget that there is versus the needs that there are where do you anticipate these additional resources coming from? sure, uh, so my background currently is in fundraising, uh, and my um my Front my experience with frontline fundraisers. There are major gift officers who are responsible for reaching out to major donors Uh, I would like to see personally within the uh within the district office and I believe there was one at one point But i'm not sure that there is a position anymore for uh, like a grant programic manager so that we could reach I would say have a have a full-time staff member who is responsible for uh grant applications and and grant management through different, uh, you know educational foundations, so Uh, one one idea i've floated in
038in my company is that there is the um, The the I don't even know if it's an organization but there's the the giving pledge and there are a number of wealthy individuals who have Signed on to the giving pledge. I think that is a great seed list for i'm sure i'm guessing all sorry No worries. Thank you Uh, director alvarez. Oh, sorry Sorry, I have a another question Um I guess it's a two-part question What is your involvement in the community and highline school district and why do you want this position? Yeah, uh, so my son is currently a second grader at gregory heights elementary I am uh, I have participated in the watchdog program at at gregory heights I'm not sure if that is a program at all highline schools. I would highly encourage
039it to be Um, I I think that um You know education is so important and being involved in your kids education highlights that importance to them And so I I like to be in the school with them as much as possible um gregory heights in particular is uh has been has been really great at cultivating community with You know family movie nights and uh fundraising and and things of that nature And have been involved in that and and find it to be very rewarding and again really cultivating a really strong community and underpinning for the students the importance of being involved in and of education Thank you director alvarez How do you see supporting the superintendent in our district to achieve the success they deserve? How do I see supporting the superintendent? Um that that
040again is Something that I would uh, I would I would rely on dr. Duran to uh To help me navigate what what best I what I could do to best support him and to uh to support the community and and You know highline at large Thank you For your final question, please share a two-minute description of why you are the best candidate to be appointed to the role of board member So I think it comes down to uh three things one would be my my educational experience My professional experience and my my personality From an educational standpoint, like I said, uh, I was I was raised My elementary and high school years were spent in parochial school My middle school years. I was actually homeschooled which could explain some of my social awkwardness at times
041um, and I went to a public university at the university of washington and my my Children obviously are are in the public school system as well. So I have I think in that a Cross-section of understanding with the the differences the the pros and cons the strengths and weaknesses of of each of those um, you know, obviously Diversity being a weakness. I think of the of the parochial system and Resources being being um kind of a an opportunity for growth in the in the public school system Professionally, I have been in Kind of the seattle tech startup space for a little over a decade now uh, I have come to appreciate the uh, the role that Sales plays in life in general because whether you're selling a product or just selling an idea I think
042we're all we're all day to day selling ourselves in in various capacities and As a board member, I would apply that to selling the idea of public school of public education as You know much like much like startups are kind of incubators of ideas I think public schools are are incubators of future citizens And so that's that's an important role that they that they play and I would I would look to Serve that end as a as a board member And then my personality I I am uh, I I am thoughtful I don't uh, I might not always know the answer but I one will admit to not knowing the answer and Research as much as I can to get it Okay And chatty All right. Thank you. Um, thank you for your interest in
043the highland school board. May I have a round of applause? Thank you. Thank you Thank you for being here and can we welcome welcome in uh, carlos carlos ruiz Ruiz all right. Thank you for being here. How are you today? I'm excited. Thank you for having me here. Thank you for being here tonight I am going to ask you six questions. You will have one minute to answer each The questions are in front of you if you would like to read along In order to be fair to all candidates, you will hear a timer when your time to answer has expired Question one this question seems are from our principles. How do you define equity? What do you imagine this would look like in highline schools and how would you leverage your position to fulfill
044highland's promise? I believe equity Looks like meeting our students and their families wherever they are One size fits all does not fit all so i'm a big believer in understanding the the needs of The student the family the community the school the district um and Setting up institutions that can help support those with those particular needs with their particular needs What it would look like what it would look like a highline schools I think it's continuing to do a lot of the work that's already being done uh in terms of the equity efforts um I think continuing to support social emotional learning is really important because that's an area Uh where Equity and inequities surface often And I think it's our the role of the board To support the superintendent Oh, that's it. Sorry. Thank
045you Um question two this question's themes are from our community The board has one employee part of the board's role is to hold the superintendent accountable by evaluating his annual performance What are some academic or other data points that are relevant to that conversation? So highline has a strategic plan, right? And I think that is a a that's The school district's promise to the community to families on what's going to get accomplished when how so those provide a lot of them provide kpis already and trends on how Uh, the district is performing and I think that's the primary way to hold the superintendent Accountable now that is the benefit of the board. We do have one employee. You don't have to worry about everybody else um, but I think obviously The performance of our students,
046how are they doing? uh at every grade level Obviously, there's a lot of studies on the predictor of how third grade Uh is for your future academic future made in in reading and math How are our high school students graduating? How prepared are they? Where are they moving on to? Those I think of the conversations Thank you Question three this question's themes theme is from our superintendent student leadership team What is a pressing issue within the district that you believe needs to be addressed? I would say um I think equity is always going to be an issue. We have an extremely diverse District which is is wonderful to see I think opportunity the opportunities we create for Our graduates is also really important Career preparedness, you know, how what pathways are we creating? Are we
047exposing them to different opportunities and careers so that they can make the right decision? uh and um Thank you Question four this question's themes are from our teamsters as a potential school board member How do you intend to engage with and support classified staff? We often think of the school running Just off the teachers and administrators, but there's a lot of people that go into running Uh a school day-to-day year to year. So I think a lot of it is supporting the superintendent superintendent's team with the evaluation of contracts uh, how are we doing by All of the the classified staff How are we supporting them so that? we get Maximum return for our students. I know para educators right are a really important part of that conversation Uh custodial staff, so it really is
048about making sure that when we talk about equity That should be a conversation there as well making sure that our staff It's showing up in how they're treated their pain and they're recognized Thank you This question our question five this question's theme is from our family action committee What do you feel are the most important qualities and abilities in a superintendent? I would say ability to Connect to the community and understand the needs of the community as a whole in the district, what are What are the community strengths? What are? its opportunities ability to lead and engage with The entire team behind the superintendent, right? Uh, do they have uh his his or her staff behind them? and I think the most important one is the performance right you could be a great person You
049have a great personality But at the end of the day Are the students getting what they need what they deserve are the families? Needs being met So I think that that's probably uh in terms of Actual quality of performance of the job is at the end of the day the most important Thank you Question six this question seems are from both the highland education association and the superintendent student leadership team How will you ensure that school board policies uphold the rights of students to feel safe? Welcome and valued and ensure each and every student gets the gets a high quality education I think it's important to Check in often with community What a policy procedure No matter how well intended Can fall out of uh How effective it is out of style? So I think
050it's important to constantly listen to the community and hear from them. What do they need right? What what new challenges what new opportunities are out there? and I always continue to that's that's your north star in my opinion, right? It's it's what's out there. What do the students need? What new technology can we leverage? What? Uh career opportunities are the students looking at um, so I think that is the What I would look for for policies, uh, where have um themes changed Where do we need to have deeper conversations around policies and their effectiveness? Um, so it can't just be Thank you Now each director is going to have an opportunity to ask you an additional question You will have one minute to answer each question president van Thank you so much carlos. You spoke
051about community a lot. Um How would you further strengthen strengthen the relationship? Between our schools and our local community I believe a lot of it has to do with parent engagement Making sure that we are as I mentioned right at the beginning meeting parents and families Students where they are Making the making sure the board is available Uh when parents are available understanding that there's a lot of different family dynamics and how What goes into? A parent's ability to stay connected. I came from a single parent home. My mom worked multiple jobs So a lot of the meetings weren't available. She wasn't available to attend So Her engagement was always going to be limited. So how can we account for? Some of that I I'd love to see already that children are welcome at meetings
052a lot of times at events There's this child care at certain events So I think that's how you you make sure you get community involved you take into account What they need and how to genuinely get them to? Show up Thank you vice president did home Why do you want this position? Uh, so as some of you might know I ran for this role previously I came from public education and it's always been really important to me. I think it's a It's a right. We all have to get not just public education, but a quality public education um passionate about children and their potential I have two daughters in the district still pretty early on in the district. So I I See some of where I went to school All of us didn't have right
053so there was no children left out We all shared and not having and I feel here especially at Highline because we are so diverse there there are gaps of families that come from Where they have more resources and some that don't so for me that that's where there's really an opportunity to see the difference And children feel that difference so that I'm way too early. Sorry Thank you, um director alvarez So, um, how do you see supporting our superintendent in the district to achieve the success it deserves? Well again, I go by We have the strategic plan right and and that's why that's put in place I served on numerous boards before Served on the the board for seattle credit union and pioneer human services affordable housing boards and at the end of the day
054The board's role is to promise to Its members its community A strategic plan to measure really not just the superintendent but the board as well And that's how you keep track, right? Those are the promises we make to the community And how we should evaluate the superintendent where the super we have to create an environment Where the superintendent feels supported? Feels empowered right and I think that's the balance With new anchor it to the strategic plan Everybody knows what the playbook is. Everybody knows what we're going towards. Everybody knows the goals Thank you For your final question, please share a two-minute description of why you are the best candidate to be appointed to the role of board member best candidates It's a tricky one because I believe there's a lot of people Who could do
055a really great job. I could speak for myself why i'm so passionate about this Like I alluded to before coming from a family Where we didn't have a lot Um I know what it's like to feel left out at school uh I joke with my wife Because we came up very differently We didn't have money for photocopies. So whenever you took like a test or anything a worksheet You had to leave the worksheet at your desk for the next class and you had to copy everything on your own piece of paper It's it's challenging. It's difficult and I saw a lot of the teachers that Care deeply for the students and how they felt handcuffed and felt like they couldn't fully support the students how they wanted to so to me that's another thing i'm
056really passionate about is We have some great great teachers and principals and administrators That really care about the students. I want to hear a lot more from them. You know, I I love that at the Um board meetings we bring up different schools and they get to share what works I love that right because What's working at one school? That's not hoarded there. Can we go and share it out? So that's something that's really important to me Um social emotional learning is also really important. I felt like it's helped my youngest daughter who's a very she suffers a lot with anxiety and Potential learning disability and feeling included I think has made a tremendous difference in her life Feeling that I know she feels seen and supported at her school So I I think that
057is really important for us to also show at other schools So having gone through all of that is why I feel really passionate about engaging Community That's a fast two minutes Um, thank you for your interest in the highline school board may I have a round of applause? Thank you. Thank you And is miss sarah postel present on the zoom and give us a couple minutes to get set up So this is going to take just a few seconds here so we can get sarah set up Miss postel, can you hear us? Miss postel, are you there? Are you? Hello, can you hear? Yes Hey, and then uh, can you confirm you received the questions in your email? Let me double check. Yes Thank you very much. Can you take it away? Thank you All
058right. Welcome and thank you for being here. How are you this evening? I'm well, thank you. I appreciate being able to do this remotely Um, i'm going to ask you six questions. You'll have one minute to answer each of them The questions are in front of you if you would like to read along In order to be fair to all the candidates, you'll hear a timer when your time to answer has expired Question one questions themes are from our principals How do you define equity? What do you imagine this would look like in highline schools and how would you leverage your position to fulfill highline's promise? Thank you. Um, I define equity as meeting students where they are and providing the resources to Um That are unique to them to get them Um the education
059that they need in the context of this, uh position um When you say how would I leverage my position as a board director? That is correct. Is that what you're asking? Okay. Thank you um I would um You know my understanding of the position is that um we as a board that the Policy would determine the what? and so using Um information we get from the washington state school directors association would be a guide to that I believe Thank you Question two this question theme this question's theme is from our community The board has one employee part of the board's role is to hold the superintendent accountable by evaluating his annual performance What are some academic? Or other data points that are relevant to that conversation Uh, thank you. I looked at the uh in
060the reports from last year and took note of some different statistics about the Makeup of the schools and then saw the information about um increases in belonging as measured for students and employees um in the becoming Um So I think those uh pieces would be what we're looking at in terms of um measuring the uh annual performance um and And then taking as you say the community's um input of uh their expectations and and any Challenges that they're bringing forward as well. Thank you Question three this question's theme is from our superintendent's leadership team What is a pressing issue within a district that you believe needs to be addressed? um A pressing issue, I would say is um Is meeting students where they're at and I think part of that also includes um meeting their
061needs and and how They and their families are impacted By things happening in the school district and things in their local governance and and national um, and so I think that that is something where uh, you know some of the recent uh changes from washington, um, and the Change in whether schools are uh considered a protected environment. I think Is a pressing issue. I know that there's been some Information recently shared from the board on this But I think that's something that That will need to continually be addressed. Thank you Question four this question's themes are from our teamsters as a potential school board member How do you intend to engage with and support classified staff? um, so i'm not entirely sure exactly that level of engagement because uh, as I said my Understanding of
062the board is that our sole employee is the superintendent But I do understand that we Would potentially be interacting in terms of Representation at certain events and I imagine that would be engaging with classified staff at different schools so I think in any way that I engage with individuals is is as an individual and with respect and um Attention to their needs and their concerns question question five, um This question seems is our is from our family action committee What do you feel are the most important qualities and abilities in a superintendent? um, I think that the one of the most um important quality, um is their ability to uh To listen and to communicate um, and that may be with the community with uh the board But also with those in the schools and
063providing those direct services to students um the the as well as the um Those employees in terms of their uh needs and the challenges they face um And so that's a lot to juggle, um with the number of schools students and and teachers, um So I think that a big piece of that is uh, this communication is uh sharing information Being aware of of things that are happening. Um within the district, uh, you know at the extent that's appropriate for superintendent can't be kind of caught in the weeds with that but um But being available I think uh, and then Stability Thank you Thank you and then question six this question's themes are from both the highland education association and the superintendent student leadership team How will you ensure that school and board policies uphold
064the rights of students to feel safe welcome and valued and ensure each and every Student gets a high quality education Uh, I looked at the highline promise, um that every student in the public schools would be known by name strength and need um and graduate prepared for the future they choose and I think that Knowing that those name strengths and needs is uh It's something that we would be Would be important for us as a board as well. And so again knowing uh What is happening? What is challenging for students in terms of their ability to feel safe and welcome and valued? um So those pieces of that belonging are important and then in terms of the the high quality education, I think that as not um a k-12 instructor myself um definitely taking some
065of that direction from the um state school directors association as well as the uh, the staff and then the or the instructors Uh, all right classroom teachers, uh in terms of knowing some of that information They're the subject matter experts in that I'll be combined effort Now each director is going to have an opportunity to ask you an additional question You will have one minute to answer each question president bam Thank you so much. So sarah we're going to talk a little about measuring success How would you measure success on the board's policies on both student? Success, but also our community development or feedback Uh, so it's my understanding that there's a survey every year and some of that those data points in terms of of the promise of um, and the the goals are
066going to be self-report and then other elements of that are going to be uh from statistics about graduation about um progression in skills and in Uh english and math, um, and then in particular, uh, the bilingual and bioliterate Seals those how many students are receiving those those types of things? um So I think that that is It's going to be a way to kind of look at all of that information and see and then again the the community aspect of things um being available and and hearing constituents and and listening really to their Their concerns and working together to figure out how to address those Thank you Vice president fithole What is your involvement in your community and the highland school districts? So with highland school district, um, I I lived in ctac. Um, I
067grew up in west seattle South and west seattle, so I did not attend um highland schools. However, my three nephews are One graduate from and two currently in the district Um, so my you know current involvement with that has been Mostly as a supportive aunt and involved in you know, seeing some attending some of their events certainly hearing about the The things that are going on for them all three of my nephews Participated in the dual language program and I know that that was really a fantastic experience for them Um, i'm sorry. Can you ask that one more time? What is your involvement in your community and the highland school districts? Yeah, so my community Um, I will work at a local community college. Um, and I have been part of different, uh committees and
068things like that where uh working with the community, um Is one more question. Why do you want this position? Um, you know, I think it's really important to have community members be a part of this As I mentioned, I am I work in higher education I work with a federal grant for supporting students who are low income first generation and or have a disability And i've worked with students Coming from the public schools. Highland is one of our feeder districts. And so I think it's important to Kind of have that that perspective I would look forward to being able to bring in any information that I can that one might that might help The the board and the schools in terms of of that piece in particular about future ready and And just in fact
069Thank you How would you support our district and our superintendent to achieve the success it deserves Um, I think an important piece is is knowing the goals of the school district and in terms of the The school directors association obviously complying with the law um, and I think having a high standard for meeting those objectives and so Part of that accountability and evaluation of superintendent um You know holding uh The board and the uh district to that high standard because that's going to then Be able to facilitate that quality education for students For your final question, please share a two-minute description of why you are the best candidate to be appointed to the role of board member Yeah, so, um, I have worked in higher education for 20 years and um I have held different
070leadership roles Within the college in the community as well part of a community based organization um, I have worked with uh You know budgets, uh and Understanding the importance of physical accountability Um, I have worked with folks from directly direct service to students, um with other Employees classified employees exempted at the college level administrators as well as across our system and so understanding kind of the um The stakeholders and the different perspectives that they bring and how to balance those things while moving the needle on some of the the goals That are set out by the district but also in terms of the office's Superintendent of public instruction for the state. Thank you. Um, thank you for your interest in the highland school board may have a round of applause And we are thank you
071We are now moving to the district five Okay, it looks like we're going to be moving like journey set to the district five candidates. We have three candidates And we're going to get rolling here All right, welcome and thank you for being here. How are you today? Thank you guys for having me. Um, and I think that i'm here today I'm going to ask you six questions. You will have one minute to answer each of them The questions are in front of you if you would like to read along in order to be fair to all the candidates You will hear a timer when your time to answer has expired Question one this question's themes are from our principles. How do you define equity? What do you imagine this would look like in highline schools
072and how would you leverage your position to fulfill highland's promise? Thank you To me equity means, um making sure that our students and children have the resources necessary to Reach their level of success. Um, I know we all come from all types of walk of life all types of Cultural backgrounds and ethnicity. So to me equity is just a way to Leveling the playing field and making sure that everybody has um a fair chance And also what would that look like at highline high school for me? Well, I personally went to a highline high school Um, I graduated from there. Yay Go pirates. Um, so for me what that looked like in highline is I would say highline when I went back in there Which was not that long ago, but I think i'm getting
073there at age. Um, um for me, it was a big melting pot um, we had students that were At least for me coming from the east coast originally I wasn't familiar with um cultures like simoans east africans um, and hispanic community, of course, um So having that big melting pot altogether I think one of the biggest things that we can do to ensure that our students have equity is making sure that We're actually asking them the things that they need in order for you to even um, I always say It's not always about having the right answer. It's about having the right questions So, thank you. Thank you Um question two this question seems are from our community The board has one employee part of the board's role is to hold the superintendent accountable by
074evaluating his annual performance What are some academic or other data points that are relevant to that conversation? One second, um journey. Can we pause? Oh, sorry. Um, okay Uh our live stream, uh sound has gone off So we just want to make sure that uh that our live stream can pick up the call Thank you so much. So sorry testing testing You can hear us. Okay Okay It's working. All right. Thank you so much. Thank you Apologies for the for the interruption We just needed to make sure that the live stream was picking up the sound all right to reiterate question two Um, this question's theme is these this question's themes are from our community The board has one employee part of the board's role is to hold the superintendent accountable by evaluating his annual
075performance What are some academic or other data points that are relevant to that conversation? um, I think some of the academic points and um that are relevant to that conversation are Making sure that our student voices are heard Making sure that we are actually have our action plans actually include resources and not just a lot of the time I feel like Just growing up here. We have a lot of things and visions versus actions Making sure that the superintendent is actually taking actions to resolve issues that are going on in our schools is a big part Of that and also making sure that the relationship between the board and the superintendent is um amicable and also resourceful and In the way that we're working also with the community to make sure that Everything is being
076done to help the students and not just for our own egos. Sometimes I feel like as adults Thank you Question three this question's theme is from our superintendent leadership team What is a pressing issue within the district that you believe needs to be addressed? I think right now one of the biggest pressing issues. Um, I um, I come from guinea west africa So my parents are immigrants from here. I'm a first generation college graduate And i'm also a federal worker. So with everything going on in the world right now I feel like immigration is such a big topic and making sure how these kids are filling With what's going on at home and how are they coming to school? How can they succeed in school when things how can they even talk? Do they even
077have somebody to talk to about these things? Do they even know where to go to to? To talk to someone those things the little things. Um, the basics sometimes are overlooked when we're so busy trying to Resolve issues that we think are more important So I think that's a big one and also the ai and internet issue is a huge one that I feel like we should definitely be focusing on and figuring out how to Use it to our advantage versus letting it use us All right. Thank you question four this question's themes are from our teamsters as a potential school board member How do you intend to engage with and support classified staff? Um, I always say i'm more of a traditional woman learning to live in a modern world So the whole internet
078world and stuff like that. I adjust with it. I am a fast learner But I also know we all come from different walks of life. So One of the pressing issues that needs to be Oh, sorry Are we four right? Okay. So sorry. Um, how do I engage? I intend to engage with my community. I um I'm big on I used to do door-to-door knockings If that's allowed I will go the extra miles for me. Um, not just like oh, let's do a survey online Like let's be realistic. Sometimes devices don't operate as we want as we can see we had to pause just now So just being willing to go. Um Do those extra miles things knocking on neighbors door like just making your space familiar So they at least know when they can't
079use technology and things like that That now we rely so much on that there are other avenues to engage with them Thank you Question five this question's theme is from our family action committee What do you feel are the most important qualities and abilities in a superintendent? Um, the most important qualities and abilities in a superintendent. I would say one of the biggest one is Being more of a listener um Having tough skin. I don't know how to put that in for lack of better words, um, and also being um, open-minded and willing to take constructive criticism because I know we're at least nobody I had a quote in moana that I always refer to because it was wonderful It's like nobody wants to suck at their job. So I go with this assumption that
080um, you have to willing to be like Even though there are things that may not be working out, um, the plan may not be working out courting so you have to be able to pivot and um be willing to Just adapt with the changes.com and roll with the punches So those are some of the qualities that I think are important and also supporting students not just in a manner of um, the typical things that a superintendent would do but Sorry, thank you All right question six this question's themes are from both the highline education association and the superintendent student leadership team How will you ensure that school board policies uphold the rights of students to feel safe? Welcome and valued and ensure each and every student gets a high quality education um, one of the
081biggest things I would do for me is um not just looking at um, I guess Paper of like this is the board's policy, but also how does that apply to our schools? Um, how effective is this policy? What have been the outcomes? um Of this policy, how is it? How has it been improving the lives in their education of our students over the few years? um, so those are the things that I personally Um care about because I I want to make sure that if i'm following a policy Yes, we have policies in for reasons But it actually makes sense for our students and it's not just things that are just being copy and paste from other school districts So that's my biggest one All right. Thank you Now each director is going to have
082an opportunity to ask you an additional question You will have one minute to answer each question president van Thank you so much We're going to talk a little bit about balancing priorities So how would you balance the needs of our schools with the broader interest of our community when we are creating or um adjusting our policy decisions um Can you elaborate a little bit about the question? Like how would I prioritize certain policies or How would you balance that with the interest of our community as well as our schools and our school policies? Awesome. I think one of the biggest thing is um making sure that Um resources are being allocated to things that are tangible um, because sometimes Let's say a community This is just a hypothetical situation. Um, let's say as community members
083We want to have the better high-end macbooks in our classroom but the budget only has enough to make sure that we have internet access for each student's and Devices that we can afford obviously we would have to have a conversation with the community to help them understand like we We know these are the things that you would want But we're trying to focus more of the things you need to actually make the students safe um, I know one of the things I had to deal with going to high line with security, uh, Making sure that school securities are actually able to de-escalate situations Um the way that is effective for students So just listening to community members and also help them understand that needs come before once and student safety Thank you. Thank you vice
084president, uh tittle What is your involvement in your community and the highland school district? um, I have a six-year-old who goes um, and who is a part of the highline school district and also, um, I Currently I am a part of a non-profit. Um, uh, I Created with my friends and I created a non-profit while we're in college. It's called africa now I'm a little bit less involved these days because I have kids and stuff like that, but I do intentionally Try to go to community events due to that the fact that one i'm a part of a non-profit and two, um, I just enjoy going to community events to be quite honest, so I would say i'm pretty involved but I would like to be more involved um I have children myself and I
085know this position takes a lot of time as does being a parent So how do you anticipate? Balancing your home life and the responsibilities of being on the board great question, um for me, um I would I would like to say i've always been Um for lack of better word timing issue a busy body so, um having a A few things on my plate is kind of how I feel I thrive in life personally. That's kind of my comfort zone Just sitting still I can't it doesn't work out for me. So for me, I I have a routine for my kids I have a job that's I'm thankful and hopefully I can keep as a federal worker That is allows me to be able to have flexible timing and also This is something i'm passionate
086about Whatever you're passionate about think you put your heart and you make time for Thank you. Sorry. I have one more. Why do you want this position? great question, um so with um With everything going on in the world and also me coming from this community um when I went to highline high school my school project was um My high school project was basically mentoring how to find mentors basically was the biggest thing and It's extremely hard. I feel like for students within our schools to find mentors that are actually willing to Help them achieve the things that they want to achieve So I want to be one of those people since I didn't have it. I want to be I want to make sure that other women like me are inspired to take on
087these positions because I don't see many So that's why I want it. Thank you director alvarez Thank you How do you see supporting the district and the superintendent to achieve the success they deserve? Um, how how would I see or how would I do it? Sorry. Yeah, how do you see yourself or how would you do? How would you support the district and the superintendent to um? Great question. Thank you so much I think um The way that I would support this school superintendent is understanding that well, we're lucky enough to have one employee so, um understanding that um, they don't have to do things alone That if it's um a situation where they're overwhelmed with things um that there is a clear line of them being like hey I They're able to advocate and
088be like I need help in this area or that area And also To make sure that um our district needs are being met. I will be making sure that Every action plans i'm a numbers person and I like to be organized in that manner So if we're having action plans, I want to see what outcomes we want to have so setting up measures and setting up Some type of assessments for our plans I think it's what what I would do Thank you um For your final question, please share a two-minute description of why you are the best candidate to be appointed to the role of ford member um, I believe I am the best candidate because um, I lived in this community grew up in this community I know what it feels like to be
089a high line School district students. I know what it feels like to be a parent of a high line school district person and also i'm the type of person who um I don't i'm not defeated quickly if things are tough It's just um, i'm a religious person every challenge comes with a lesson and also It's we don't get many people like me. I hate to say it but we don't get many people like me in these areas in these platforms and we don't need dei to have the best people in places But we do need people who want to step up And being able to have representation in these places or how others are inspired to step up because even coming here today I was super duper nervous because this is totally something that I
090Don't have a parent who has done or a mentor or I don't know anybody who has ever done this so I can Others have people maybe they can reach out to and be like hey But me the only person I know is my high school teacher who has greatly inspired me all the time to Go the extra mile for people if it wasn't for him. I wouldn't have went to the u-dub so For him taking me being willing to even have a carpool day to take students. That's outside his teacher Responsibility, but he did that because he cared about us. So for me that that inspiration and that action instilled in me that That's the type of person I want to be for others and that's the commitment I will make to highline students if
091I get this role Thank you Um, thank you for your interest in the highline school board may have a round of applause Thank you guys so much All right, can we welcome in chad harper? Welcome and thank you for being here. How are you today? I'm doing all right. How are you? I'm doing just fine Thank you. I'm going to ask you six questions tonight You'll have one minute to answer each of them The questions are in front of you if you would like to read along in order to be fair to all candidates You will hear a timer when their time to answer has expired Um question one this question seems are from our principals. How do you define equity? What do you imagine this would look like in highline schools and how would
092you leverage your position to fulfill highline's promise? I define equity as not every student getting exactly the same because not everyone's needs are the same Equity is about every student getting what they need um I think what this looks like in highline schools, um I think about things like the strategic plan, which the school board is busy working on and implementing um My background as an educator is in ela social studies and as a librarian So i'm thinking about things like improving ela scores achievement and I start thinking about in that particular area um Our students getting what they need We've seen a little bit of growth From last year according to what the strategic plan says but clearly there is room for growth And so I started to think about what do we as
093a board? Need to do for our staff and for our students to make sure that every student is getting what they What they need To be successful in that area Thank you Question two this question's themes are from our community The board has one employee part of the board's role is to hold the superintendent accountable by evaluating his annual performance What are some academic or other data points that are relevant to that conversation? Um, I think what we hear from parents from students from families um from staff at every level as well one way that I think about it is the superintendent is like our student we need to identify areas of strength uh, and make sure we Give praise and encouragement where it's earned and also look for opportunities for growth and To give
094the superintendent the support um that he needs in order to fulfill Highline's promise to every student so those are kind of informal data points and but the More formal data points, uh as far as are we meeting our goals in our strategic plan are also part of that conversation as well Thank you Um question three this question's theme is from our superintendent student leadership team. Wait question Yeah, sorry Um, what is a pressing issue within the district that you believe needs to be addressed? um for me it's I would say It's the creating a culture of belonging which is a big pillar again of the strategic plan. I think you can have the best most engaging math lesson English lesson social studies science lesson in the world But if your students and your staff don't
095feel like this is a place where they can come to and be seen be heard and feel just tolerated but celebrated It doesn't matter For me that piece of it Everything else academic success social emotional learning all kinds of other success kind of flow from that and so I'm somewhat encouraged by the things the little bit of growth we've seen From last year on the strategic plan we only saw a two percent growth in how staff feel in terms of culture of belonging and A little I think it's like three percent in students as well, but that's important All right. Thank you a question for this question's themes are from our teamsters as a potential school board member How do you intend to engage with and support classified staff? Yeah I was very proud to
096be in leadership during my time as a educator in the teachers union. I am still a union member I Highly value the role that every bargaining unit plays and making sure our schools show up as the best version of themselves um, I think regular standing meetings with all labor partners Is a way to keep lines of communication Open hear what's going well hear what's going not what's not going well and bringing that back to board meetings for for discussion Thank you. Um question five this question's theme is from our family action committee How do you what do you feel are the most important qualities and abilities in a superintendent? I think the most important quality that I can think of off the top of my head would be empathy Um, just an empathy for other
097people being able to put themselves in others shoes, not obviously students, but staff uh, and families as well and giving grace to others who Might reach out to the superintendent when things are going well, that's usually when we hear from people when they're unhappy and I think just someone who gets up every day and thinks how do we make Highline public schools the best it can be All right. Thank you question six This question seems are from both the Highland Education Association and the superintendent student leadership team How will you ensure that school board policies uphold the rights of students to feel safe? Welcome and valued and ensure each and every student gets a high quality education Again, I think it goes back to creating a culture Of belonging and ensuring that that's what we're
098doing and that every student is You know feeling welcome and valued. Um, i'm an openly lgbtq person. I want every student And staff member To come to Highline schools and Make sure that this is a place for them and if there's something if there are board policies that are Not being upheld and we need to we need to fix that immediately right away All right, thank you Now each director is going to have an opportunity to ask you an additional question You will have one minute to answer each question president van Thank you. So what? Community interactions have most influenced your approach to supporting our our educational policies um Can you say that question again? Sure What community interactions have most influenced your approach to supporting our policies um I think my time on the
099i'm gonna Use an acronym the cfac committee where um, it's 2015 2016. I helped put together a series of bonds That are ongoing I worked with a very large Number of community members all of us have very very I think strong opinions about what needed to be done And at times we had like diametrically opposing views, but we found a way to have courageous conversations and come up with um a product essentially a result that benefited as many people to benefit the most people that we could and I think it's It's Thinking back to those conversations and that kind of like respectful dialogue Is missing certainly on social media and certainly in the other washington um as well and that's the kind of mindset that I think should be emulated Thank you vice president tittle
100Why do you want this position? um Talk and going back to that experience. Um, I feel like I have I am value added um to the school board, um, I feel like the combination of my community experience of being successful there and combining that with my First-hand experience in the classroom of a master's in teaching. I'm certified to teach all subjects in elementary and middle school and several in high school and I've spent six years uh in the classroom and I felt like I had something to offer particularly in the area of improving ela scores um, and We've I'm a big believer in representation. We've never had an lgbtq person on our school board uh, and I feel that is long overdue Thank you director alvarez How would you support? The school district and the
101superintendent has achieved the success they deserve I think in looking at You know the data From our strategic plan thinking about you know, we're seeing some bigger growth some bigger areas success than others um and thinking about okay, we're clearly doing something well in Some areas and then there are others where you know in Uh, you know ela math scores, um making more students, um Bilingual and biliterate, um in thinking about the ways in which um We can do better and reflect and digging in a little bit more on the data To see like what are we doing? That's That is causing the bit of growth that we're seeing but then also thinking about what are some additional Um steps that we need to take Thank you For your final question, please share a two-minute
102description of why you are the best candidate to be appointed to the role of board member I am a proud product of public schools. I I am like successful citizen because I know what can happen when teachers guidance counselors um adults of you know, all different roles come together and Work on behalf of our students um, i'm the first person in my family to graduate high school. I'm the first person in my family to Go on to college I've seen what schools can be when they are at their best as I said before I'm an openly lgbtq person um I was quote unquote the gay kid at 16 years old in a rural, pennsylvania high school in the late 1990s early 2000s it was not a great time or place to be gay and I
103will leave it at that. I have also seen um how things can go when schools don't always um live up to their values and their commitments and i'm very dedicated to making sure that as uh An lgbtq person all students not just students but family and staff have a very vocal advocate for them That's out the table the old saying goes If you're not if you're not at the table you're on the menu and i'm very motivated to be part of that change um I'd just like to reiterate that I have in addition to years in the classroom working in education firsthand, um working with Alongside the community putting bonds together and then going out and building support for those projects Among the public who at times were skeptical or outright hostile at best And
104getting a positive result for our community and so it's with that mindset and that experience of working alongside the public and being of being an educator and and being a voice for queer students staff and Thank you for your interest in the highland school board. May I have a round of applause? Thank you All right, can we please welcome in robert andy roboto? He's texting my son All right. Um, thank you and welcome, uh, or welcome and thank you for being here Um, i'm going to ask you six questions You will have one minute to answer each of them The questions are in front of you if you would like to read along in order to be fair to all candidates You will hear a timer when your time to answer has expired Question one
105this question seems are from our principles. How do you define equity? What do you imagine this would look like in highland schools and how would you leverage your position to fulfill highland's promise? Well, since we're going to start with that, well our children Are facing very unique challenges in today's world And our schools need to adapt And we must continue creating a stimulating environment And that means removing barriers to success for every child regardless of their background And for me personally, I want to advocate for a significant investment in technology All right. Thank you for any one second Oh need a closer Yeah Question two this question's themes are from our community The board has one employee part of the board's role is to hold the superintendent accountable by evaluating his annual performance What are
106some academic or other data points that are relevant to that conversation? Uh, oh Well when it comes to enforcement It's not just about having policies A system should be actively promoting ethical behavior clear guidance And accountability and an ongoing effort from the entire district um And we need to reduce the risk of conflict of interest in the community Which includes not having political royalty or special interests um on the board we need a broad perspective All right question three this question's theme is from our superintendent student leadership team What is a pressing issue within the district that you believe needs to be addressed? so Actually, I was just thinking about this um Well, literally literally Literative importance Improvement, uh, we need ongoing adjustments to instruction and the curriculum itself Essentially so that we can ensure
107That the curriculum remains effective to meet all the students needs especially the learning gap specifically the disparity in academic performance, uh I believe is not about just test scores Uh, but ensuring equitable resources and opportunities For all of our students and in my opinion my solution is we need to Absolutely invest in targeted programs before and after swirl programs and mentoring. I mean like at my school Uh parkside kids are waiting at 8 45 o'clock in the morning and the first bell doesn't ring till 9 15 It's 20 degrees outside in the winter. Why are kids sitting outside? Right, they could be Yeah All right. Thank you. Um this question for this question's themes are from our teamsters as a potential school board member How do you intend to engage with and support classified staff?
108communication It's simple We've lost our ability to naturally converse as a society. I mean we see kids Go up to each other all the time and just talk But as adults we just keep screaming and yelling at each other and It's upsetting Right. I'm a millennial i'm from the 90s. We we just went out and had fun and talked to each other And I think that's what we need. We need to go back to basics and just naturally converse so That's my answer go back to basic All right. Thank you question five. This question's theme is from our family action committee What do you feel are the most important qualities and abilities in a superintendent? the superintendent well A successful superintendent is a blend of education expertise and managing skills and Needs again, we go
109back to just communication right I mean, that's a simple answer. It's just off so Get away from the drama All right, and question six this question's themes are from both the highland education association and the superintendent student leadership team How will you ensure that school board policies uphold the rights of the students of students to feel safe? Welcome and valued and ensure each and every student gets a high quality education Well, there's no single solution It needs to be multi-faceted Addressing both individual and systematic factors that contribute to achievement gaps all right, it's a full blend of conversations with the entire community parents unions the local municipalities Right their safety. I mean I see kids we don't see kids out in the neighbors anymore They're not even riding their bikes the bike racks as schools
110are completely empty Right when I was a kid, I was six years old riding my bike to school we need to Discuss that their safety food insecurity again going back to like I said outside Why are kids outside in 20 degree weather? right We need to get to work It's that simple It shouldn't be that hard of a strategy Now each director is going to have an opportunity to ask you an additional question You will have one minute to answer each question president van Thank you so How would you measure the success of the board's policies on student success and community feedback or community development? Uh, sorry say that again How would you measure the success of the board's policies on student success and community development? Well, that's what i'm talking about. It goes with
111the policy. It's not just about enforcement, but we need to again reduce the risk of conflict of interests and keep politics out of school right and prioritizing teacher training adaption resource allocation strong emphasis on collaboration and data When it comes to decision-making So facts not opinions Thank you Vice president niddle Why do you want this position? I'm a father No, i'm not just a father. I'm a parent I'm here because I believe Every child deserves the opportunity to thrive without barriers I see firsthand the importance The dedication and support to our children as a veteran It was instilled into me the importance of teamwork strategic planning And a commitment to serving my community. I swore on the dotted line to give my life to defend all people from oppression as a community leader scouts pta
112little league Ymca coach I have the highline You know Institution that has supported me and parents athletics You know all of it. I've witnessed the power of collaboration to overcome Okay, one minute. Yeah, thank you Director alvarez a lot to say Next question. How do you see yourself supporting our district and our superintendent to achieve the success it deserves? um We need to recognize the unique specific needs of everybody uh recruitment retention professional development resources allocated to community and evaluate Again, it goes back to what I just said. We just need to communicate ELL We need a multi-phase approach that goes beyond simply providing You know just language every student feels Or should feel valued and respected and including our staff and teachers and our community We got to communicate I don't have all the
113answers nobody does all right. Thank you Um for your final question, please share a two-minute description of why you are the best candidate to be appointed to the role of board member I see a future where every student has equitable access to their own personalized learning support, I mean we have countries between south korea china India They're all adapting To the future using ai-based programs um So that every student has their own personal para educator in their own language in their own path right, I feel like platforms like dream box and smart sparrow They analyze students responses in real time to adopt to lessons Dynamically letting every student to learn concepts at their own speed and teachers Uh, i'm not saying we should remove teachers But teachers need to go back to being mentors And
114not stuck in testing grading You know all this stuff Okay, i've i've seen my own son's grandmother who is retiring this year at parkside uh stress during covid and the shutdowns And We need to give teachers space to be again mentors That's what we need to do as parents and as a community mentor program All right. I want to see before and after school programs more and not students stuck outside students need to collaborate and effectively uh Naturally converse with each other right socialization is one of the most important foundations Of development as a kid right That's what I want to see Your offering In this district is not a specialized offering We have educators All right, y'all are educators. I'm not but it's about a perspective of leadership All right. Thank you for your
115interest in the highland school board. May I have a round of applause? All right. Thank you Thank you to all of our candidates for being here this evening special Thank you so much journey for facilitating. We truly appreciate you stepping up So just high level the board plans on Voting the new appointments on march 5th and those selected will be sworn in on march 19th That's the day that they'll be officially starting their their duty The new directors for district 4 and district 5 will serve until the November 2025 election That's when the newly elected members will take their oaths So we want to thank you again so much for your time and your dedication for being here tonight With that said the board is now going to recess into an executive session We do
116not anticipate any action being taken at the end of the executive session So with that board directors, I move that the board immediately recess into exec session for 90 minutes I'm going to go till 8 pm uh in accordance with provisions of rcw 42-30-110 The purpose of this exec session is to evaluate the qualifications of candidates to appointment to elective office Do I have a second? I'll second All in favor. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? We have none. Thank you everybody. Um board directors will go into an executive executive session We're ready Um, so thank you everybody where we are back from our executive session. Do I have a motion to adjourn the meeting? I'll make a motion to adjourn. I'll second that all those in favor. Aye Any opposed None, we are adjourned. Thank you
117everybody for being here this evening Um, thank you