Success starts early. In order to achieve success throughout the trajectory of a student’s education, we need to create a stable, safe and secure foundation. As a trustee, I have helped create and implement programs that focus on student outcomes and student opportunities. There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to educating our children. Programs must be designed and implemented to reach all students, and provide a personalized, value-added education. Most recently, we successfully increased the rigor of our curriculum and the number of nationally-certified and dual-credit certified teachers employed in Canutillo ISD. Equity and opportunity in education is critical for us all.
Schools are the center of our communities. It is important to engage and truly listen to all of our key stakeholders. We need to empower our students and their families by providing opportunities for them to voice ideas and concerns. I believe we can achieve long-term success by building from within. Our Early College model, which focuses on dual credit and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math), provides the opportunity for students to be college-ready. As a Trustee and member of the CAFÉ scholarship foundation, I want to continue to provide opportunities for our community. We can achieve this by cultivating strategic partnerships within our businesses and public education community to help strengthen our local schools. I plan on creating a “Leadership Canutillo” initiative to help grow leaders from within our educational system and community. Already, we are helping our students become part of the process that governs their education by creating the first-of-its-kind Student Advisors on the CISD Board of Trustees. The two student advisors fully participate in the discussion and vetting of all items before the Board of Trustees and provide a student perspective to all decisions made at the dais.
The unfortunate increase in incidents of violence surrounding schools in the country have made it necessary for school districts and trustees to refocus many of their efforts to strengthening our safety and security systems. As a trustee, I have spearheaded the District’s efforts to establish a robust police department in Canutillo ISD. The District also has one of the most active Safety & Security Committees, which allows parents, teachers and other stakeholders to be at the forefront of making decisions regarding the creation of safe learning environments at every campus.
Thanks to foresight of our community, Canutillo ISD is making unprecedented investments into the safety and security controls of every facility in the District. The modernization of the District includes more than $10 million in infrastructure and technology upgrades that will provide our students, staff and parents additional peace of mind when it comes to safety.
Canutillo ISD has been a leader in student safety, and it is important to remain at the forefront of this important issue.
The community has a right to know how their tax dollars are being spent. Our District should keep open access to information, a top priority. As a Trustee, I always promote accessible and responsive community information. I was a key leader in implementing audio recording, and now live video streaming, of School Board meetings for the benefit of the public. I have also advocated in favor of strengthening and developing proper systems for the Office of the Internal Auditor, to guarantee to taxpayers that proper procedures are followed.
As a leader on the Board, I continue to insist that further accountability measures are implemented so that our community remains informed and abreast of all decisions made on their behalf. From the creation and strengthening of the Canutillo Bond Accountability Committee, which gives parents and employees a direct say in how the Bond is managed, to the increased communication mechanisms created under my request so that parents can receive news from the District via mail, social media and email, I remain committed to two-way communication between the District and our stakeholders.
Experience matters. With over 19 years of experience as a school Trustee and leader in statewide organizations, I know what it takes to serve the community. As a Master Trustee and the first Canutillo ISD Board member to graduate from Leadership TASB, I know the difference between management and governance. As president of the board, I effectively helped establish procedures that are now critical in maintaining the forward progress we have seen over the last seven years. My focus is to keep our District on the correct path. I place Canutillo ISD and the taxpayers of Canutillo first.
Additionally, I am finishing my term as president of the Texas Association of School Boards, the largest organization for school trustees in the state. Being the first El Pasoan to be selected to lead this organization in nearly 25 years, allowed me to showcase the Borderland and Canutillo at the state level in an unprecedented manner and lead school advocacy on behalf of all 6 million public school students in Texas.
