Natomas School Board Race: Top Priority

STAFF REPORT
THE NATOMAS BUZZ | @natomasbuzz

FOURTH IN A SERIES

We invited the FOUR candidates running for Natomas Unified school board to answer questions submitted by readers. Today’s question asked:

“If elected to the school board, what would be your first priority in office and what policy would you like to overturn or put in place to focus on this priority?”

Noel Mora

NOEL MORA

There are a few priorities that I would need to focus on first. We need to equitably improve learning recovery across all student populations, and we do that by strengthening key resources like our virtual learning academy and tutoring, by taking the time to look at best practices for direct academic support and intervention across school sites, and by investing in language access for inclusive parent engagement (so that more parents can be directly engaged in helping their student). We also need to ensure student well-being and therefore safety, by continuing to build sustainable access to mental health counselors, social workers, and finding other ways to connect students and families to these services by working with the county and other partners. It is also critical that we strengthen our paths to college and to trade careers, so that Natomas’ students are ready to succeed upon graduating from our schools.

Megan Allen

MEGAN ALLEN

My first priority would be to address the learning recovery of our Natomas students. I will ensure that all students have access to in-person tutoring to help bring them up to grade level. I will expand virtual tutoring to families that desire that tutoring method.

Monique Hokman

MONIQUE HOKMAN

Priority number one is combatting learning disruption. I will push to expand NUSD’s in-house tutoring services and credit recovery programs to assist students and families that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. The district should also partner with community-based organizations to provide supplemental educational service support in the form of after-school programs and other mentorship programs that are in alignment with district goals.

Cindy Quiralte

CINDY QUIRALTE

My first priority if elected to office is focus on the Learning Recovery Intervention Guide the district recently released that helps parents navigate the academic needs of their child and ensuring the guide is readily understood to help families have conversations with staff about the types of interventions their student might need. The guide has great potential to accelerate learning for all of our students and empowering families to be partners in the process.