Parent who is critical of Rowena Chiu enters school board race

14 Comments

1. I guess “students not reaching their potential” doesn’t include students who master the median curriculum quickly and are bored after that. Good thing we’ve got Ms Henigin around to tell those kids they don’t belong.

2. No. Just no.

3. You will never elevate a struggling student by holding the capable back.

4. Is “potential” the same for every student? What does it mean for a student “to reach (or not to reach) their potential”? What if my potential is to be a good writer while someone else has the potential to be a good salesperson, manager, mechanic, carpenter, cook, artist, lawyer, actress, athlete, engineer, etcetera? I hope Ms. Henigin can offer some clarity here.

   I used to tell my U.S. History/Constitution students that I hoped they would become functional citizens who could be effective jurors, cast informed votes, analyze opposing viewpoints, and formulate their own educated opinions. That said, I knew students would progress along that continuum at a different pace, and I never tried to slow anyone down who wanted to learn beyond the standard curriculum. It would be wrong for teachers not to offer extra help to those who struggle, but it is also a disservice to delay the growth of those who can go beyond the norm. As an experienced classroom aide, I must assume that she understands the diverse student dynamics of a typical classroom.

   The idea that school climate is the driving force behind the recent suicide tragedies gives me pause. One hopes that she recognizes the complexity and individual circumstances behind that mournful choice.

5. John and Avery are just what the doctor ordered for PAUSD! The previous board created Don; the current board enabled Don (till recently); the board that will be elected in 2026 will need to rebuild a culture where families and teachers aren’t silenced into submission.

6. You can bet the dumb-it-down, status-quo crowd will put up a nasty fight to defeat John and Avery. They’ll use anonymous third-parties to throw mud at them. It will be as ugly as the personal attacks they launched against Rowena. It was a big intimidation campaign. Thankfully she was tough enough to stand up against them. But John and Avery will need a lot of support from the community.

7. Linda Henigin is as woke as they come! Time to move beyond BLM, DEI, and character assassination of people due to the hue of their skin, Ms. Henigin.

   • Anti-racism IS racism. You can bet my children of color (Asian) have felt it on the district level, in their needs being dismissed, in being shamed for daring to shine, in their interactions with certain teachers and administrators. Ironically, Henigan’s wokeness will probably cause more mental health issues for our children of color. It’s time for a change. Avery and Craig have my vote.

8. I’d like to ask Ms. Henigin if she believes males can change their sex, and if she says yes, to please explain how that takes place. Does she believe that natal males should be permitted into females bathroom areas at PAUSD? Will she commit to honor Title IX for girls at PAUSD?

9. Don Austin’s reign was a prime example of what happens when activists on a crusade attempt to impose their agenda on everyone else. Posing as liberals, they use methods that counter traditional liberalism to marginalize anyone who questions their plans. True liberalism embraces open discussion, dissent, honest research, logic, and compromise with opposing interests. Let’s hope that whomever wins board seats will understand that there are stakeholders who deserve a seat at the table who don’t march lock step with their vision. Democracy works when competing voices are heard and respected.

10. Sounds to me like shes going in the wrong direction, the direction that the districts presently taking. Enough.

11. Hmmmmm……… She kind of sounds like the dying breathe of the status quo crowd within PAUSD laying low, for now, thinking the damage they have done or been complicit with will just “blow over”. Rowena ran on reform and routing out the cancerous / toxic environment Don Austin and his regime created for parents and employees of PAUSD. Why would you openly challenge someone trying to break the status quo? With Don and Trent being gone now has help expose more rotten apples off their culture tree still employed by PAUSD. Why are people within PAUSD upper management maintaining status quo and still not honestly investigating employees, one of them being Mark Herrera, who has a pending lawsuit against him for allegedly bullying and taking bribes? Why obfuscate the bullying culture that Rowena is trying to root out? Why investigate Rowena in order to get rid of her and throw off the will of the Palo Alto voters? As painful and daunting as our reality is, you cannot continue renovations on the current structure with major foundation and structural integrity issues. The damage needs to be honestly assessed, the foundation repaired, the rot removed before we can all finally rebuild together. Imagine any type of business with a budget of approximately $350 million, let alone, one of the top school districts in California being run as unprofessionally and dishonest as PAUSD right now. To the lame ducks on the BOE, do what is right, and do it now! All of the Palo Alto taxpayers need to start demanding resignations from Don’s leftover bad apples before a single lawsuit multiplies into class action. An honest investigation will find all the evidence, all of the victims and all of the witnesses. It will also uncover who knew what and when yet turned the other away to keep the status quo. Step #1 is still TRUTH.

12. The school board is doing the community a disservice by rushing the hiring of a new superintendent. They should slow down the process and let the next board make the decision. The current board will pick a clone of Don Austin. The community is screaming for change. Anyone taking the superintendent’s job shouldn’t sign a long-term lease or get into a mortgage. They may be looking for a new job within months of the change in boards.

13. Look to some to the overpaid and vague jobs like “Assistant Superintendent for Agility and Innovation”.

    Can you actually tell me what this person does on a daily basis?

    “Creating aligned and efficient systems through strategizing project management which promotes visibility to the District’s process and outcomes.

    Contextualizing the District’s annual “Promise Priority Goals’ by evaluating processes through data collection and analysis.

    Lead K-12 Career Pathway programs towards diverse learning opportunities to prepare students for future employability”
    (PAUSD Website)

    I saw an initiative spearheaded by this individual called “Positive Belonging” that recommended “extended lunch periods”, “more clubs”, “more teacher involvement in lunch activities”, and “better wifi”.

    Guess what, none of these ideas will go anywhere. Extended lunches are a no-go and have been since the day I started teaching, more clubs is really up to students, teachers have duty free lunch (for a good reason), and the district had not touched the poor wifi for over a decade in my final years of employment.

    Has anyone seen or heard of a “Career Pathway” class or program on their chid’s school site. I never saw one at mine.

    In other words, for $250,000 a year the job was to be loyal to Austin and create the impression that you were doing something essential, as in fooling the taxpayer. Now that’s innovative.

    I sure hope some of these shadow positions are examined more carefully since this “leader” makes the pay of three new full time teachers.

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