The following information is copied from the information that the candidates themselves submitted for VOTE411.org. All candidates were invited to submit their biographical information and to answer our questions.
Candidates may enter their information up until Election Day, May 18. Please urge candidates to provide information to voters, if they haven’t done so yet. We provide this service for free to candidates and voters.
La información en español está debajo de la información en inglés.
Position 1
Charles Crowder has not yet responded.
Jim Kight has not yet responded. However, he has a statement on page M-52 of the Multnomah County Voters’ Pamphlet.
Aaron Munoz has not yet responded. However, he has a statement on page M-51 of the Multnomah County Voters’ Pamphlet.
Curt Schulz has not yet responded. However, he has a statement on page M-51 of the Multnomah County Voters’ Pamphlet.
Position 2
Spencer Chao has not yet responded. However, he has a statement on page M-53 of the Multnomah County Voters’ Pamphlet.
Matt Richardson has not yet responded. However, he has a statement on page M-53 of the Multnomah County Voters’ Pamphlet.
Position 3
Michael Reyes, Education Specialist. In addition to answering our questions, he has a statement on page M-54 of the Multnomah County Voters’ Pamphlet.
Questions (La información en español está debajo de la información en inglés.)
1. Even before COVID and the transition to online learning, school districts struggled with disparities in academic achievement. Educators fear even greater gaps upon their return to classrooms. What strategies will you consider to address these increased disparities?
Michael Reyes: We need to invest in curricular strategies centered in equity, support trauma-informed mental health and behavioral health, and deep community and family engagement. The Reynolds School Board is already committed to expanding mental health and culturally responsive curricula which I feel are the needed approaches to ensure the gaps do not widen further, particularly for students of color.
The return to in-person instruction will not be an easy transition for students, teachers, and families, and it’s important we work to anticipate challenges. Students who have only known their existing classmates via online classrooms will now have to adapt to being around other children again. This means we must reexamine student discipline policies which might penalize students having a difficult time transitioning.
2. COVID has shown us the importance of family support in facilitating students’ education. How will you build on this understanding to increase the role of parents in decision making and promote parental involvement in schools?
Michael Reyes: We need on-going, multilingual, and culturally appropriate engagement with our district’s families. This means, sharing information digitally, through mail, phone calls, and hosting community meetings. This also means we need to ensure language access is provided at every meeting. When discussing heavier issues such as budgeting or curriculum, it’s important we provide context and education so our community understands the process so they can provide more meaningful feedback. For me personally, I think accessible materials (background primers, infographics, short presentations or videos) could be helpful since it can be so confusing, and these could be reused or adapted for future community meetings.
3. What is the impact of the pandemic on school budgets and spending priorities? How do you propose meeting these new challenges?
Michael Reyes: The projected impact to budgets was thankfully not as dire as predicted, though school districts and state agencies were still forced to make some cuts across the board. However, funding sources like the Student Success Act are dependent on corporate tax revenue and the effects of those cuts might be felt in the next year or so. We need to ensure we plan ahead by protecting our most important programs and staff and maintaining investments in equity.
As a district, it is important we center our funding decisions on ensuring the best educational experience for our students. We must always refer to our values and budget priorities when determining any difficult fiscal decisions which need to be made. Finally, it’s important we listen to and engage with our community. We will earn the trust of our families and community partners when they are part of the conversations around budgeting.
En Español:
1. Los distritos escolares ya tenían dificultades con las disparidades en el desempeño académico, inclusive antes del COVID y de la transición al aprendizaje por internet. Los educadores temen que aparezcan vacíos aún mayores cuando el estudiantado vuelva a los salones de clase. ¿Qué estrategias considerará usted para enfrentar el aumento de estas dificultades?
Michael Reyes: Tenemos que invertir en estrategias educativas centradas en equidad, apoyo, salud mental en relación a trauma, salud en comportamiento y establecer relaciones fuertes e involucración familiar. La mesa directiva de Reynolds ya está comprometida a expandir recursos sobre la salud mental y currícula cultural responsiva. Lo cual creo son acciones necesarias para asegurar que las brechas no crezcan mas especialmente para nuestros estudiantes de color.
El regreso a la instruction en persona no va a ser una transición fácil para estudiantes, maestro/as y familias y es importante que trabajemos para anticipar los obstáculos que vienen. Estudiantes que solo se conocen a través de sus salones en línea ahora tienen que acostumbrarse a estar alrededor de otros niños/as otra vez. Esto significa que tenemos que examinar de nuevo reglas disciplinarias que potencialmente puedan penalizar a estudiantes que están batallando con la transición al salón en persona.
2. El COVID nos ha mostrado la importancia del apoyo de las familias para facilitar la educación de los estudiantes. ¿Cómo utilizará este hecho para ampliar la función de los padres en la toma de decisiones y promover la participación de los padres de familia en las escuelas?
Michael Reyes: Necesitamos participación regular con las familias del distrito que sean en su lengua y culturalmente apropiadas. Esto significa compartiendo información digitalmente, por correo normal, llamadas telefónicas, y juntas comunitarias. Esto también significa que tenemos que asegurar que hay traduccion de lenguaje disponible en cada junta. Cuando estamos discutiendo temas más fuertes en torno a fondos o cambios al currículo es importante que se explique el contexto e información para que la comunidad pueda entender el proceso y de esta manera puedan dar su opinión verdadera. Personalmente creo que tener materiales accesibles como presentaciones cortas, videos e información breve en papel sobre el tema. Pienso que ayudaría mucho el tener estos materiales disponibles porque algunos temas pueden causar confusión y estos pueden ser reusados o adaptados para futuras juntas.
3. ¿Cuál es el impacto de la pandemia en los presupuestos escolares y en las prioridades de gasto? ¿Qué propone usted para enfrentar estos nuevos desafíos?
Michael Reyes: Los pronosticados impactos al presupuesto que se predican no fueron tan malos como se temían aunque distritos escolares y agencias estatales se vieron obligados a hacer cortos a través de sus organizaciones. Sin embargo, fuentes de fondos cómo el Acto del Exito Estudiantil que dependen de impuestos de ganancias empresarias pueden aún sentir el impacto de los cortos en el próximo año. Necesitamos planear para el futuro para proteger a los programas y facultad de prioridad Aun manteniendo nuestro compromiso en la inversión a la equidad.
Como distrito es importante que las decisiones que se toman en relación a fondos tengan en mente la mejor experiencia educativa para nuestros estudiantes. Siempre tenemos que pensar en nuestros valores y prioridades de presupuesto cuando se tienen que tomar decisiones fiscales difíciles. En fin, es de la más grande importancia escuchar y participar con nuestra comunidad. Vamos a ganarnos la confianza de nuestras familias y socios comunitarios cuando
Position 4
Bill Stewart has not yet responded. However, he has a statement on page M-55 of the Multnomah County Voters’ Pamphlet. He was also interviewed for our Video Voters’ Guide.
Cayle Tern, Human Services. In addition to answering our questions, he has a statement on page M-55 of the Multnomah County Voters’ Pamphlet. He was also interviewed for our Video Voters’ Guide.
Portland, Or 97230
Questions
1. Even before COVID and the transition to online learning, school districts struggled with disparities in academic achievement. Educators fear even greater gaps upon their return to classrooms. What strategies will you consider to address these increased disparities?
Bill Stewart has not responded yet.
Cayle Tern: The disparities in academic achievement are caused by the inability and capacity of schools to identify and acquire the resources to address their diverse needs and barriers to learning. The pandemic in the backdrop has made this more challenging. Recognizing that children will learn at their own pace, we must look for ways to provide comprehensive curricular activities and services that take into account mental health and changed behavior as students transition back to school. It’s clear that the transition to online learning exposed the significance of how a parent’s contribution can directly impact learning. The parent’s education level, technological knowledge, and capacity to advocate for their children will determine if that gap can get closed. School Districts ought to bolster and develop materials with clear guidelines for parents to utilize, especially if their students opted in for hybrid learning. It’s critical that we advocate for funding to overhaul this type of support
2. COVID has shown us the importance of family support in facilitating students’ education. How will you build on this understanding to increase the role of parents in decision making and promote parental involvement in schools?
Bill Stewart has not responded yet.
Cayle Tern: As a first generation immigrant, I know the importance and privilege of having family support and involvement. I also know and respect that there are many circumstances where parents are not able or available to engage so schools need to help meet those gaps. The current Reynold School District Board has prioritized Family Engagement by proposing initiatives that will mitigate these gaps. We must generate buy-in from parents. It’s clear that the transition to online learning exposed the significance of how a parent’s contribution can directly impact learning. Programs like Schools Uniting Neighborhoods (SUN) Community Schools program provide direct support to the local school community. We must take advantage of programs like SUN to learn and connect with parents in the community. Strategically, School Districts will need to collaborate and build relationships with state and local sectors to create a consistent plan and offer alternative solutions for students who are struggling.
3. What is the impact of the pandemic on school budgets and spending priorities? How do you propose meeting these new challenges?
Bill Stewart has not responded yet.
Cayle Tern: The pandemic contributed to the reduction of school budgets left school districts with the responsibility to cut funding to critical priorities. The investments in the Student Initiative Accounts (SIA) which allocated funds to these priorities need to be reassessed and re-prioritized. I think the budget committee needs to reassess and propose amendments and strategies that can address our priorities. I think Reynolds School Board and Administrator can consider staggering the initiation of new projects through the next biennium. At the same time, we will need to wait and see how much emergency funding the district will get from the State and the American Rescue Plan Act. We need Administrative flexibility without significantly impacting the ability of teachers to teach and students to learn.