Who is running for the Natomas Unified School Board in the November election

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Area 1

Megan Allen

Megan4Schools.com

relative

Political support:

Sacramento Police Association and other groups

What makes you a qualified candidate for the school board?

As an active parent of a child with special needs, I know the importance of being an advocate for all students and all families. I have first-hand experience navigating our school system and know the challenges faced by parents, students, and teachers.

Why are you running?

I care about the families in our community and want the children to get the best education possible. As a member of your board of trustees, I will work with the community to ensure that all students can achieve academic success, promote safe and secure schools, and build better district-community relationships.

What are your thoughts on issues of race and equity?

As the mother of a biracial child, I will ensure that district learning resources are distributed to all students in a fair, balanced, and equitable manner. I want to include all stakeholders in decision making and problem solving.

Another top priority for me is safety and mental health. I will call for a comprehensive review of school safety plans and advocate for increased funding for additional social workers and counsellors. Our school community should be a safe and welcoming place where families, students and teachers can thrive.

How do you plan to close the achievement gap?

I want to ensure that every child is college and career ready through academic success and promote a rigorous curriculum that inspires our students to be creative. As the mother of a student with special needs, I want to ensure that children who follow individual education plans are fully supported and have the resources to succeed.

Noel Mora

Noel4Schools.org

Student Personnel Service

Political support:

Stonewall Democrats of Greater Sacramento and other groups

What makes you a qualified candidate for the school board?

I have a combination of lived experience, work experience, and community leadership that makes me qualified and prepared to be our next school counselor. I will be the first certified administrator in our district. I currently work in higher education at Sacramento State. I first worked indirectly supporting students at one of our equity centers, and now I support student community engagement.

I am also very involved in our neighborhood and have successfully recruited many other residents to participate in local engagement. I’m the vice president of the Natomas Community Association and serve on the boards of the YMCA Superior California and the Stonewall Foundation of Greater Sacramento. I am also a member of the Measure U Community Advisory Board for the City of Sacramento, where I represent youth-serving organizations.

Why are you running?

I am running for the Natomas School Board to ensure that students, parents, teachers, and the communities surrounding our schools are all served fairly and responsively. I plan to focus on student well-being and school safety, equitable support for improving literacy and math skills, and strengthening our pathways to college and career opportunities for students.

I intend to maintain high standards of representation during my tenure by being accessible, listening to different viewpoints, and more. I also intend to be the school board member that I once needed and our students need now.

What are your thoughts on issues of race and equity?

One of my priorities is equitable return to learning, which means we need to recognize that different populations of students will need different types of support. This academic support is a factor that will lead us towards greater equity.

Other factors I would consider include reviewing disproportionate rates of suspension and other punitive measures for students of color, inclusiveness of parent engagement at school meetings (availability and use of language translation services ) and achievement of students, especially those of color, who also hold other identities (i.e., disabled, special education, gender, or LGBTQ).

How do you plan to close the achievement gap?

I plan to work closely with staff and educators in our district to stay informed about the data, solicit student stories for better results, and ensure parents and guardians can commit to helping their students. to success.

To effectively address literacy and math gaps, we again need to recognize that support differs across student populations. The new dual immersion school in our district is a great addition and will provide more targeted support for our English learners. We need similar resources and services that will more directly help our diverse student populations.


Area 4

Cindy Quiralte

Cindy4Natomas.org

Family Engagement Coordinator, Parent

Political support:

Stonewall Democrats of Greater Sacramento and other groups

What makes you a qualified candidate for the school board?

I bring demonstrated leadership and experience and first-hand experience leading statewide youth-focused initiatives to the California Department of Education. I am also a member of the Education Justice Academy, which trains prospective school board members to make effective decisions based on data and fairness.

Why are you running?

I am passionate about public service and giving back to the community.

What are your thoughts on issues of race and equity?

I intentionally focus my platform on issues of equitable learning outcomes and family engagement to ensure that all students receive the equity supports needed to reach their full potential.

How do you plan to close the achievement gap?

I plan to meet with district and community members to better understand current issues to help create a strong sense of unity to support students and families. I intentionally examine the disparities that exist and target specific programs and interventions to ensure equitable learning outcomes for all students.

Monique Hokmann

MoniqueHokman.com

Business owner, parent

Political support:

Sacramento Police Association and other groups

What makes you a qualified candidate for the school board?

What makes me a qualified candidate for the school board is my ability to listen and solve problems. I have a family of five and the hardest but most important attributes to teach children are patience, empathy and compromise. It is my desire to help restore communication between our community and our Board of Directors so that we can begin to implement these traits again in our community.

I live in Natomas and have been an active member of our community for seven years. During that time, I got to know a lot of our community through my child’s sports, church, and talking to other parents in the district. It’s a benefit to our community to have someone who represents them and who is vested in that community.

Why are you running?

I am running for Administration Area 4 to ensure that parents, students and families have a real voice on the board in addressing learning disruptions and implementing strategies that prepare students for college and various careers. I will also focus on closing the achievement gap and the gaps that prevent students from doing well on standardized tests.

What are your thoughts on issues of race and equity?

Every child deserves a plan to help them succeed academically. The more support we can provide to our educators, the more our children will succeed. I will increase communication between students, parents and board members and ensure that we have diverse stakeholders. My goal is to come to the school board as a spokesperson for our community, our families and our children. I have no other political aspirations.

Many of our children struggle academically and emotionally and I believe the best way to help them through these difficult times is to start working together. We need to teach our children, by example, that when we work together, rather than fight, it brings healing back to our community. We need to start focusing on what is really important, which is the education and well-being of our children.

How do you plan to close the achievement gap?

Teachers need more support. We must recognize that the pandemic has been difficult for students and teachers. I will fight for more teacher professional development to ensure that there are clear and available promotion paths for those wishing to progress.

Srishti Prabha is an education journalist and a Report For America fellow with CapRadio and The Sacramento Observer. Their focus is K-12 education in black communities in Sacramento.

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