*Please note that this candidate profile is compiled based on the candidate’s responses to the questions we provided via email.
(Rachel advocating for Oakland Students)
Why are you running for school board?
I am running for the Oakland School Board to bring the voice of Oakland parents, caregivers and families to the board. As a parent of three children, spanning preschool to middle school, I want to bring out the best in Oakland public schools for all children. Starting before my oldest was in kindergarten, I have worked as a parent organizer and champion of Oakland’s public schools to make the district more equitable and sustainable, while celebrating successes small and big along the way. My experience as a parent and organizer in diverse school communities as well as working in coalition and partnership with those communities, equity advocacy organizations and OUSD leadership, has given me the knowledge and relationships needed to meet the big challenges and incredible opportunities ahead beginning on day one. I am committed to creating a stronger, more functional school district while centering students, families and educators.
What are your priorities if elected?
1. Fight for equity and academic excellence for every student in every school so that every child is ready to reach their dreams.
2. Ensure sound fiscal practices while making OUSD’s budget more equitable and sustainable.
3. Work to recruit and retain the best teachers and staff. Anyone who works directly with our students should be well-paid and feel supported by the district to bring stability to the classroom and ensure a more enriching education for students.
4. Improve community engagement with parents, students and other community members so that OUSD decisions are more transparent and vetted by the public, with ample time before important decisions for the community to review and propose improvements to plans.
5. Push back against school closures that have devastated our most marginalized students to ensure that any school changes are equitable, community centered, fiscally sound and that students, families and staff are supported before, during and into the future.
In your district, what are the greatest educational priorities?
Public schools are woefully underfunded across the state, and District 1 schools, like all district and charter schools across the state, do not have all of the resources that they need to provide a robust, joyful and academically excellent education that students need. We must ensure that all District 1
schools have the resources to meet that need regardless of historic economic and racial differences between schools. We need to create opportunities for all students to exceed academically and be college and career ready when they leave OUSD. We must address facilities needs in more equitable ways so that we are addressing safety and climate change issues for all district schools.
(Rachel along her running mates at FIA’s Candidate Forum 2024)
How will you balance the needs of your district with the needs of all Oakland students?
As a board member, I will bring the experiences and concerns of District 1 students, families, educators and staff with me in my role as a collaborative leader who believes deeply in equitable opportunity for all, and that is a two way conversation. Much as I have through my years as a parent organizer and advocate, I will work to create stronger community schools across the district while inviting D1 families to join in the push to make our district more equitable. We must interrupt the narrative that OUSD has only a few “choice” schools and work as a community committed to excellent public schools for all children to ensure that all OUSD schools are successful, equitable and joyful places for students to learn.
What are your main budget priorities?
OUSD has a commitment to equity, but has often fallen short of this ideal, including by making inequitable allocations of resources that have hurt school performance and triggered a downward spiral of enrollment. I will be a watchdog over our budget and a champion for equity in our schools with the
following priorities:
1. Reorganize our centrally provided services so we are hyper focused on what is happening in schools with fewer high dollar but low impact initiatives centrally;
2. Limit consultants and contracts that do not directly improve outcomes and experiences for students;
3. Work with the Parent Student Advisory Committee to maximize the dollars that are aligned with our LCAP priorities;
4. Employee retention is key to student success, which means strong union contracts are good policy. I will engage in ongoing, open dialogue with all union partners and the community to ensure that we build trust and communication needed to successfully negotiate contracts.
How will you support both district and charter schools?
I believe in and support the promise of all Oakland children, regardless of family choice of district, charter or private schools. As a board member, my relationship with district schools for which I am directly responsible is different from my relationship with charter schools which have their own boards making decisions about their operations. My role as a responsible authorizer is to ensure that charter schools are meeting their responsibilities under their charter and the law to provide an excellent, innovative and rewarding education while also serving all students regardless of need, including disabled students, foster youth, unhoused students, English learners and immigrant students. I understand and respect that families may choose charter schools for their students, and will celebrate all student successes while also inviting charter families to work with me to create a stronger, more equitable and sustainable public school district.
If elected, what are the biggest challenges you think you’ll face?
– Change is hard, but fundamental change in how our district is structured is needed. I am committed to working to address systemic inequities in our schools by creating a more equitable, student centered district.
– Make difficult and necessary budget choices that center students without reinforcing some of the harmful and inequitable decision-making of the past.
– Addressing the ongoing issues with chronic absenteeism. I will look for ways to remove barriers to regular attendance.
– Bringing people together to consensus about difficult decisions. I am committed to being a solutions-based bridge builder on the board.
– OUSD is a community school district, but often the community is left out of important decisions and that has led to a lack of trust. I will create space for community engagement outside of board meetings by taking the discussions out to the community, with regular office hours, school site listening sessions and direct outreach to families.
Learn more about Rachel on her website:
Please note that we have reached out to each candidate running for OUSD Board, and we are happy to share the profiles in which we received responses
