Across California, educators are rising to answer another call to public service – by running for election to school boards this November.

Seeking to bring their knowledge and experience about schools and education to school boards in their home communities, these educators are stepping up to build the schools all students deserve as elected policymakers. We’ll be spotlighting a number of educators running for school board here at the digital home of California Educator as the November Election approaches.

Meet one of these education champions: Jennifer Brouhard, a retired Oakland middle school educator, who is running for the Oakland Unified School Board.

Why are you running for school board?

I am running for school board to change how we meet the needs of our students, educators and families in Oakland public schools. I am an award-winning teacher (and Fulbright Distinguished Teacher) who knows the importance of curriculum that both strengthens academic skills and engages students in 21st century learning. I have collaborated with many teachers in the district to write curriculum on the Chinese Exclusion Act, the incarceration of Japanese during WWII, Indigenous history and LGBTQ+ history. I know how to collaborate with colleagues in developing instruction that strengthens student learning and participation. I look at what our students bring to the classroom, not what they are lacking.  In addition to all the budget work we need to do in Oakland, we need a teacher on the school board who knows first-hand how important curriculum is and also knows the effect of continued cuts to our classrooms. I will be a school board member who reaches out to my community and listens and acts on what I hear.

How will you work to advocate for students and families as a school board member?

As any classroom teacher does, we advocate for our students and families and we listen to their concerns, questions and ideas about what education should look like. Family engagement occurs when families feel comfortable talking with their child’s teachers. Sometimes this occurs in the classroom. But for most of my parents, coming to school during their work hours was really hard. I had to adapt. Sometimes we used zoom calls at night to connect. Zoom was helpful because you could see each other. I had to reach out to families because I wanted to know what was important to them and to their child. I think the most important part of family engagement is genuinely listening and then acting on what I heard was important to families.

My work in advocating for students is really the focus of my campaign for school board. In my district, elementary teachers (which is where I spent most of my career) and students are introduced to new reading programs every 2-3 years. This is chaotic for teachers and for students, particularly those who struggle with reading. My expertise is in history/social studies, and I think we need to teach reading within content areas such as history or science or even math. I am also a proponent of civic engagement curriculum because it promotes student voice and participation in their communities, as well as reading, writing and research skills.

I also strongly believe in restorative justice. When we take the time to engage in restorative practices with our students, we build trust in the student/teacher relationship. Through this process, educators and students can solve issues and build better understanding.

What are the biggest issues and challenges facing Oakland Unified?

The biggest issues facing OUSD are my three campaign priorities. First, we have to fully fund at the classroom level so that our students can achieve academic and social emotional growth. I think we have to do a needs assessment at each site from childhood development centers to elementary to middle to high schools as well as adult ed. The needs of each site are different, and we have to know the particulars of each. Fully funding the classrooms can include teacher and paraprofessional salaries, books and supplies, nutrition services needs, buildings and maintenance needs, as well as office staff needs. Too often we cut at the classroom level first and these cuts, as all educators know, are often drastic and have a huge impact on our students. We must stop school closures. Sometimes it seems like school closures is OUSD’s go-to solution. These have created educational instability and harm in Black and Brown communities. Families are leaving OUSD because of this harm and instability. There are many more schools on the closure list this fall. Imagine being a parent, enrolling your child in school and not knowing if it will be closed in May. We must stop closing schools as a way to solve our budget problems. OUSD leadership has never shown how school closures save money. In fact, we were told the closing of La Escuelita middle school would save the district a whopping $33,000. Unbelievable.

We also need to have transparency around the OUSD budget. I would call for an independent audit of the budget – not FCMAT, which continues to propose cutting at the school site without a goal. Some people in the district believe we can pay off our loan and get out of state receivership. Some people think we are in dire straits and we have to close schools and cut programs. There is no consensus on the state of the district’s finances. Our community and our school sites deserve to know precisely what our budget looks like. We can’t make good decisions if we don’t understand and agree on the state of the OUSD finances.

The final issue facing OUSD is really one of trust. When these closures happened, families and site staff were never contacted by the district. Families didn’t know where their kids were going to school next, and teachers did not know where they would be teaching the following year. Parents flooded those zoom board meetings, pleading for the school board not to close their schools. Hundreds of parents were on those calls.  And the school board and the district did not listen to any of them. If we are going to work together to build the schools our students and educators deserve, we have to rebuild the trust.

Website: Brouhard4OUSD.com