Voter Guide: High school district -- Incumbents seek four more years Voter Guide: High school district -- Incumbents seek four more years (October 26, 2005)

By David Boyce

Almanac Staff Writer

Facing sanctions under the No Child Left Behind Act, in part because of lagging performance on standardized tests by some students, is one of the top challenges facing the Sequoia Union High School District and its five-member Board of Trustees.

In the November election, two board seats are open and three candidates are running: incumbent and board president Gordon Lewin for his second term, incumbent Sarah D. "Sally" Stewart for her sixth, and Menlo Park resident Noria Zasslow.

The incumbents gave their views for this article.

Ms. Zasslow did not respond to interview requests. On the smartvoter.org Web site, she lists these items as her top priorities: improve all students' performance, including learning disabled students; support teachers with aides and supplies; and financial accountability and transparency.

The district includes Woodside and Menlo-Atherton high schools.
Getting kids ready

Every year, M-A and Woodside high schools have substantial numbers of incoming freshmen from the Ravenswood and Redwood City school districts who need help preparing for high school level work. Woodside Principal Linda Common estimated that 70 percent of freshmen needed such help in recent years, and similar figures were reported for M-A.

Mr. Lewin said the Sequoia district should take steps to inform parents that success in elementary and middle school is crucial to success in the increasingly demanding environment of high school.

One way this can be done, he said, is through the adult school in Redwood City, which offers bilingual parent education classes. The district needs to have that presence in East Palo Alto as well, he said.

Middle-school students "live a very insular life," said Mr. Lewin. They need to visit high schools more to sense the excitement and hard work ahead of them, he said.

The district needs to create "a virtual K-12 district" so middle school and high school teachers can collaborate more, he said.

Ms. Stewart said the district should assess students in ways other than standardized tests, encourage students to become more enthusiastic about their own education, and consider alternative ways for them to earn academic credits.

Comprehensive high schools, though fine for some students, tend to be too big to allow meaningful relationships between student and teacher, said Ms. Stewart. She advocates smaller schools, which she said would allow student and teacher to better respond to the complexities of becoming educated.
Learning from others

Sequoia district superintendent Patrick Gemma has called Summit Preparatory High School in Redwood City "a jewel."

The three-year-old public charter high school has a demographic profile much like the district, but in the most recent academic rankings published by the state, Summit is first among high schools in the county. Are there lessons for the district from Summit?

It's not quite fair to compare Summit to a comprehensive high school, said Mr. Lewin, given that students who have not completed eighth-grade algebra and who want to attend Summit must complete algebra in summer school over two years. Such requirements create a self-selected pool of "hard-working students," he said.

But he did praise Summit for its "personalization."

"Teens need to feel there is a teacher at school who knows who they are, has high expectations for them, and believes they can succeed," he said.

Ms. Stewart points to Summit's structured use of time as critical, including its allotment of 38 days per school year for teachers' professional development and a personalized learning plan for each student that includes parent and guardian participation.
Sarah D. "Sally" Stewart

Profession: Educational consultant

Experience: Board member, Sequoia Union High School district, 1983-present, two terms as board president; educational consulting, 1985-present; past president, California School Boards Association; former chair, state Commission of Teacher Credentialing; co-founder, EdSource.

Education: Stanford, Ph.D., medical microbiology; Smith College, AB, bacteriology.

Age: 73
Gordon Lewin

Profession: Urban planner Experience: Current board president, Sequoia Union High School District; steering committee member of "Peninsula Schools" coalition which helped save basic-aid school funding; steering committee member of Yes on Measure H, the high school construction bond. Education: M.S. in engineering/urban planning, Stanford University; B.A. with honors in urban studies, Earlham College. Age: 53
Noria Zasslow

Profession: Translator/mother Note: Ms. Zasslow did not provide other biographical information.

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