All of our students deserve excellence at every level throughout their education. Excellence includes comprehensive academic content alongside critical thinking, problem solving, innovation, and the teamwork and leadership skills our students need so they’re prepared for whatever the future holds. We deliver excellence when we support our teachers as they weave these skills throughout their classes at every level in every subject.
All of our students belong in our schools: exactly as they are, in all the ways they are, and free from bullying or harassment. Only then can they share their full selves with their classmates, teachers, and our entire community. This challenges and enriches all of us. We strengthen belonging through respectful, curiosity-driven engagement with each other throughout our community.
Trust is essential to delivering excellence. Trust allows us to take risks, innovate, and grow. We build trust by having fair and consistent processes, sharing a set of objective facts, listening to and respecting one another, and keeping our students at the center of our decisions.
District Finances & Fiscal Responsibility: PAUSD is entering a period of fiscal uncertainty. District expenses are projected to exceed our revenues until 2030. To achieve long-term fiscal stability and offer fair compensation for district staff, we need to renew the parcel tax and review our operating expenses to make sure they are aligned with delivering excellence for all.
Mental Health and Wellbeing: Many students tell us that they do not have the strong sense of wellbeing and belonging that they need in order to thrive. We have invested in staff on our sites; now we need to invest in our students as they look to each other for support. We must continuously ask students and families whether existing services are accessible and helpful. When they are not, we must identify and eliminate any barriers.
Special Education Reform: Families don't currently have a meaningful way to advocate for our system to meet their children's needs from pre-K to post-secondary. We need to shift our Special Education system from an adversarial model to a collaborative one, deliver supports written into IEPs, remove unnecessary barriers to services, and partner with families to support student learning.