Our students must be prepared to succeed in a rapidly changing world. Whether they attend college, trade school or enter the workforce, every student must graduate equipped for healthy, productive adult lives.

Improvement in student achievement is one indicator of progress towards this goal, as measured by the California State Department of Education. I would like to ask you to visit the California Department of Education website accountability section for the Fontana Unified School District. There, you will find the results from annually measuring our students' growth in many areas, includng academics, language and fitness. The percent of students graduating is also reported. A close look reveals that our schools have made steady growth, but that there is still a lot of room for improvement.

The second area to consider is the culture and climate of our schools and workplaces. All of us believe that our school is the best! Every employee will publicly state that their office or workplace is great! The Williams reports for each school and our district indicate that physical conditions are monitored and deficiencies are corrected. At the elementary level, visits are made to every school annually to ensure that every student and teacher has all of the required materials to support teaching and learning. Also important is the social and emotional environment throughout our district. Staff, parents and students must feel safe in the physical environment, and they must feel confident that their voices are heard and respected. Ask to see the reports for discipline and crime at your school, and for the district. Ask for reports about parent concerns and how they have been resolved. Discuss working conditions with employees, away from the workplace! This critical area has not been openly and honestly discussed. An independent evaluation of the culture and climate is imperative.

Finally, we must closely examine the fiscal health and responsibility in our district. Fontana citizens have a remarkable history of supporting whatever measures and initiatives are necessary to ensure student learning and success. Our educators and students benefit from many resources that would not be possible without the contributions of our parent groups and our community at large. Measure C is a recent example, the passage of which demonstrated our willingness to increase taxes for the benefit of our students. In spite of our best efforts, though, Fontana educators continue to face significant challenges in delivering instruction due to shortages of textbooks and materials. Teachers are providing even more basic classroom supplies from their paychecks, diminished greatly this year once again due to furlough days. Many classrooms lack sufficient textbooks at the secondary level. In the context of diminished fiscal resources, it is even more imperative that we analyze every fiscal practice and ensure that each expenditure is legal and fiscally responsible.

Over the past decade, we have made progress, but it has simply not been enough. I would like us to all take a stand, and tell the entire community that we know that our schools can be better. Vote Carole Lee if you believe all of our students can be prepared for life beyond high school! Vote for Carole Lee if you believe that every child must be prepared for their future, no matter what direction their life takes. Whether they are preparing for a trade, college, or going directly into the workplace, all students require the skills needed to be successful in those endeavors. Let's take a stand for our children! Vote Carole Lee for Fontana Unified School Board. We must prepare our precious children to be vital, contributing members in a diverse society. A vote for Carole Lee will help us to make every child’s dreams a reality!

Please visit the California Department of Education, and see for yourself that we still have work ahead. Then, please believe that we must work together to create the schools that our children deserve.

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