Candidate Q&A: Chris Hasegawa for Spreckels Union Elementary School District.

As part of the 2022 election season, the Weekly asked candidates for several offices to answer questions about some of the issues by email. There are five candidates for three seats on the board of the Spreckels Union Elementary School District: Frank Devine, Chris Hasegawa (an incumbent), Steve McMurtrie, Peter Odello and Michael B. Scott (an incumbent). All provided answers to the Weekly's questions except Odello, who did not respond. Hasegawa's answers are below.

What do you think are the biggest challenges facing Spreckels Union School District in the next four years, and why are you the best candidate to address them?

I think the biggest problem facing all of PK-12 education in America is the undervaluing and underfunding of teachers. The teaching profession has been traditionally devalued and poorly funded and now, with the rancor and blaming that came to a new high during the Covid years, we’re seeing that many top candidates are choosing to go to other fields. We have many talented, gifted and brave teachers in the Spreckels Union School District. But unless we do something about making this challenging career more attractive to the best and the brightest, we will lose the opportunity to continue to have highly qualified and motivated teachers for our children.

Part of the problem in education financing is the widespread perception that the education of children is entirely the responsibility of the teachers or the education system. In fact, the education process, and all of the behavioral/social/political. pressures that affect classrooms and students need to be addressed both within the school, the families and the larger community. In the Spreckels District we are blessed to have many supportive and involved parents, and that makes a huge difference for our students. But in order to achieve a change in government and community attitudes about education, there needs to be pressure brought by responsible citizens beyond the bounds of the district.

I believe that I am qualified and have the education, experience (as someone who has sat on both sides of this negotiating table),contacts and time to be active as a leader for Spreckels Union District in SUSD board meetings, and also in regional and state coalitions that will impact policy and cultural considerations that will benefit PK-12 education statewide.

What qualifications do you bring to this position?

I have a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Oregon. I have served as a Dean, Department Chair and Professor at California State University Monterey Bay as well as a professor and department chair for teacher education at CSU Sacramento. I’ve been on the Spreckels School Board since 2013 and have taken advantage of training by the Monterey County Office of Education and the California School Boards Association (CSBA) in California School finance and board policy. I’ve been invited to speak on education and cultural issues at many state, national and international meetings. I taught 3rd and 5th grade, middle school science and math, and served a an elementary principal, and as the president of the teachers Union. I was a founding faculty member at CSUMB, and a founding board member at the International School of Monterey and the private/public partnership Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History. I currently am President of the Monterey Peninsula Choral Society, serve on the board for ALBA (Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association) and am an Elder at the First Presbyterian Church of Monterey.

How often do you currently attend SUSD board meetings, and how would you rate the current board’s performance?

Being a current board member, I go to all the meetings that I can and I think that the current board did an unbelievable job over the last few years that were as difficult a period for American schools as I have ever seen. Were there things that we could have done better? Of course, in retrospect we might have made some choices differently. But these were unprecedented times for all of American education and especially for Spreckels Union School District.

What is your vision to help students make up for learning loss after pandemic closures?

The district has designed a multi-tiered response to helping students achieve grade level competence in core areas:

1. Intervention Teachers were hired at Spreckels Elementary School (SES) and Buena Vista Middle School (BV) to support struggling students (especially low SD and Low Performing Students per block grant) in ELA and Math with a modified teaching schedule to support an after-school math program.

2. Instituted an extended school year for identified students, but especially academically at-risk students like ELs, foster youth, low socioeconomic, etc.

3. Budgeted for additional hours for English language development teacher to contact and support EL students and families over the summer

4. Implemented an enhanced data system that allowed for quick identification of students who were initially struggling with distance learning and experiencing learning loss. The purchase of additional devices, for both teachers and students/families, allowed the district to account for 100% of students during distance learning. Those students who were experiencing early learning loss were identified and provided small group support by the newly hired intervention teachers. One instructional aide was trained in the SIPPs intervention program and supported the new intervention teachers and struggling students.

5. Implemented a three-phase "bridging program" that is outlined in the 2021-24 LCAP. Phase 1 will include 1:1 or small group tutoring for the students identified as experiencing the greatest degree of learning loss; Phase 2 will include a late summer/early fall summer program to help transition struggling students into the 2021-22 school year; and Phase 3 will develop a three-year intervention program that will run during the instructional day, after-school, and over the summers. Specific staffing and program enhancements will be spelled out in the 2021-24 LCAP. The district will also increase its social-emotional support by adding a full-time district counselor beginning in 2021-22.

Last year, the district was caught in a controversy after a Substack post alleged that two teachers stalked students. How do you think the district and the board handled this?

The board immediately authorized an independent investigation into the matter which resulted in a finding of “No” regarding the question of “Did the two teachers 'stalk' students by monitoring internet activity for UBU club recruitment?” Ultimately, the board went through the proper steps and processes, but, in my opinion the process took too long.

If elected, what will you do to help the parent community trust educators? What will you do to help educators trust that academic freedom will be supported even on topics that may be controversial?

I believe that the first question is misleading in that it implies that the parent community does not currently trust the teachers and staff of the district. I don’t believe that is generally the case, and in observing classrooms and parent-teacher interactions, I believe that the parent community holds the teachers and staff of our schools in very high regard. Parents—and I include myself amongst these even though my children are in their 30s—are less trusting of the educational and governmental infrastructure that surround schools. For example, there was a lot of rancor and unrest among parents (some of whom advocated passionately on both sides) the topic of students wearing masks to school. The district followed the regulations handed down by the State and County Health agencies. But school board meetings became the forum for these concerns and demands. Another example is the persistent insistence that the district board ignore state and national teaching guidelines and approved curriculum.

The second question is more problematic to me as a teacher educator, in that teachers can read the district policies and curriculum/teaching standards and know what the board and the district will and will not support. But in the case of the two teachers caught in the controversy last year, even though they were ultimately ruled to be on the right side of 5 of the 6 questions investigated, the pressures of personal and professional threats and a potential lawsuit, along with a very long investigative process, resulted in both leaving the district. I, personally, wish that we could have done more to protect the teachers while still keeping an objective position in keeping with board policy. I still don’t know how to have done that, but I do worry that teachers will become more under pressure for taking a stand and that all of the disagreeable behavior will result in teachers either opting out or looking for a path that does not inflame those who offer malice and danger as a response to a principled stand.

Given recent history in Spreckels, what will you do to help LGBTQ+ students feel safe in their school environment? What should district officials do?

The district is working with Dr. Roberto Núñez, the Director of Leadership & School Systems at the Monterey County Office of Education, to create an Equity Task Force that would get trained and then help roll out trainings and resources to others in the district and community. Two board members as well as teachers, staff and parents will participate in these initial trainings and will help to chart a course forward that includes making the district a safe place for students to be who they are, and for many, that may include questions about who they are in the world in terms of gender identification and personal identity. All board members and district officials must be a part of this effort to keep moving forward to the goals agreed upon by all members of the current board.

What will you do to support public engagement in school district governance and ensure all voices are heard?

Inviting public participation in all phases of school planning is part of the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) process resulting in a three-year plan that describes the goals, actions, services, and expenditures to support positive student outcomes that address state and local priorities. We have actively been inviting parents and other members of the community to become involved in the various committees and work groups involved in the formulation of the LCAP.

Similarly, time is reserved at the beginning of each board meeting for the public to comment on items both on or not on the agenda for that meeting. The board will continue to invite public participations in both of these forums.

What should the board do to address declining enrollment in the district?

Because Spreckels Union School District, and the “town” of Spreckels is a part of unincorporated Monterey County, technically a census-designated place, with no government or chamber of commerce, there is no body through which the district can push for growth or additional housing that would cater to families with school aged children. The best path forward for the district in terms of attracting students from neighboring districts, without engaging in any illegal “recruitment” behaviors is to focus on building the best possible school environments for our existing students and families.

Who are you supporting for the other two seats?

I am strongly supporting Dr. Michael B. Scott, a CSUMB math professor and department chair, and incumbent SUSD Board member.

Who is your proudest endorsement?

I am pleased to say that after some of the most difficult set of years for teachers that I’ve ever seen, the Spreckels Teachers Association has chosen to endorse both Dr. Scott and myself as incumbent board members.