Library Board member seeks seat on Anaheim City School District Board

David Robert Heywood was born and raised in Anaheim. He currently serves as a Vice-Chair of the Anaheim Public Library Board of Trustees and volunteers with a number of local non-profits, raising thousands of dollars every year for important causes. A product of Anaheim public schools, he went on to earn his Bachelor’s Degree from California State University, Fullerton and has had a successful 20-year career in the technology industry.

As a Trustee of the Anaheim Public Library Board, he has been a vocal proponent for increased literacy rates for young children in Anaheim and is proud of the Board’s work in expanding summer reading programs.

David Robert is running for a seat on the Anaheim City School Board because he believes that all of us are responsible for the education of Anaheim’s children and that we all have a stake in quality public schools. He understands that when children receive a high quality education our neighborhoods are strengthened, healthier, and more vibrant.

We had the opportunity to ask David Robert some questions and here are his answers.

1. What inspired you to run for the Anaheim City School District?

As someone who grew up in Anaheim, I care deeply about our community. I am active in a number of community groups.  I volunteer and help raise money for the Boys and Girls Club of Anaheim, and I serve our residents as a Trustee of our Anaheim Public Library Board. I am also proud to say that I am a product of public schools in Anaheim – I received a great education in our public schools – and that prepared me to go on to college and be successful in life.  I’m running because I want every child in Anaheim to have the same opportunity for a quality public education that I did.

As a Trustee of the Anaheim Public Library Board, I am proud that we have doubled the number of local high school students with library cards and prioritized the renovation of key library branches.  We have also restored critical library staff which will allow us to focus on offering new services and programs that benefit at risk youth in Anaheim neighborhoods and communities identified as having the greatest need.

As an advocate for a strong public education system I strongly believe that all of us are responsible for the education of the children in our community in order to ensure they become stable, happy, and productive members of our society.  We all have a stake in high quality public schools. Ensuring our students receive a high-quality education also strengthens neighborhoods, increases property values, and creates a strong tax base.

2. What are your top priorities if elected?

We must do more to reduce class sizes so our children have more quality instruction time. Our district will continue to receive significant amounts of LCFF dollars that should be put toward hiring more teachers and new instructional aides as we continue expanding the number of classrooms in the district.

We must also ensure our students have safe learning environments because they deserve nothing less.  This includes after school programs.  Just as we recognize that learning does not end when children leave school for the day, neither does our job to help as many students as possible have the opportunity for a safe after school environment with activities that include some type of academic tutoring, physical fitness, and gang prevention component.

Our job is also to prepare our students for Jr. High & High School, so it is critical that we continue to transition to the mindset that we are not just about those subjects that drive our API scores, math and reading, but about a full spectrum of curriculum including writing, next generation science, expansion of comprehensive arts education, and critical thinking skills.

Finally, we must do a better job at engaging parents in the district who feel that their voices have not been heard.  Parental concerns must not be simply dismissed. While our district certainly has challenges, we must do a better job at letting parents and the larger communities know about all the great things that have been accomplished and how that benefits our students and their children.

3. What do you feel is best way to use LCAP money to improve district schools?

The wonderful thing about LCAP (Local Control Accountability Plan) money is that stakeholders at each school site have the opportunity to provide recommendations on how these funds should be spent.

However, at the end of the day, these groups are advisory and it is the Board who will make those decisions, so it is imperative that we are listening to those stakeholders and taking into account their recommendations. Personally, I would like to see us hire more quality teachers, thus reducing class sizes, but I want to hear what our stakeholders have to say and not discount their passion and expertise.

4. Do you support the expansion of dual immersion education? If yes, how would you implement the expansion?

I do support the expansion of Dual Immersion (DI). It’s critical that we are preparing students for Jr. High and High School and part of that includes the ability to read, write and speak English, while at the same time recognizing, respecting and nurturing their culture and heritage. This is also a unique opportunity for students whose native language is English to learn a second language at an early age. We owe it to all our students to give them the skills to be successful not just throughout their years in school, but later in life as well.

Any expansion of DI must be well thought out and planned for, as any expansion of the program in lower grades necessarily requires more classrooms and personnel in subsequent grades. The worst thing we could do is commit to expanding the program only to find we are unable to continue to offer this to all participating students for as long as they need throughout their primary education years. This is, essentially, a budget question. We need more teachers, instructional aides, and classrooms to successfully expand DI in a meaningful and long-lasting way.

In addition to expanding classrooms for DI, we also have to plan for expected student population growth within the district (projected to be an additional 2,000 students by 2020) as well as the mandated class size reductions that come with Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) dollars.

5. What are your opinions on the “parent trigger” law and how do you feel about the movement to convert schools to corporate charters?

The parent trigger law has many flaws, the greatest among them being a lack of transparency, a fundamental pillar of a healthy democracy.  Though I would prefer the law be repealed, it should, in the very least, be reformed to mandate parent notification once a petition has begun circulating.  Additional modifications short of repeal should include open, public meetings subject to the same Brown Act criteria that govern school board meetings.

The rise of corporate for profit charter schools is of great concern to me.  All public schools should be governed by an elected body that is accountable to the voters. We also know that some for profit charter schools have been selective in their admissions practices as a way to maximize the overall performance of their student body.  For profit charter schools should not be allowed to benefit, either directly or indirectly, from taxpayer dollars.

However, simply opposing these are not enough. Within the Anaheim City School District are parents that genuinely feel as though their voices have not been heard. While this concern is being exploited by outside groups whose real agenda has nothing to do with the district or our students that does not mean that these parent’s concerns are not valid and should simply be dismissed.  This next board must do more to reach out to parents to ensure that they are aware of the opportunities available to them to participate in the process within the ACSD system.

To find out more about David Robert Heywood and his campaign visit his website at voteheywood.com.