Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1035650
JEREMY KHALAF Westminster Teachers Association (WTA); eighth year of teaching high school; currently teaches Chemistry/AP Chemistry in Garden Grove Unified School District. What: Candidate for school board trustee, Area 5, of the West- minster School District; endorsed by WTA. Why: "As parent to two young children and a public school teacher, I feel responsible to be the voice of parents and teachers to champion decisions that will be in the best interest of our students and our schools. I real- ized I needed to run while attending an information night at an elementary school in the district. Both teachers and parents voiced similar frustrations with the current school board leadership. Fiscally harmful decisions, a lack of transparency, even indecency toward community members at board meetings, were included in the alleged offenses." How: "I am campaigning primarily by going door-to- door and through social media (facebook.com/ JeremyWSD18). I receive tremendous support and guidance from WTA, which represents the 500- plus Westminster teachers in the district. These teachers go door-to-door, pass out flyers, put up signs and support my campaign on their own time outside of the classroom. WTA has coordinated support from CTA and our local CTA political sup- port person. It has also applied for ABC funds on behalf of endorsed candidates: myself (Area 5) and Virginia Torres (Area 2)." DIANNE JONES Fremont Unified District Teachers Association (FUDTA); substitute teacher in Fremont Unified School District for over two years; has served in local PTA leadership and on several FUSD committees. What: First-time candidate for Fremont Unified School Board; endorsed by FUDTA. Why: " The most positive impact I can have is serving on the school board, providing leadership and making policy decisions that positively impact our stu- dents, educators and support staff. I decided it was time after watching our current board make several decisions that disregarded years of work and recommendation from our pro- fessionals and educators. I fear these decisions will widen the achievement gap. "As a trustee, I will work to provide state-of-the-art facilities; highly qualified educators and support staff who can afford to live in the community and whose expertise is valued; and safe and inclusive schools." How: "I've been meeting with district stakeholders to learn about the experiences of our educators, students and families. I have held several meet-and-greet events, attended candidate forums, knocked on doors, and made phone calls. "I'm honored to have Sherea Westra, a former FUDTA president and Fremont teacher of the year, serve as my campaign manager. FUDTA is supporting my campaign and helping to engage community members by dis- tributing literature, sharing my vision, phone banking, writing op-eds and letters, and walking precincts." How: "FTA has assisted in putting up signs and banners and sending out e-mails. FTA teachers walked Main Street in Fallbrook and asked local businesses to post our campaign signs in their windows. We have reached out to retired teachers for support and they have been awesome. I've been involved in many Fallbrook community groups, trails council, park boards and clubs, and many of these groups are giving support and helping to spread the word. I also knew that I could not make changes on the school board by myself so I have teamed up with two other like-minded candidates and we are running as a block. We call ourselves the ' Terrific Trio.'" 37 O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 018 Jones Khalaf Tabish