Guin Van Dyke for School Board, 2010 Campaign Statement

Guin Van Dyke for School Board
Doing More With Less….
Fall, 2010

Sunol Glen is a rare gem: a small one-school district where teachers, staff, parents, and community all bind together for one purpose—providing the best possible education to our students. The school is nestled in a rural, country setting, yet provides our students with a top-notch education, successfully preparing them for life in the 21st century.

I have served on the Sunol Glen Unified School Board since 2002. With your help and support, I am running for a third term so that I may continue the positive trend of excellence in our District.

Our role as School Board is not to micromanage daily district operations. Rather, Board members provide oversight to the District and Superintendent, creating an environment that encourages learning and fosters the development of each individual child.

While we have lost some veteran, highly regarded teachers in recent years to retirement and other reasons, we have also hired some fabulous new teachers. The Sunol Glen staff is a positive, unified team, each bringing valuable programs, curriculum, and experience to our school. We have long waiting lists for enrollment as well as our After School Program.

Sunol Glen has thrived in difficult times. Over the past two years, $17 billion has been cut statewide from public schools—more than $1,500 per student. These budget cuts have forced other districts to raise class sizes, layoff teachers, and eliminate programs like art, music, and social sciences.

Yet despite these harsh realities Sunol Glen Unified School District is thriving!

We are doing more with less and have accomplished a great deal:

• Increased our API to 909, a 23 point improvement over last year, putting us second in the County to Piedmont, and surpassing Pleasanton.
• Retained small class sizes: lower grades K–3 at 22 or below, upper grades at an average of 28.
• Successfully implemented multi-age classrooms for grades K–3.
• Art & Music programs continue to thrive, with all students benefiting from the exposure to the arts with the help of donations from our local and school communities.
• Rewarded all employees with at least 10% salary increases over the last four years, beyond contracted step and column increases.
• Rescinded all March 2010 layoff notices, with only a few positions being partially reduced.
• Operated the Sunol Glen Preschool as a fully-licensed and credentialed preschool program, in full compliance with state laws.
• Maintained a balanced and certified budget, as well as met all contractual obligations for the last 8+ years.

As a school board member, I am currently serving as President of the Tri-Valley Regional Occupational Program Board. I recently completed two courses of the “Masters in Governance” program, “Human Resources” and “Setting Direction”. I have received several awards for my work on the School Board.

My family and I moved to Sunol more than 15 years ago. Both of my children attended and graduated from Sunol Glen. During their years at the school, I regularly volunteered in my children’s classrooms and held several positions in the Community Club. Now that my children are grown, I still have a deep love for the school and continue to play an active role in the school and in the community. I am proud of Sunol Glen, and the outstanding education it continues to offer our students.

Please allow me to continue the work I love, with one of your votes on November 2.

Guin Van Dyke for School Board, Campaign Statement

I am asking our community for their support in voting Guin Van Dyke for Sunol Glen Unified School Board.

I was appointed to the Board in March 2002. I was one of three candidates and because I had a tremendous amount of Community support then, I was appointed to the School Board. I am asking for your support again.

I have been the President of the Board for the last three years. I have also been serving on the Tri Valley Regional Occupational Program (ROP) Board. I have been recognized by Alameda County for my first four years of service to our District and have won the Association of California School Administrators “Friends of Education” award in 2002 and 2006.

Sunol Glen was in turmoil when I was appointed to the Board. It was my goal then to bring about stability and create an atmosphere of respect that would allow for a high quality of education. Since that time I feel this has happened and a bond has formed between our staff and community. Since the BASIS Charter School has left Sunol Glen Unified, our Academic Performance Index scores have climbed to 874 this year. Our School is an important part of our Community and is attractive to others as more than 70% of our student’s are inter-district transfers. Attracting and retaining talented teachers is important to our District. We were able to reward our teachers and staff with a 5% salary raise last year. Although our budget is tight right now, we are continuing to build enrollment to prevent deficit spending. One of the Boards biggest hurdles this school year will be hiring a new superintendent. I have talked with surrounding districts about their recent process and I am currently on the hiring Board for the ROP superintendent. I believe Sunol Glen needs a superintendent with a sense of community and leadership. Some of our teachers will be retiring this year and I believe our new teachers need to be vigorous and innovative with a drive for education for our students.

My family and I moved to Sunol more than 11 years ago.. Both of my children attended and graduated from Sunol Glen. My husband is a local businessman who is self employed as a U.S. Patent Agent. I was very active in my children’s classrooms and held several positions in the Community Club. I received the Vivian Schieb award for outstanding volunteer in 1998. I have served on Foothill High School Site Council for one year, and have been on the Sunol Glen School Site Council for the last 6 years.

Sunol Glen is my passion. I am asking for your vote so that I can continue to help make Sunol Glen the best it can be for our Students, Staff, Parents and Community.

If I have your support and may use your name, please sign below.

Thank you,

Guin Van Dyke