I ran for the state Senate to bring attention to education reform. I bring that same commitment to the Mountain View-Whisman School Board. My goals do not change, they are to help bring a focus back on teacher professionalism and away from the current focus on standardized test that do not reflect the needs of children in the 21st century.
Leftover funds from the state Senate race were donated to local education foundations, and were not used for the school board race.
16,142 voters shared the view that if we put kids first, we can turn the state around. Thank you for supporting me and this idea. Thank you to Bonnie, Liz, Michelle, and Scott for working to spread this message.
Assemblymember Jerry Hill has my endorsement and my vote for the state Senate. It is my hope that if Assemblymember Hill can apply the same conviction and skill he has shown in fighting PG&E towards fighting the injustices facing our most vulnerable children, we will have a powerful children’s advocate. I am committed to working to make that happen.
Investing in our children is the state expenditure most certain to increase future revenue. Yet it can’t be just extra funding without reform; that would be more of the same. Half of our budget goes to education, yet it doesn’t get nearly half the legislature’s focus towards understanding and implementing globally proven school policies.
Secure funds for investments in our children by:
-passing bold pension reforms
-postponing less urgent new services like high speed rail
-cutting funding to prison and adult welfare
Those investments begin with:
-redesigning state testing to reflect our 21st century economy that emphasizes innovation and critical thinking over recitation of facts.
-ensuring teachers receive the best training at the beginning and throughout their career to maintain their state teaching credential.
-diagnosing and funding learning supports before kindergarten, when it is both most cost effective and successful.
Chris (center) with his wife and students at his 2010 Teacher of the Year ceremony.
Seward Park High School, built by Andrew Carnegie in 1909, serving NYC’s poorest immigrants.
I’m a schoolteacher,
why am I running?
When I worked in New York City, I taught at Seward Park High School in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The school was a gateway for immigrants in the early 20th century. Prominent graduates included Nobel laureate biochemist Julius Axelrod. Axelrod was the son of poor immigrants from Poland, and Seward Park High School set him on a path towards realizing his full talents. Many of us have similar experiences with our own schooling.
No goal is more important than ensuring that schools in every community are still places of limitless opportunity for hard working students. Every other public problem will persist until we stop the neglect of our children.
Please ask every candidate how they will fight and vote to make children our priority.
Chiang for State Senate 2012 