Aimee Sproul, a parent and PTA officer, is running for a short-term seat on the Encinitas Union School District board of trustees. The San Diego Union-Tribune asked all the candidates running for school board in districts around San Diego County about their policies, plans and priorities. Here’s what Sproul told us about hers. Why are you running for school board? What makes you a good candidate? I come from a family of public-school educators and value our dedicated teachers. I am also a current EUSD parent and have been very involved in my children’s education, volunteering in the classroom and serving on the School Site Council and PTA board. These experiences have given me insight into the challenges facing our schools and the impact of declining enrollment. I am committed to making EUSD the number one choice for families by getting back to the basics of education and supporting academic rigor. Aimee Sproul (Courtesy Aimee Sproul) Parental involvement is the number one indicator of a child’s success in school, and I am committed to a relationship of transparency and open communication with our families. As the daughter of an immigrant from Latin America, I offer a unique and diverse perspective that I will bring to the board so that we can best support all our students, families and teachers. What is the most important issue currently facing your school district? The most important issue facing our school district is declining enrollment, a complex issue that is itself a result of many underlying issues and is not unique to EUSD. As a small school district, EUSD can change course and attract and retain neighborhood families. But to do so it must refocus on academic fundamentals. The district should also prioritize budgeting to hire more teachers, which will allow smaller class sizes for fourth through sixth grade. Currently these classes are set at the state maximum of 32 students. Smaller classes allow for better classroom management, allow teachers to meet the individualized learning needs of students and facilitate  student conflict-resolution. This will have a significant financial impact on our schools and will support teacher salaries, enrichment classes and the updating of campus infrastructures. What are the top three specific things you would seek to accomplish on the school board? I would support teachers improving the current report card system instead of  reimagining a new report card. EUSD has already spent over $220,000 in consultant fees to remake report cards to be “inclusive and equitable.” The newly proposed report card is overly complicated and by design does not recognize students who perform above grade level. It also fails to provide a meaningful assessment of a child’s academic performance. EUSD needs to curb mandatory, non-curricula training sessions for teachers and staff. These sessions are expensive, take teachers out of the classroom during the school day and do not benefit the academic growth of students. I am committed to placing our enrichment teachers on the same credentialed salaries as classroom teachers. EUSD is using Proposition 28 funds to create art and music programs, but the district should be equally committed to programs of merit. What would your approach be to district budget planning and spending? What would you do if your district had a budget shortfall? We should compare EUSD with similar districts and look at metrics like the student/teacher ratio, the number of administrators and especially extra expenditures that other districts do not have. I am committed to keeping class sizes small, avoiding combo classes and focusing district resources on hiring and retaining exceptional classroom teachers. We need to be mindful of creating superfluous positions that the district cannot afford long term. A budget shortfall would indicate a mismanagement of monies and resources. EUSD has experienced finance staff whom the board should work closely with to study the LCAP to optimize the budget process, and align the school budgets, goals and strategies with a commitment to minimize financial cuts to classrooms. How should your school district raise student academic achievement, and what would you do as a school board member to accomplish that? Student connection and high expectations together are fundamental to academic achievement. Our teachers have a strong record of making students feel valued and supported. The district needs to emphasize its support for academic excellence. Report cards should directly and clearly reflect student performance, as well as provide benchmarks that students strive to meet. While neighboring school districts withdrew ineffective reading curricula, EUSD was slow to return to a phonics-based program. Last year, EUSD finally implemented the science of reading (Orton-Gillingham). There was an immediate and significant improvement in the reading ability of young students. This is a testament to the ability of our dedicated teachers to learn and use new pedagogy effectively. We have district employees who worked hard to implement this program. As a board member, I would work to support similar efforts and facilitate financial support and implementation of effective curricula promptly. Do you think anything currently offered in school curricula or libraries should be removed? If yes, what, and why? If no, why not? The curricula offered to elementary school children should focus on preparing students for the rigorous academic demands of middle school. I have never found any curricula in my children’s classes to be objectionable. My children’s teachers have been respectful of our family’s values and supported my children in choosing both class projects and library books accordingly. Parents should be able to reasonably expect that classroom and school libraries curate book collections that are both age- and topic-appropriate for young children. I would like to see more children’s classics included in the classroom. What do you think is driving student absenteeism in your district, and what would you as a school board member do to reduce it? Chronic absenteeism has almost doubled in EUSD since 2019. If this trend continues, students will miss over a year of school by the time they graduate from high school. This is an acute issue for our English learners and socioeconomically disadvantaged students. I would fully support the community liaisons for each school site who are tasked with supporting our Spanish-speaking and newcomer families with language assistance and providing family resources. As the ELAC liaison to our school PTA board, I hope to better understand how to strengthen our school-to-home  partnership with these families. We must communicate the importance of this  partnership to all families, emphasizing the long-term educational impact on student academic success, as well as the fiscal impact on schools when students are absent. Do you think schools should notify parents if their child’s gender identity or presentation at school changes? Why or why not? Encinitas Union School District is a kindergarten through sixth grade elementary school district, with children ages four to 12 years old. A child’s primary and most fundamental relationship is with their parents. Teaching a child to keep a secret with an adult (who is not their parent) undermines a golden rule of safeguarding. Our elementary school teachers are dedicated to both the educational growth and emotional well-being of their students. Compelling educators to withhold vital information from parents undermines their relationship with families and puts them in an unfair and unnatural position. EUSD should always support transparency and a partnership between parents and educators.