a conversation with…
CSBA President Dr. Bettye Lusk
From a segregated one-room schoolhouse in the Deep South to the president of one of California’s largest educational organizations, Bettye Lusk’s life has been shaped by her commitment to serve. A former teacher and administrator in the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District (MPUSD), Lusk continued to contribute to the district and community following retirement through her 18 years as a board member. In addition to serving her community, Lusk has volunteered around the world.
a conversation with…
CSBA President Dr. Bettye Lusk
From a segregated one-room schoolhouse in the Deep South to the president of one of California’s largest educational organizations, Bettye Lusk’s life has been shaped by her commitment to serve. A former teacher and administrator in the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District (MPUSD), Lusk continued to contribute to the district and community following retirement through her 18 years as a board member. In addition to serving her community, Lusk has volunteered around the world.
My journey began in a little country town in Arkansas with 200 people. I had my daily walk down that little dusty road to that one-room schoolhouse with and one teacher — and she was phenomenal. That community gave me what I needed as a little country girl to believe that I could be more than I was.
Can you tell us a little about your background, including how long you have been a board member, your own K-12 education and professional experience?
My journey began in a little country town in Arkansas with 200 people. I had my daily walk down that little dusty road to that one-room schoolhouse with and one teacher — and she was phenomenal. That community gave me what I needed as a little country girl to believe that I could be more than I was. When I left that one-room schoolhouse, I went to another segregated school 14 miles away in Arkadelphia, Peake High School. I had this great English teacher, Mrs. Cobb, who poured into me a belief that I could be anything that I wanted to, then she mandated that I gain the skills to make that belief a reality. I went to college at Philander Smith Historical Black College, and I joined Deltas because they were a public service sorority whose mission was scholarship, service and sisterhood.
Professionally, my K-12 experience began as a third-grade teacher at Marina Vista Elementary School in MPUSD. I got my master’s in counseling and that took me to the high school level to become dean of students and eventually principal of Seaside High. [After retirement], I was asked by a group of community members to run for school board because they felt the expertise that I could bring to the board would benefit the district as a whole.
Why did you become active in CSBA and why would you encourage board members to get more involved with the association?
I’ve been a board member for 18 years and active in CSBA for 15. I was appointed as a Delegate by my Region 9 Director. I continue to serve at this level because I could see the impact that this organization was making in Monterey County, and Santa Cruz and San Benito counties — the counties within Region 9. One of the things that really caused me to campaign for Director at-Large was the fact that the voices of African American students were kind of silent. And I wanted to give them a voice, specifically to the trustees that were making decisions about what African American students needed. Working with the other Directors at-Large, we began to unify and really look at the commonalities that we all were dealing with. That allowed us to begin to create a plan to inform other board members of the importance of knowing the specific needs of our diverse student groups.
CSBA has helped my board become a better governance team. CSBA has been an intricate part of truly defining our roles, giving us a deeper understanding of what we need to gain as far as skills that will enable us to be the best decision-makers within our districts and our community and our counties. And today, we are great. We are not just good, we are great because of what I just described.
What do you see as the most significant challenges schools are facing regarding providing an equitable education to all students?
The first thing we can do is hire teachers that look like our student body. Then train those teachers so they can work with our diverse students. We must look at how children learn. Student achievement is an area that I really want to look deeper into. Why are African American students, Asian students, Hispanic students not learning at the same pace? There are resources and programs that will support the different learning styles of our diverse student populations. And using those programs, like tutoring, to start leveling the playing field. Everybody should be at the same level by the time they enter third grade, because that’s where the school-to-prison pipeline starts. How do I know that? Because I worked in the prison system. I learned from those young inmates what they didn’t receive, what really caused them to fail. And I use that knowledge to assist my board in making better decisions.
How have your experiences as a teacher and counselor in public schools influenced your governance perspective?
Seaside High School was an underperforming school when I started as principal. We received a grant from the state to look at the lack of instruction that was happening at the school. I engaged stakeholders from the community to sit at the table and look at what wasn’t happening at Seaside High. We looked at our curriculum, looked at the lack of qualified staff and brought all the resources together. After five years, we shifted from the underperforming school to the school that received a six-year accreditation from the Western Association of Colleges. So, that journey allowed building relationships with the staff, raising the standards, believing that every child could learn, and then putting in place those interventions that enable those children to learn — and really what changed was the climate of the school.
My experiences have enabled me to truly understand what teachers are feeling, what parents need, and what instructional leaders really need, with confidence. That knowledge allows me to contribute to decisions that will provide every opportunity for stakeholders, to really know that their voice is important to the decision-making of our district. All of my experience has enabled me to be a more knowledgeable and understanding trustee so that I can meet the needs of everyone that I am serving.
What are some of the most rewarding experiences you have had as a board member?
Being a board member enabled me to really listen to the community’s need for a local high school that their elementary and middle school could feed into. The board met with the community and crafted a plan to turn one of the elementary schools into a reimagined high school. Another celebration is the passage of three bonds, resulting in about $540 million to modernize our district. All of our buildings were just so old. We hired a phenomenal superintendent who has been there for 10 years. And in that 10-year period, I have been a part of reimagining MPUSD’s secondary levels.
As a veteran board member, what advice would you give to new or aspiring board members?
I would stress a thorough onboarding process for our new board members, inclusive of all the facts about the district or county that they are going to serve. I would focus on the importance of preparation — really spending time learning the policies and the protocols. It’s very important to realize that we are a team, and that one voice is not any more important than the other. We only have one voice as a team. Another piece [of advice] is that we are not the staff. We don’t do the work. We don’t boss — we stay in our lane. I’m going to put it like that. It’s important to stay in our lane and to know that we set the direction, but we don’t do the work. And lastly, it’s important not to overcommit. Sometimes you have to carve out the time to rest so that you can be efficient and effective at the board table.