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(Source: http://www.jose4redclay.com/)
The following response was sent to our survey. The questions have been edited in for clarity:
Hello -- Here are my responses.
Jose
1. Why are you running for School Board?
1. I am running for reelection because there's still so much work left to do. I want to help our District pass its first referendum in over a decade and I want to work harder to make sure we are recruiting and retaining educators through this teacher shortage. I am also running because I believe our Board needs to continue to be as transparent as possible and we need to continue to broadcast as many of our meetings and public comment sessions as possible on Zoom. It has worked for us since the pandemic and there have been light amounts of pushback from other Board members to continue the practice. If I'm reelected I will continue to advocate for meetings to be shared as publicly as possible.
2. What personal connections do you have to your local school district and community?
2. I have visited every school in the district at some point during my first five years. I've visited classrooms and cafeterias and spoken with educators and students. I didn't have any personal connections to Red Clay before I moved to Delaware in 2015, but I do have personal connections to education in Pennsylvania, as I continue to serve as an advocate for my younger brother and sister, both of whom have IEPs at their school in the Unionville Chadds Ford School District. In my first campaign I knocked on over 2000 doors and hope to do the same in this campaign.
3. How should district policy balance student privacy against parental rights?
3. We should respect parents' rights, but we should also respect the rights and agency of students. On certain topics, I believe we should defer to the rights and safety of students. Sometimes, when parents could pose a threat to the mental health of their child, schools need to be a safe place where students can be free to be themselves. This was a broad conversation when I introduced and passed a policy in 2021 that allowed for students to not be outed to their parents if they chose to use their preferred names and pronouns at school. Again, parents' rights and engagement at school are critical. I have concerns when we place parents' rights ahead of student safety and well-being, though. I'm totally in favor of finding a balance and hope to continue to do so if reelected.
4. What should be the district’s approach to overseeing curriculum, reading material, and lesson planning in the classrooms?
4. It's the District's approach to implement state standards. It's also their job to work collaboratively with educators and the community to make decisions on curriculum and reading material. I believe the Board does a good job hiring administrators to work in this collaborative method. I trust them and our educators to make curricular decisions that are in the best interests of our diverse student body. I do not support some movements in some states that are calling on schools to limit what is taught in classes or attempts to ban books from school libraries. Students should have some say in the books they read and if parents don't like the books, they can keep them from their own children. I don't believe the Board should dictate teachers' lesson planning process. I trust the educators we hire to be providing rigorous, appropriate learning activities for students.
5. How well do you feel that your district currently serves students who are gifted, learning disabled, or who have other special needs? What policies does your district follow that should be improved, or adopted more widely?
5. I believe we do OK in these areas, but that an antiquated funding system keeps us from doing more. I'd like to see more supports for our neediest learners -- smaller class sizes, more paraprofessionals, and more real-world life skills learning opportunities for students. As well, I'd like Delaware to follow the lead of Pennsylvania, which is one of the only states in the nation using GIEP -- Gifted IEPs for students performing well above grade level. We need to make sure gifted teachers are fully funded in all of our schools -- and not just those with large numbers of high-performing students. I have made that a big point of mine in the last five years on the Board and will continue to fight for equitable gifted offerings in all of our schools.
