Norma Gonzalez - Irving ISD Board of Trustees Place 4.
1. What are your qualifications and experience that will make you an effective member of the School Board?
I am a parent of three children; my first graduated from Singley Academy, my second is a second grader at Thomas Haley Elementary and my third begins PreK this Fall. I have been and continue to be a dedicated parent volunteer. For the past 18 years (seven in the IISD), I have been an active PTA member. I am currently treasurer of the Thomas Haley PTA and a member of the District Improvement Committee.
2. What policies will you initiate and support to decrease the dropout rates in your school district?
The bilingual program is failing many of our Spanish speaking students. They are not mastering the English language in elementary school. They are so far behind by the time they reach high school that they see no way of catching up so they drop out. I am in favor of an English Immersion option to the state mandated bilingual education.
3. What priorities in spending will you support in light of the reduced funding experienced by all Texas school districts?
Teachers and students must be our first priority. I will ensure we support our great teachers' and students' financial needs and stop frivolous spending on remodeling offices, filling fountains in the administration building and hiring additional highly paid mid-management employees. I will also work to stop wasteful spending on legal fees by hiring a staff attorney, a move that will save the district over $350,000 per year.
4. What initiatives will you support to ensure that teacher morale and working conditions are good?
Eliminate unnecessary paper work that all of our teachers are forced to do because of the new CSCOPE curriculum. The hours of work our teachers spend on this does not help educate our students or increase student achievement. I would recommend an anonymous climate survey of all teachers. This would give teachers an opportunity to voice their concerns to the Board of Trustees and rate their administrators regarding safety and support without fear of retaliation. This survey would provide valuable information to the Board of Trustees.
5. What initiatives will you support to meet the needs of many students for vocational training?
The district has implemented signature programs on each high school campus. Irving has the Aviation & Biomedical Sciences Program, MacArthur has the Architecture, Construction & Engineering Program and Nimitz has the Energy & Environmental Entrepreneurship Program. These are in addition to the Schools of Culinary Arts & Hospitality, Legal Studies, Health Science, Cinematic Arts, Information Technology and Engineering at The Academy. I will support the growth of all of these programs.
6. What do you see as the top two pressing issues for your School District and what are your solutions or recommendations?
First, Student discipline. Campus administrators must work more collaboratively with School Resource Officers and make students/parents more accountable for disciplinary problems. SROs should be allowed access to investigate any potentially harmful or illegal actions in our
schools. SROs should be able to view surveillance video at all times without the permission of the principal.
Second, Spanish speaking students not mastering the English language. I support an English Immersion option to the current bilingual program.
