I want to share my enthusiastic support for Kelly Kent for School Board in Tuesday’s election. We are fortunate to have a candidate who has showed the love and commitment to the education of Lin Howe students and our community.
I am both a parent and a Spanish teacher at Lin Howe. I am part of the Spanish enrichment program that Kelly co-founded with Joanna Brody and other parents. This Spanish language program has been a success since day one.
The thought that perhaps Lin Howe never would have the privilege of a second language like the other two immersion schools in our District was a constant topic of discussion among s fellow parents. Because of Kelly’s dedication, support and her talent to communicate with different cultures, this program became a reality.
In addition to knowing that learning more than one language boosts a child’s brainpower, Kelly is a strong supporter of arts education for its ability to close the achievement gap. Research has shown that the arts prepare students for success in school, work and life by boosting math and literacy achievement, developing creativity and critical-thinking skills, strengthening perseverance, and facilitating cross-cultural understanding.
Thankfully, CCUSD’s current Local Control Access Plan does allocate for increased arts spending in the next three-year period. Teacher training is not included in this projection. If Kelly is elected Tuesday, she will advocate for the District to increase its support of arts via a significant teacher-training component, Teachers would learn how to incorporate the arts in ways that specifically support the needs of socio-economically disadvantaged students and English language learners, populations currently suffering from a lower graduation rate. This is the most efficient, effective way to integrate arts into the curriculum via subjects already being taught (reading, math, science). It would ensure that every student receives an arts-based education.
For more information on Kelly’s view about arts and education, I encourage voters to read her response to the recent ArtsForLA survey, which all School Board candidates filled out: http://survey-artsforla.nationbuilder.com/culver_city_usd
“It takes a village to raise a child,” and our schools and community are a huge part of our children’s lives.
Kelly has been working hard to gather input from parents, teachers, students, District representatives and other citizens about what they think is working, and what is broken. I support her vision to increase access to both foreign languages and the arts, and to enhance professional training that will enable our teachers to reach all students.
No two children are alike. Each responds to different things in the classroom. Kelly Kent knows this, not only in her heart, but also from a brain-based scientific point of view.
She will make an outstanding advocate for all of our children.
For these reasons, I hope you’ll join me in giving Kelly your vote on Tuesday.
Ms. Muñoz-Gonzalez may be contacted at Zivimandel@yahoo.com