Recent opinions in this newspaper about the Santa Clara Unified School District (SCUSD) have failed to report the whole story.
Let’s focus on this issue: most of our elementary schools perform poorly because of the failure to teach the basics, such as phonics and math facts. The one exception is Milliken, which teaches the basics. However, enrollment is by lottery and there are 800 students on the waiting list because the former SCUSD board failed to respond to parent demand for basics education.
Many parents who would have been highly involved in SCUSD schools and parents with high performing students have opted to send their children to private or charter schools instead of our local public schools or they have moved out of the district.
We voted for change. The new board majority is trying to improve our schools. Let’s give them a chance.
