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Name: Daniel Torunian
Age: 63Â
Occupation: Retired, Charity Leader & Community Advocate
Years residing in the zone: Three years
Key endorsements: San Mateo Republican Party, College Republicans, Mid-Peninsula Republican Women’s Federation, California Republican Association, Knights of Columbus (Belmont). Pending: Mom’s For America Action, San Mateo County Association of Realtors
Campaign website: Dan4SUHSD.comÂ
Questions:
1. What makes you the best candidate and what relevant experience do you bring?
The combination of being a proven business leader coupled with the work that I have done in the community, both leading a charity that assists inmates and also as a member of the Redwood City Police Advisory Committee provides me with a unique perspective and skill set that I would like to apply to helping our next generation of students succeed in this ever-changing and complex world.
2. What would be your top three priorities as a board member?
1. Ensuring that our curriculum is robust and is geared to preparing our students for the future.
2. Ensure decisions are made in a consistent, timely and data driven manner.
3. As a board, that we operate with accountability, integrity and transparency and always with the student’s best interest in mind.
3. What are some of the greatest challenges facing the district? What unique challenges is your trustee area facing?
• Ongoing debate over de-tracking
• School safety & student mental health
• Curriculum consistency across the district
• Earning and maintaining parent trust
• Declining enrollment and graduation rate disparity
4. What class offerings or programs should the district consider adding?
Broader offerings in the technology, bio-tech and sustainability; complimented by real world business skills such as: critical or strategic thinking, financial management, communication, leadership and team management; no one should feel pressured to attend four-year college.
For example, Intuit for Education utilizes real-world tools such as Turbo Tax, Credit Karma, QuickBooks, and MailChimp to give students the ability to apply what they have learned to real-life scenarios such a building a budget, filing taxes, paying for college or starting a small business, these are real-life survival skills that our students must be prepared for.
Teenagers across the country are struggling with mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. How should the districts be addressing mental health in schools?
Ensure that we have trained counselors who are equipped to deal with these issues and that we have trust and cooperation between teachers and parents so that issues are handled with transparency. Provide mental health and social skills education. Currently Life Skills is an introductory, quarter-long course that covers mental, emotional, social, personal, community health, and substance abuse. This is offered in the ninth grade which is great, however the pressures of college applications, rejections and determining the right next step for a 17- or 18-year-old student who may or may not have support at home is by far the most challenging and stressful phase of high school. I would like to see full start of high school to graduation curriculum that takes these specific challenges into account.
6. What sets you apart from your opponents?
My extensive experience as a technology leader, problem solver and collaborator. I am not bound by any prior bias or influence. I am approaching this opportunity as an outsider who looks to bring a pragmatic and data driven approach to solving the problems facing our district. I am the only candidate that has experience in budget management (numbers with a B in front of them), prioritization of funds appropriation and setting stakeholder expectations.
7. What is the most important issue the district is facing in the next five years and how will you address it?
No one can predict the future, but I do think it’s worth noting that we live in one of the most expensive counties in the country, which can potentially lead to a wider-economic divide. How do we ensure that our school district in the form of curriculum and services helps to narrow that divide as opposed unintentionally exacerbating it. I would take a data driven approach to solving the educational equity divide:
â–ª Review student performance data across multi-dimensions to identify gaps and area of improvement
â–ª Review for discrepancies in access and obtainment of advanced course work, activities, and resources
â–ª Develop action plans to address gaps
8. What could the current school board be doing better?
It’s difficult to comment as an outsider to the school board, but we should never stop working to improve our district; while recognizing that all students learn at different levels and speeds. We can’t take a binary approach and must recognize the diversity of our students and variance in cultural norms.
9. Anything else you would like to add?
Another area where I would like to focus my time if elected is teacher compensation and potentially creating housing subsidies to allow teachers to live in the community where they teach is something that we should also look at. As well as providing opportunity for professional development, especially around technology and dealing with student’s diverse needs.
