San Juan Unified election includes a Proud Boy, an incumbent and a community leader
Voters in the San Juan Unified School District are electing trustees by geographic district instead of in at-large races for the first-time this fall.
In Trustee Area 5, Trustee Mike Mckibben is running for reelection against Tanya Kravchuk, a parent who co-owns a residential construction company and previously worked social services, and Jeffrey Perrine, a parent who has identified himself as a member of the right-wing organization the Proud Boys.
They are running to represent Orangevale on the school board.
Mike McKibbin
Age: 79
Occupation: Retired Education Administrator, School Board Member
Campaign Website: http://www.mikemckibbin.org/
If elected, what strategies or changes should San Juan Unified focus on to improve educational outcomes for all students?
There are several steps San Juan Unified should take to improve educational outcomes. First, our district should expand the use of tutoring programs and increase the number of instructional aides in our classrooms. Second, our district should maximize student attendance by identifying and alleviating barriers that prevent students from regularly attending school. Third, our district should implement initiatives to revitalize our facilities so that students can attend school and learn in state-of-the-art buildings. Finally, our district should expand our course offerings to include more career and technical subjects, hands-on learning options, credit recovery opportunities, and classes in the arts that spark and nurture student creativity.
Across the state, teacher and staff recruitment retention could be a concern for years to come. What should the district do to ensure teachers come and stay at San Juan Unified?
As a district, we have and should continue to seek out teachers well-versed in their subjects and dedicated to the never-ending work of student enrichment and encouragement. Our district should aim to recruit those pursuing teaching as their first career and second-career teachers who can bring practical experiences from business, public service, or other industries to the classroom. To recruit these kinds of teachers, we need to ensure that teachers feel supported from their first day on our campuses through the time they have become veteran teachers. We need to provide our teachers with competitive pay and benefits. We must give our teachers the resources they need, such as updated technology and equipment, to provide their students with the best possible education. Teachers must have opportunities to grow, try new things, make mistakes, and talk about what they do in constructive settings of professional growth and development. Teachers stay where they feel welcomed, where they feel trusted, where they have a role in the decision-making process, and where the district has high but reasonable expectations for their success.
About 15% of your school district identifies as English Language Learners. What additional support would you like to see for students to reach more academic success?
Celebrating diversity and promoting equity must be at the forefront of our district’s efforts to help English Language Learners (ELLs) achieve academic success. As a district, we need to nurture the strengths that ELLs bring to our schools and provide them with support in areas where they are struggling. ELLs bring valuable diversity to our school district. The languages they speak and their perspectives about the world improve our classrooms. We must tailor our teaching and assistance approaches to meet the unique needs of each ELL student. Every ELL student should be assigned a student “buddy” who can support them in their studies. We should also continue to implement a diverse curriculum so that ELL students can see themselves in their textbooks and in their classroom lessons.
Tanya Kravchuk
Age: 37
Occupation: Co-owner and runs a residential construction company, formerly worked in social services
Campaign Website: www.tanyakravchuk.com
If elected, what strategies or changes should San Juan Unified focus on to improve educational outcomes for all students?
Invest Early while the brain is the most pliable: Research shows that children who graduate from preschool have improved academic readiness, lower incarceration rates, and higher earnings. Preschoolers learn best through play and exploring- using all of their senses to understand their world. Teach them early to be a “learner” so they understand how to apply it in a formal setting.
Focus on literacy: Too many of our graduates are not reading at grade level and this is unacceptable. We should be educating teachers in the application of well-researched reading strategies, particularly focused on younger grades. When children transition to reading to learn in higher grades, ingrain quality literacy instruction into other courses such as math and history. Additionally, create School-wide programs that give students more access to books and parents more knowledge about how we are teaching their children.
Parent Involvement: Research consistently shows that parental involvement- true involvement and not “engagement” where the school hosts a few events-positively influences student achievement. Ways schools can increase parent involvement is by clearly outlining their expectations of parents, creating opportunities for parents and caregivers to speak with school leadership and encouraging frequent feedback from parents.
Across the state, teacher and staff recruitment retention could be a concern for years to come. What should the district do to ensure teachers come and stay at San Juan Unified?
I support efforts that raise the median teacher salary, invest in professional development, and provide teachers with more WIN time. There should also be clear and available promotional opportunities for teachers who wish to move into administration or for those who wish to become teachers on special assignment.
About 15% of your school district identifies as English Language Learners. What additional support would you like to see for students to reach more academic success?
As an English learner myself, I understand the unique circumstances these students are in. they are not only learning a new language, but also a new culture and customs. I believe the first step is to foster a welcoming classroom environment that encourages students to learn and teaches the fellow students to be compassionate, supportive and helpful. If these English-learners have peer support, they will thrive. Additionally, we must focus on literacy development, allow some scaffolding with the native language and build in more group work.
Jeffrey Perrine
Age: 38
Occupation: Small business owner/charter school parent
Campaign Website: www.jeffreyperrine.com
If elected, what strategies or changes should San Juan Unified focus on to improve educational outcomes for all students?
If elected the first strategy I would start with would be to listen to the parents and implement their ideas. Second, hire teachers who are focused on teaching children, not indoctrinating them. We need to focus on S.T.E.A.M. science technology art and math plus physical education. Children need to be more active and spend less time sitting in a classroom. Healthy bodies lead to a healthy mind. I would introduce more: Art, music, and civics classes etc. We need to teach kids how to be useful members of society and teach children to love their neighbors. I would also like to make sure all schools in the district have access to the same tools for success. We as board members need to make sure each area has the ability to utilize those tools to help our children become more hirable after graduation. Next, not all kids want to go to college. Offering more trade classes would be beneficial to our community. We will work together to build the self esteem of our youth.
2. Across the state, teacher and staff recruitment retention could be a concern for years to come. What should the district do to ensure teachers come and stay at San Juan Unified?
What I would like to do to help recruit and retain quality teachers would be to have competitive wages. We need to make sure our teachers are being paid a wage that attracts them to the district. If we are not paying what the neighboring districts are paying, we will not recruit or retain teachers and staff, especially with the rising costs of living. We need to implement more incentives to make our district desirable. Another idea would be to work with the local community colleges and Sac State to help recruit students going through their credential program. We could have the interns earn class credits for aiding teachers in the community, this would help everyone involved. Last, I would like to see the number of students per classroom drop. My goal is to have 20 kids per classroom.
3. About 15% of your school district identifies as English Language Learners. What additional support would you like to see for students to reach more academic success?
I would like to see the hiring of more bilingual and multilingual staff. Students who are English learners should be paired with teachers who have the ability to communicate with them in their native tongue, which would alleviate much of the miscommunication and frustration for both staff and students. Offer even higher wages for teachers who fit this skill set. Student success is all that matters. We need to invest in our youth, they are the future!