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I am running as an incumbent for a third term on the Board of Education. My husband and I raised our two children in Berkeley, and they are graduates of Berkeley public schools. I have also provided clinical social work services to Bay Area families for over 35 years. These experiences have given me a good appreciation for the real needs of children and families as well as a deep understanding of the change process and what is needed to promote healthy growth and development—in individuals and organizations. I seek re-election because I believe my continued leadership is needed to insure that we maintain the progress we have made and push forward on critically needed improvements in teaching and learning.  

The school district has come a long way since I was first elected. In 1998, our public schools were in a state of administrative and financial crisis. I ran to turn that situation around—and here are some of the key changes I’ve worked hard to help make.  

• Policy, not politics, now guides our actions.  

• We are fiscally solvent and use modern data systems.  

• Our high school has outstanding, stable leadership after years of administrative turn-over.  

• Funding has increased in the critical areas of maintenance and safety.  

• I have partnered with Mayor Tom Bates and other Berkeley leaders to bring substantial new resources and more relevant supports to students facing barriers to learning. 

Over the years, I have asked many times for your patience while we focused on fixing our broken administrative systems. Now the time for patience has passed. With the renewal of our parcel tax—Measure A on the November ballot we will finally have the financial stability and organizational strength we need to focus on improving student achievement. I pledge to continue to use my skills as a professional social worker and leader in education reform to build on the substantial progress we have made and put improvements to teaching and learning squarely on center stage:  

• Research tells us the most important variable in student learning is effective teaching. Measure A enhances funding for professional development.  

• It is well understood that policy makers need student achievement data to make good decisions and so do teachers. Measure A provides funds to gather data and train us to use it.  

• I am passionate about the need for our schools to partner with other community agencies to build comprehensive, relevant and affordable systems of supports for children facing barriers to learning. Toward this end, I have taken a leadership role in the highly promising Berkeley Integrated Resources Initiative (BIRI). I have worked with Mayor Tom Bates, the Berkeley Alliance, County officials, staff and other youth providers to bring significant new and stable, State and County dollars to BUSD and the City to support these efforts. I have also played a key role within the District and on the board to develop and communicate a common vision concerning Special Education and the whole child. The BIRI initiative, in concert with our Special Education reforms promises to deliver more relevant and comprehensive supports to families and children that need them, resulting in improved student attendance, engagement, and achievement.  

There is great concern with in our community about achievement gaps. To properly address this issue we must separate the question of what schools can do to improve student achievement from what communities must do to address achievement gaps.  

What schools can do to improve student achievement can be summarized in following 4 part formula: clear, high standards plus timely data + continuous professional development plus comprehensive student supports equals improved student achievement. Adopt high standards and explicit goals; provide teachers with high quality professional development in curriculum and instruction; use assessment to identify and remediate gaps in learning; provide students and teachers with supports to address barriers to learning. Research demonstrates and experts agree that these focused efforts will result in increased academic achievement. Some people (e.g. authors of No Child Left Behind ) believe that these efforts will also close achievement gaps. I do not. In my view, achievement gaps will only close when school reform is combined with changes to the ways in which young children are prepared to learn. This means income supports, stable housing, and comprehensive health care, preschool, and informed parents. In Berkeley, we have enjoyed success by taking a public health approach to social problems like teen age pregnancy, smoking and hypertension. I believe that the achievement disparities that we see in our students warrant the declaration of a public health crisis and I call for the development of a long term, comprehensive public health initiative to address class based disparities in Kindergarten readiness.  

I have been elected twice to the Berkeley Board of Education, and I believe my record demonstrates that I have served the community with energy and integrity, using my Social Work skills to bring people together and find solutions that work. Over the years I’ve learned a lot about school governance and established many trusting relationships with Berkeley leaders who strongly support my candidacy. Among them: Mayor Tom Bates, former Mayor Shirley Dean, Shirley Richardson and Salvador Murillo of the YMCA, Council members Olds, Wozniak, & Capitelli, fellow school board members Rivera and Selawsky, the Berkeley Democratic Club, Alameda County Green Party, National Association of Social Workers—California Chapter and Assemblywomen Wilma Chan and Lonnie Hancock.  

There is not only support for my candidacy in Berkeley, but hope for our initiatives. It is my commitment to this work, the hopes that we all share for change, and a belief that I can make a difference that leads me to seek re-election. I ask for your vote for Measure A and my candidacy so that we can continue our important work together on behalf of Berkeley’s children. To learn more about my candidacy, please go to: www.smartvoter.org/vote/shirley_issel.