The state pushes back on school board authority and local control

Joshua: I was sworn in on Nov. 7, 2022, so it’s early in my first term. I was inspired to run by my dad — he’s served on the county board for five years and in that time, he’s helped special education, set up mental health care and social-emotional learning; it’s beautiful. I was also inspired to run by Marco Amaral, a socialist special education teacher and trustee from San Diego who ran for California State Superintendent of Public Instruction in the 2022 primary and got 10 percent of the vote. His platform was very inspiring, empowering and just spot-on.

What is one major concern you hope to address as a board member?
Joshua: Equity — everyone getting what they need in order to be successful, rather than everyone getting the same cookie-cutter thing, so that quality education can be a right for real and not just on paper. I think every student should have an individualized education program (IEP) not just disabled students.

Robert: The principal problem with the education system today is that we tend to attempt to homogenize student achievement. Cookie-cutter educational policies create a culture where some students excel, while other students get abandoned. I hope that the policies I help develop prevent any student from being abandoned.

Who inspired you growing up?
Robert: My mom, who dropped out of high school in the ninth grade, then insisted that all of her children stay in school until they received their high school diploma. She taught me that the most important lessons in life do not come from books, but from experience. My parents were both avid readers, and I learned early on that a book could take me places that I could barely imagine on my own.

Joshua: My mom, Lillian, who not only taught me how to get at the root of politics (John Lennon did that too) but struggles with complex post-traumatic stress disorder and told me not to let anybody tell me they’re better than me, or bully me, or push me around. She has helped me through some really rough times.

What are some unique challenges rural districts face and how are your boards working to address these challenges?
Robert: Access to the internet is a big challenge in rural areas. Shasta County Office of Education is part of the California High Speed Network program. The state supplies us with a very fast connection to the internet to our building free of charge. We are, in turn, responsible to staff and purchase the equipment that can then make the internet connection available to all of our districts. We also provide internet filtering and these districts pay a fee to help offset the cost of the equipment and staffing. We currently have all of our districts in the county connected to the internet through our office. That is a program that SCOE can take on that a small rural district cannot afford. We are pleased to be able to provide this service to our rural districts.

How have your experiences as a student receiving special education services, and a parent of a student, influenced how you think about education policy?
Joshua: It’s pretty much influenced my entire outlook. For starters, as an autistic student, I had an IEP. For example, I needed social-emotional learning that I didn’t get in order to be able to be in the classroom — and as a result of not getting it, I’m struggling to socialize today, just like then. We also need to grade for equity. Every student is different and unique, and they should be able to engage with education in any way they see fit — they are not a cog in the machine.

Robert: We don’t have room in this magazine for the complete answer to that question. The short answer is that I don’t expect that the system will always work in favor of the student, parent or family. My goal is for the SCOE board to help schools understand their role in helping families create a culture of learning for their kids and adopt policies that recognize that we must help them address Maslow [hierarchy of needs] barriers before we can employ Bloom educational objectives. Grading for equity, social-emotional learning and mental health programs are essential to that process.

What are some promising practices taking place in your district?
Joshua: My dad’s work on the county office of education board has made community schooling Shasta County’s signature accomplishment, but for my own one-school district, I am quite proud of the progress we’ve made since I went to school there. We now have social-emotional learning practices where kids are making friends and talking out their feelings, which makes learning possible. We recently hired a new, extremely qualified second-grade teacher, recruited a special education teacher and a new librarian — we’re very well staffed.