Q1
Will Common Core make students better workers but expose them less to a liberal arts education?
Q2
What needs improvement?
Ketta Brown
Age: 54
Education: BA, University of Washington, 1982
Occupation: Homemaker for 24 years
Contributions: $5,800*
A1
Brown’s position is that Common Core will unify curriculum across the country, making it easier for students who move from one state to another. The California State Standards (CCS), she said, is about equity across the education spectrum. “Our society is more mobile than ever and with that mobility comes the need for a shared vision of what students should comprehend at graduation. Standards engage students with more challenging material. Whether that is post-secondary education or career is up to the individual. It is our job to make certain that all doors remain open for all students.”
A2
More coordination between classroom studies and Regional Occupational Program courses. More adult support on campuses for students who need to reach out.
Annette Gibson
Age: 48
Education: L.A. County-USC School of Nursing, Cal-State Dominguez Hills, BS-Nursing
Occupation: Registered nurse; property asset manager.
Contributions: $2,950
A1
Gibson proposes that LBUSD refuse Common Core curriculum either partially or totally and independently develop its own curriculum. “We can comply with the law without surrendering local control.” “In the formative years, children need locally determined content and continuity to master learning skills and build character.” Two of her rivals, she contends, “complacently embrace Common Core’s trendy vision of a gadget-dependent generation of transnational technicians and ‘global citizenship.’”
A2
More transparency such as online viewing and podcasts of school board meetings, more art curriculum, less spending on outside consultants.
Dee Perry
Age: 62
Education: BA-University of Redlands; MA in Communicative Disorders, Washington State
Occupation: Retired teacher and speech pathologist
Contributions: $3,297.73
A1
Perry initially favored the new standards, but is leaning towards opposing it in part because of its emphasis on computer technology. “Talking with parents of first- and second-graders whose children are crying about their Common Core math homework is not acceptable.”
The school district is required to include the state-mandated curriculum to obtain approval for its budget, she pointed out. “Working within the law, Laguna needs to keep as much local control as possible.”
A2
Fewer administrators, lower salaries for administrators and consultants, video tape school board meetings for online viewing, counselors accessible for students who want to discuss personal issues, more art classes in the elementary grades.
Carol Normandin
Age: 49
Education: B.B.A. in Management from Texas A&M
Occupation: Former owner of an executive search firm.
Contributions: $7,992. Biggest donors, at $1,000 and more, Brent Martini, Willis Boyd, David Wilson and Jeff Elghanayan.
A1
“It’s a reckless idea” to even think about doing anything other than Common Core as the new standards are legally required. “We decide how to implement the standards. We picked curricula matching Laguna’s whole child approach. We did not mimic some other districts. Teachers have been developing and learning our curricula so our students succeed.”
A2
Counselors accessible for students who want to discuss their problems, better nutrition at the schools, implement Common Core “calmly and without hysteria.”
* Campaign disclosures from candidate filings with the Orange County Registrar of Voters.
