Parent advocate, former teacher run for open seat on Folsom Cordova school board

Two seats on the Folsom Cordova Unified School District Board of Trustees are on the ballot in the November election.

The candidates for Trustee Area 1 are Kara Lofthouse, a former teacher endorsed by the district’s teachers’ union; and Jen Tarbox, a military spouse who became active at school board meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

They’re running to represent neighborhoods in Folsom.

Kara Lofthouse

Age: 39

Occupation: Former teacher district curriculum and instruction specialist and now the owner of enrichment learning center in Folsom, Wild Roots Learning Center long time educator.

Campaign Website: www.voteKaralofthouse.com

If elected, what strategies or changes should FCUSD focus on to improve educational outcomes for all students?

This is a multifaceted question, therefore a multifaceted answer but, in short, our focus needs to be Trust. Improving educational outcomes for ALL students is something that will require whole system changes and improvements. Currently our school system is in desperate need of restoring trust (not just in FCUSD but nationwide). After Covid-19, and for many reasons, trust diminished. Without trust, educational outcomes will not improve. This will take the effort of all students, staff, teachers, administration, school board, and families- and all must recognize this is a need. Once trust is rebuilt our focus can shift to what is happening in the classrooms: we need to rely on multiple measures of student learning to address needs with transparency and sometimes hard conversations, we need to become more innovate in our education, but make it a priority to provide mental health and social needs, invest in research affirmed intervention practices, continue to build strong Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) district wide, focus on equity, receive professional development on implicit bias, culturally responsive and sustaining education and professional learning communities, and make it a priority that every decision has the focus of student learning.

What role do schools have in teaching students about bullying, race and equity?

Schools should embrace diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice in FCUSD, with this proactive approach, there will be less of a reactive need for bullying or anti bullying teaching. We should avoid deficit language (such as bullying) and rather empower our students to be the change. Folsom Cordova represents the vastness and diversity in our state. The 35 schools and 20,000+ students represent many different races, cultures, learning differences, languages and socioeconomic backgrounds of our students and families. In my fifteen years working in both public and charter schools, my roles have often been serving schools with a highly diverse population, and my masters work was completed with the focus of culturally responsive classrooms, so this is not something I take lightly. Preparing our students to interact with our ever changing world in curious, courageous, and empathetic ways is imperative. I will stand strong in efforts to ensure our school district embraces and enacts policies that affirm, uplift, value and honor the contributions and identities of ALL our students, their communities and their cultures. Not only encouraging students to show up as they are, but embracing and empowering this as well. This is one of my top priorities as a leader for FCUSD.

FCUSD is growing with additional schools. Some schools are, and could become, impacted. What will you do to ensure that students have their needs met and resources are available?

Ensuring students have equal access district wide to a high quality education must be a priority, but also knowing and understanding the different needs across the district as well. We are a diverse district with diverse needs, but there should be no doubt regardless of where you go to school or who your teacher is, whether or not you will receive a high quality education, or the necessary support. We are dealing with a teacher and staff shortage in our country (and FCUSD) and our district must prioritize hiring and retaining highly qualified educators and staff district wide to ensure student needs are met and resources are available. As we grow, we need to learn to adapt, and grow for the future.

Jen Tarbox

Age: 42

Occupation: Marketing and Photography

Campaign Website: www.jentarbox.com

If elected, what strategies or changes should FCUSD focus on to improve educational outcomes for all students?

There is a shift in what goals our kids have for after high school. The traditional A-G College track is no longer the goal for so many students, especially with the rising cost of education. Now we are seeing that students are looking more at jumping right into the workforce or entrepreneurship straight out of high school and we need to nurture that. At the same time, we can not take away from the students who have college aspirations and thrive in the fast paced honors programs. At the end of the day, we need to offer more options and make parent choice and the community needs a top priority. We need to engage our students with programs and offerings that support their different learning styles and desired outcomes, and that is a big task.

What role do schools have in teaching students about bullying, race and equity?

While I believe this education starts in the home, the school sites are an extension of this and it all comes down to teamwork between the two. Holding students and staff accountable for transgressions involving any of these needs to be a priority so that all students can feel accepted, safe and protected. We also need to make sure all of our students have the same access to quality education. California ranks 50th in literacy, our focus in schools should be academics and raising the outcomes of socioeconomically disadvantaged students.

FCUSD is growing with additional schools. Some schools are, and could become, impacted. What will you do to ensure that students have their needs met and resources are available?

I have already sat down with some individuals that are involved in the building and progression of our growth on the other side of HWY 50 and voiced my concern over the timeline of which schools are slated to be built first as I can already foresee a bigger problem and so that timeline would be the first one I would tackle. We need to make sure that our school growth properly reflects the growth of the community, that we use taxpayer dollars wisely and try to build schools as cost effectively as possible, and that we do more to continue to recruit the best teachers possible for all of the new students we expect to have.