Have you received your ballot for the Nov. 8 General Election?
To assist you in making informed choices for the school board race, members of the QUEST/PAGE ABC Board developed a brief list of questions for the Puyallup School Board candidates. We wanted to gain a better understanding of each candidate’s stance on highly capable education, and his or her commitment to preserve and expand programming such as that offered by QUEST, PAGE, and AP.
All six candidates received the questions via email on Thursday, October 27; here are the responses we have received: Pat Jenkins, Therese Ngo Pasquier, and Chris Ihrig. We’ll post additional responses received as they come in.
Pat Jenkins (Position 3) – responses received on Thursday, October 27
1) What will you do as a school board member to ensure that the basic educational needs of our highly capable learners, from kindergarten through 12th grade, will continue to be met?
Perhaps the most important thing is to help hold the state to its constitutional responsibility to fund basic education first. That obligation isn’t being met, and any further cuts in state funding will only make that shortfall worse. The state can’t be allowed to only talk about supporting basic education, including highly capable programs. We need action from the state level, as difficult as it may be, to help carry out our mission locally.
2) What can you do as a school board member to help us better identify and serve students who are not currently being served by our QUEST, PAGE and AP programs?
I would reach out to ABC and any other interested parties to welcome and encourage input on ways that our service of highly capable learners could be improved. I would share that input with the board and the district administration, and then work with the administration and parents to ensure that the needs of students are being met to the best of the district’s ability.
Therese Ngo Pasquier (Position 2)– responses received on Thursday, October 27
1) What will you do as a school board member to ensure that the basic educational needs of our highly capable learners, from Kindergarten through 12th grade, will continue to be met?
As a board member, I will continue to advocate for our children’s education. I know that WA state passed the landmark basic education reform that included protection for the highly capable program. I would work closely with the WA State PTA to ensure this advocacy continues. Strength in numbers, I always say. We need to create relationships with our state legislature, so funding for basic education remains a top priority. I know Bruce Dammeier is a proponent of education reform, and he would be a great champion.
Another idea would be to find private money from foundations that support K-12, and direct this money toward the program. These gifted students are our future leaders and innovators, and we need to provide them with all the tools they need for success.
2) What can you do as a school board member to help us better identify and serve students who are not currently being served by our QUEST, PAGE, and AP programs?
The question has always been about access. We need to advocate for a standard definition of highly capable and remove any accessibility barriers, especially to minority children or ones in the low socioeconomic status or have a disability. These students are highly underrepresented in this program. Even when they are identified, access to these programs has been uneven. I know OSPI has a very fluid definition right now, allowing districts to make its own decisions about access to highly capable program. For me, it about creating an entire curriculum that continues to challenge them, not just one AP class. And we need to develop multiple measures to help identify these gifted students.
I will work with teachers, administrators, parents, and other subject matter experts to ensure this program remains a priority in the district, too.
Chris Ihrig (Position 5)– responses received on Friday, October 28
1) What will you do as a school board member to ensure that the basic educational needs of our highly capable learners, from Kindergarten through 12th grade, will continue to be met?
It is the board of directors’ paramount duty to ensure that the basic educational needs of ALL students be met as we guide the district in its strategic and operational decisions. This includes one of the key learning groups you raise, the highly capable learner. Yesterday’s announcement by the Governor, one of many in recent years, of another 2 billion in cuts is extremely concerning. At the top of her list of cuts are funds that directly support schools. The levy equalization piece being only one of those recommended cuts directly translates into a possible 6.1 million reduction in funds for Puyallup. And that is only the beginning. We are facing significant challenges financially because of our state government’s unwillingness to meet their constitutional responsibilities to fund basic education. As a community we must put all our efforts to not let this travesty continue at the expense of our student. But that is enough of that soap-box. I am sure you and your group are fully aware of these challenges and I look forward to working together to find solutions.
As a board member I see my responsibility in this area falling into two distinct paths: 1) Make sure we do everything possible to maximize the revenues and resources coming into the district and 2) that we are stewards of each and every resource we have. Essential programs that speak to basic education and the classroom learning, including those impacting highly capable students, must be maintained at the highest priority. For the next several years it may be more about preserving, not losing ground, versus expansion and growth.
2) What can you do as a school board member to help us better identify and serve students who are not currently being served by our QUEST, PAGE, and AP programs?
Great question. As a father of 4 in the district, two of my four were identified as potential QUEST participants and each of my older kids has been involved in AP programs when available to them. Each of these is outstanding programs that bring value, opportunity and direct impact in the lives of our students. We absolutely must find ways to better utilize these resources to a broader audience – when there is a need and match.
In some ways, there is a lack of understanding of these programs in the broader community. Parents don’t fully understand nor take on the responsibility of advocating and accessing these programs. Locations of the programs need to be more local to neighborhood schools. As a board member, I see these programs as important, relevant and an exceptional resource in helping us meet the needs of our diverse student population. We need to fight for them, expand them when possible and make them accessible to a broader audience. As we strive for a district of national excellent and educational leadership, programs like QUEST, PAGE, AP and others will be the backbone of our impact and results.
Dane Looker (Position 2) – responses received on Thursday, November 3
