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Boise school trustee candidates make their case for election [The Idaho Statesman :: ]
[August 17, 2014]

Boise school trustee candidates make their case for election [The Idaho Statesman :: ]


(Idaho Statesman (Boise) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Aug. 17--District voters may vote for two out of five candidates for two seats on the board that will have six-year terms. And they will choose between two candidates for a third seat that carries a two-year term.



TWO-YEAR TERM Brian Cronin Age: 43 Family: Married to Veronica (17 years); daughters Kyra and Alana (age 11) Occupation: Marketing and communications consultant, Strategies 360, Idaho Experience: Idaho House of Representatives (2008-2012), serving on the House Education Committee; Rodel Fellow at the Aspen Institute; former classroom teacher (secondary social studies certificate, with a bilingual credential), having taught in urban, suburban, and international schools, including as a volunteer for WorldTeach in Ecuador; owner of Garabatos Spanish Preschool (founded in 2006); served on boards of Idaho Human Rights Education Center, Boise Chamber Small Business Success Center, Boise State Public Radio, Conservation Voters for Idaho; classroom volunteer at Roosevelt Elementary; volunteer soccer coach, Idaho Rush; Commissioner on Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs; graduate of Council of State Government's Western Legislative Academy; founder of four Idaho businesses; writer and editor for education publisher Scholastic, Inc.; Ed.M. Harvard University, B.A. Haverford College What are the top three challenges facing the Boise School District and how would you address them (Please be specific)? Common Core is an opportunity and a challenge, injecting more rigor into the curriculum by asking students to understand not just the what but the why. Boise teachers are up for the challenge, but they require training, resources, and materials aligned with new standards. We need to ensure assessments are not overly burdensome, provide an accurate measure of learning/growth, and are not unfairly weighted. We must give Common Core the time to succeed, fine-tuning teaching & testing; setting proper expectations with stakeholders; and carefully analyzing all data. Second, we need more students to pursue post-secondary education. Boise bests other districts, with 60% of students going on, but more than one-third of our students disadvantage themselves by not going on. Getting more kids into AP classes and the AVID program would further strengthen our college-going culture. Third, the district must maintain focus and funding in the face of stingy state appropriations and ill-conceived state laws that effectively divert resources away from things that we know work. The district can exert its influence and lead by example when it comes to state policy and the ISBA.

What are the significant differences between you and your opponent(s)? Direct, relevant experience in education, a commitment to public service, and proven leadership. As a state representative, I made public education my focus, working to overturn the ill-conceived Luna Laws and expanding the conversation about what real school improvements could look like. I have a master's in education and have taught in a wide variety of settings (urban/suburban/international). I have spent many hours volunteering in my daughters' classrooms at Roosevelt, and have been a volunteer soccer coach for several years. My wife and I founded Garabatos Spanish Preschool (now in its eighth year) and I have a strong interest in early childhood education. I have engaged in many important policy discussions pertaining to public education in Idaho and with my time in the Legislature understand the context in which school boards operate. I have a deep appreciation for the craft that is teaching and the all-too-frequent disconnect between policymakers and those who are in the classroom. In summary, public education has long been a passion of mine and my vocational and avocational pursuits reflect a strong interest and demonstrated commitment to high-quality schools.


Boise School District has expressed concern over the Idaho Core Standards achievement test whose scores in 2015 could be used to assess school and student performance. What, if anything, needs to be done about the test? Change is always uncomfortable. Management of expectations and a public understanding of what those initial results mean is key. The district cannot go too far in over-communicating everything that's happening with CCSS and the SBAC assessments, continuing to hold town-hall meetings and distributing updates to parents. We should create space for questions and dialogue but we must also stand up to the disinformation of political extremists and explain and defend some of the most significant curricular and pedagogical changes in the last 50 years. We should make it clear to all stakeholders that assessment scores will not be used to punish teachers, schools, or students, but rather as a window into how the new curricula and pedagogy are working. Careful analysis of data over several years, as opposed to isolated snapshots in time, will be key to making the SBAC tests useful for teachers and administrators. We also need to ensure that each school has adequate computer resources to conduct the testing. I have heard anecdotally that technology challenges (connectivity, software compatibility, number of available workstations) can and have disrupted the testing process.

Travis Jones Age: 37 Family: Married; one child Occupation Executive Director, Non-Profit Experience: 7 years as administrator of a grassroots non-profit association; 6 years as a policy advisor in U.S. Senate; parent to a 6-year old What are the top three challenges facing the Boise School District and how would you address them (Please be specific)? Community engagement is easily the top issue facing the BSD. The general populace has almost no idea what the District's Board of Trustees is, much less its role and responsibility in the public education of nearly 26,000 children. I was a member of the masses. I am running for the two-year position as a candidate who is not aligned with the education establishment, nor any partisan agenda. I have spent my 14-year career finding ways to engage people from all walks of life to ensure that decisions made and policies implemented are not done so in a bubble. All voices and opinions should be heard when it comes to something as critical as education and ultimately our community's future. It's amazing how easy problems can be solved and creative solutions found when people feel involved and invested in the process.

What are the significant differences between you and your opponent(s)? When the members of the Board of Trustees meet it's akin to seven mirrors sitting around a table. Members are mirror images of each other because they are part of the education industry. I believe that the Board's decisions are too important to let groupthink and tunnel vision impact the education of Boise's children and specifically my son who is entering 1st grade this fall. I have no doubt my opponent is running with good intentions, but his career has revolved around partisan politics. I believe the School Board needs an unbiased representative that will objectively serve the BSD's teachers, employees, parents and most importantly the children.

Boise School District has expressed concern over the Idaho Core Standards achievement test whose scores in 2015 could be used to assess school and student performance. What, if anything, needs to be done about the test? I believe the majority of people agree that having standards whereby student achievement and knowledge can be tested and educational performance evaluated is important. Clearly the U.S. has fallen behind other countries in student performance. Is the SBAC pilot test the answer? A pilot is an experiment. Experiments lead to conclusions, and there's nothing wrong with that. The more important issue facing the District and state is if Common Core is the silver bullet to bolster student achievement. I've talked to teachers who are extremely frustrated with Common Core. Parents too are struggling with it. Like anything, there are pros and cons. I've never been a fan of the "one-size-fits-all" approach to anything, including education. To get the best results from our teachers and children they need flexibility and adequate resources. If elected, I will be a strong proponent on the Board to ensure that the District's limited resources make it to the classroom first, and in facilitating a diverse discussion to hear concerns and ideas related to Common Core and the Idaho Core Standards test.

SIX-YEAR TERM Nancy Gregory Age: 58 Family: My husband, Paul, and I have six children (all Borah graduates) and 17 grandchildren.

Occupation: Homemaker, volunteer advocate, educator Experience: Experienced Trustee, Boise school volunteer since 1990, leader on parent/teacher boards, advocate for children and mentor to parents, served on and chaired many district committees, Elementary Education degree.

What are the top three challenges facing the Boise School District and how would you address them (Please be specific)? Our top three challenges are appropriate funding for public schools, local control at the school board level, and managing growth and change while continuing to sustain an excellent educational system. We must continue to work closely with our leadership team to advocate at the legislature for priority funding for education. We also must clearly communicate with our patrons about how we spend our money so that if we must go to the voters, our need is clear.

Local control is governance closest to the citizens. We can best demonstrate the wisdom of local control by governing wisely and encouraging our patrons to support local control when in contact with their legislators.

The best tool we have for managing growth and change (and strong budget practices) is our strategic plan which focuses and directs our work toward the goal of preparing all students for college, career, and citizenship. We have a history of reaching out to our community on important issues such as facilities, boundaries, and funding challenges. We do our homework and engage the expertise of others when needed. We always ask ourselves, 'What is best for our students?' What are the significant differences between you and your opponent(s)? In the past two years, our board has seated four new trustees. There is an extremely steep learning curve when taking a seat on a school board. My twelve years of experience on the board will be critical in maintaining continuity in an already successful school district. I have a working knowledge of the history of the district, its policies and procedures. That institutional knowledge can be a steady oar in the water as we move forward with our strategic plan.

I am not a single issue candidate. Education is far too complex to view through a single lens. I always try to consider the perspective of all stakeholders while remaining true to our primary charge of educating children every day.

I have also spent a lot of time working with students, teachers and administrators, in classrooms and committee meetings, on field trips, analyzing data, planning programs, listening and speaking to parents and patrons, attending school board training, and warming a seat at games, concerts, and assemblies. I have an appreciation for how board policy influences all parts of education because I have been in the trenches watching it happen.

Boise School District has expressed concern over the Idaho Core Standards achievement test whose scores in 2015 could be used to assess school and student performance. What, if anything, needs to be done about the test? Federal and state regulations require districts to administer an assessment aligned to the Core Standards in grades 3-8 and once in high school. There is comparative value in having a common assessment. Data is used to assess student achievement and improve instruction. Last year, we stated our concerns with the SBAC which were the resources required to administer the full roll out of the tests, conflicts with AP testing, no correlation with college readiness as compared to using the SAT. We are in a wait-and-see position at this point. The SIC superintendents have offered an alternative assessment portfolio option using the 11th grade SAT and the MAP for grades 3-8. In the meantime, we have on-going, content-specific assessments, end-of-course exams, and college entrance exams to determine how our students are doing. I would love to have the flexibility to deal with assessing student and school performance at the local level especially until the dust settles around new ways of teaching and aligning that to how we test. Even the SAT is looking at revising their questions to do just that. So it might make sense to do the same.

John Hruby Age: 47 Family: Wife (Stefanie); 4 children (Courtney, Megan, Grant, Ben) Occupation: President, Soar USA (an independent consulting firm focused on strategy & business development in government/defense markets) Experience: 25 years as a husband; 24 years as a father; 21 years service to our country as an Air Force Colonel and fighter pilot; 4 years as President, Soar USA; 3 x Masters degrees; 1 x Bachelors degree; and A desire to serve our community as Boise School Board Trustee What are the top three challenges facing the Boise School District and how would you address them (Please be specific)? Three of my children graduated from Boise schools, and the youngest is entering 10th grade. My oldest is now a junior high school teacher in the district. Their experiences along with experience as a parent frame my view of the challenges faced by the Boise School District.

1) Teacher Compensation: Of utmost priority is creating a fair, balanced system ensuring Boise teachers are the best compensated in Idaho. We must attract the best and brightest teachers making sure they are rewarded for great work.

2) Transparency and Accountability: Taxpayers entrust the Boise School Board with upwards of $200 million per year, and there must be a better understanding of how that money is spent.

3) Active Engagement: The Board and administration must be as active in the community as are the local schools. Collectively, the Board and administration can do more to help parents and the public be part of the Boise School District.

What are the significant differences between you and your opponent(s)? Throughout my professional career as an Air Force officer and now as a business owner, I have managed multi-million dollar budgets and led people with differing perspectives to accomplish shared goals under ever-increasing constraints. These leadership opportunities and a diverse educational background have given me unique insights and make me well prepared to serve our community. My experiences have taught me that leadership is ultimately about service; this means I will actively build relationships and work to help parents, teachers and administrators collaborate toward the best interest of Boise students.

Boise School District has expressed concern over the Idaho Core Standards achievement test whose scores in 2015 could be used to assess school and student performance. What, if anything, needs to be done about the test? I agree with concerns about the test, and those concerns speak to larger issues with Common Core. Like every parent, I want my children held to high standards and want to know if their schools are not able to help all students meet those standards. We also need to provide teachers the training and funding required to best prepare students. And, we must ensure local school districts have a say in the process so they can avoid being forced to "teach to a test". I believe we can overcome these challenges and address concerns about the Common Core assessment by engaging teachers and parents, using their feedback to help the state better develop, implement and monitor standards achievement.

Doug Park Age: 63 Family: Married to Cynthia for 40 years, and two children both graduates of Boise High School -- Nick and Emily Occupation: Consultant who helps companies and groups manage change Experience: For most of my forty-year career, I have worked as a team member in the specialty of change management. Guiding and advising teams and individuals through changes in technology, changes in customer expectations, and changes necessary to create success in a competitive marketplace. For half of that career, I worked for companies in a variety of capacities at every level. My first assignment with GM in 1969 was a supervisor on the assembly line, which led me to receive the education necessary for my next job, as a plant wide change advisor. My last few jobs involved HR and the Quality-Six Sigma-Lean (eliminating waste and improving focus). During the last half of my career, I owned my own business as a change adviser. I worked with organizations on change management specializing in facilitating strategic planning, integration of new technology, team building, and executive coaching. My clients have included organizations from distribution, manufacturing, service, education, health care, and religion. In addition to my time on the Boise School District's Board of Trustees, I have been an active volunteer for the District since 1993.

What are the top three challenges facing the Boise School District and how would you address them (Please be specific)? Promoting Strategic Visioning – Anticipate challenges facing our graduates: A) Continue to listen to parents, teachers, administrators, and employers. B) Anticipate the challenges our graduates will face as they work to become economically viable citizens. Allow this vision to influence our evolving standards and curriculum. C) Advance the use of data to improve strategic implementation and student achievement. D) Ensure transparency of budgeting and spending to maximize the use of funds. E) Continue to recognize, support, and celebrate the remarkable results achieved by our students, teachers, and administrators. -- Improving Focus – adjust our strategic initiatives to market conditions: A) Drive changes to improve student success in a rapidly changing market for jobs that lead to economic independence. B) Allocate scare resources to programs critical to improving student achievement. -- Improving Governance – continuously improve our level performance and the level of trust with stakeholders: A) Ensure BSD polices aligned to the district's strategy. B) Balance the fairness and consistency of policy application. C) Influence legislation to improve local control.

What are the significant differences between you and your opponent(s)? I know Nancy Gregory. I look forward to meeting the other candidates during the campaign. At this time, I can only project a few possible differences. The first relates to my two decades of experience in promoting improvement in education, the second is my change management talent set and lastly my general business experience.

I believe that lifelong learning is a foundational principle. In an ever-changing economy (global, national, regional and local), the services and products demanded by customers require all employees expand their talent to remain valued contributors. Getting a job and keeping a job will require improvements in education offered at all levels of education.

As a parent, I am excited that my kids will be learning things today that I never dreamed of when I was their age. While we celebrate the extraordinary improvements in student achievement, we need to prepare for new challenges that our future graduates will face.

My business experience provides a valuable backdrop for our efforts to continuously improve education. The foundation our teachers and administrators provide has been and will continue to be a great source of pride.

Boise School District has expressed concern over the Idaho Core Standards achievement test whose scores in 2015 could be used to assess school and student performance. What, if anything, needs to be done about the test? The concerns regarding the SBAC model relate to increased costs for SBAC testing, SBAC requires approximately twice the time as our current model resulting in time taken away from instruction, and lastly the reduction of computer availability for students with all computers being devoted to testing during the SBAC window.

The Superintendents of the Southern Idaho Conference recommend: A) Postpone administration of the SBAC so that an analysis may be made of the effectiveness and efficiency of the exam. Involve school district personnel on a regular basis in this analysis and B) In the interim, adopt the NWEA MAP tests in grades 3-8, and the grade 11 SAT as measures of the progress.

Boise District Direct to College rates has increased from 53% to 60% since 2007. The current testing models are working. The SAT evolves as admission standards evolve. Testing time should not exceed the standard provided by SAT.

Links provide additional information: SAT: http://school.boiseschools.org/modules/groups/homepagefiles/cms/2386916/File/Statistics/sat_report.pdf AP Participation: http://school.boiseschools.org/modules/groups/homepagefiles/cms/2386916/File/Statistics/ap_program.pdf Anthony Shallat Age: 26 Family: Single Occupation: Attorney, pending passage of bar exam; political consultant Experience: Regional Field Director, Walt Minnick for Congress; Associate, Winning Connections; Campaign Manager, Drews for Idaho; Policy Aide, Idaho House Minority Caucuses; Legal Contactor/Clerk, Angstman Johnson and Associates What are the top three challenges facing the Boise School District and how would you address them (Please be specific)? 1 and 2. State appropriations. This should be the first and second priority for anyone with a vested interest in improving our state. The State of Idaho has consistently failed to provide our district and other districts with the appropriate funds to adequately run our schools. Consequently, the Boise School District has had to rely on voter passed levies to keep up with building maintenance and ensure that class sizes don't increase. Continually burdening our local residents is unsustainable. Change starts at the top of our state government and tickles down. As a Boise School Board Trustee, I will work with those in our statehouse who have a genuine desire in seeing our district succeed. Furthermore, I will actively support political candidates who will responsibly reinvest tax-payer dollars back into our educational system.

3. Its crucial we ensure our teachers and educators earn a living wage. To keep good educators around, we must keep providing our educators a good salary. This will be a priority of mine as a Trustee.

What are the significant differences between you and your opponent(s)? First, I have strong ties to the district and a genuine desire in seeing it succeed. I was born and raised in Boise and am a graduate of the Boise School system (Boise High, 06). I come from a family of educators: my father has taught at Boise State for 30 years; my mother has been an educator with the Boise School District for 20 years. I had great teachers growing up, and want to provide future Boise School students with the same opportunities that I have been given. Second, I will stand up to anti-teacher legislation. The Luna Laws were a dangerous encroachment on teacher rights. I have been an outspoken critic of the Luna Laws (https://thebluereview.org/teacher-beef). As a Trustee, I will be a strong advocate for our educators. Third, my experience. I have spent over ten years working for elected officials ranging from local legislators to U.S. Senators. This experience has given me a firsthand education on the difference between good and bad policy. Good policy is crafted with input from all the stakeholders. Bad policy is railroaded through by a slim majority. Its important that we elect Trustees who understand politics and how to pass good policy.

Boise School District has expressed concern over the Idaho Core Standards achievement test whose scores in 2015 could be used to assess school and student performance. What, if anything, needs to be done about the test? I believe the curriculum associated with Common Core/Idaho Core Standards will help prepare our students for whatever challenges they may face after high school. However, the administration of the SBAC (Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium) can be very time consuming. I have two suggestions to streamline this process while still evaluating our students. First, schools can use the 11th grade SAT exam instead of SBAC. Since 11th grade students are already required to take the SAT, and these scores are a reliable predictors of student's success in college readiness, dropping the SBAC for juniors will free up instructional time. Second, for pre-high school students, we should look into implementing the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test. These tests take approximately 4 hours per student and also provides specific feedback about student growth. Ultimately, it will take some time to work the kinks out of the test but it should eventually give us important information about how our students in the Boise School District are performing compared to other students in Idaho and across the country.

Grant Walden Age: 48 Family: Married with 1 Daughter Occupation: Financial Analyst Experience: Over 20 year working in Accounting and Finance with large and small companies in Boise What are the top three challenges facing the Boise School District and how would you address them (Please be specific)? 1.)Board Input -- Given the changes occurring education, i.e., common core, the district math initiative and budgets', the Board's responsibility is to ensure that the teachers receive the best training, support and funding so our students can be successfully navigate their requirements. The Board needs to hear more input at least each quarter from our parents and teachers. Each School Board meeting should allow public input on the agenda items. The board must take hands on role to meet these goals.

2.)District Budget and Finances -- The Board has a $240 million dollar budget to serve its 26,000 students. The Boise School are very fortunate that they have this type of funding but it needs to be used wisely managed so that out teachers and in-school administration have the resources they need to address all the student's needs in a more hands on manner. I want to be part of an active board that ensures our schools are adequately funded.

3.)Equal Representation -- The Boise School district cover a very large land mass. We need to have representation from all corners so that we can get input from all areas. One way to do this is to have Board meetings in each quadrant regularly.

What are the significant differences between you and your opponent(s)? I am the father of a daughter at Fairmont Junior High. I have no prior contact or relationships with the present administration. I know that I am a person that is not using this position as a steppingstone for other elected positions. I just want to serve the patrons of the district, not just sit at meetings.

Boise School District has expressed concern over the Idaho Core Standards achievement test whose scores in 2015 could be used to assess school and student performance. What, if anything, needs to be done about the test? Common core standards are federal law which Boise public schools must work within. The prior Boise school board voted to support these standards. I am aware of the many criticizers of the Common Core that the district should try to address these to provide resources to our teachers, students and school administrators. If these are changes that can be made to the Idaho Core Standards achievement test to make it a better indicator of performance, the district should take those steps and work with the Idaho Department of Education to address this issue proactivity.

Bill Roberts: 377-6408,Twitter: @IDS_BillRoberts ___ (c)2014 The Idaho Statesman (Boise, Idaho) Visit The Idaho Statesman (Boise, Idaho) at www.idahostatesman.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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