Jhansi Kalapala, Candidate for Fremont Unified School District (District 4 seat), on why she is venturing into public service. The views expressed are her own:
My name is Jhansi Kalapala, a wife, and a wonderful mother. I am a resident of the Fremont community since 2003, so it has been a long relationship with this community. I take pride in living in this community for so many years, and it has been a great bond. I am looking forward to work many more years to come. I want to tell you that I am a Health IT Manager, and I perceive my Doctorate in Healthcare Leadership and Information Management from California University, Irvine. Earlier, I was the Vice President of Operations for the Open Shores Services Company.
During this tenure, I trained many young graduates to learn the art of doing their jobs and getting new technical skills to get better in their professional careers. I was quite satisfied with my job, but I wanted to contribute something to my community, so I started working as a classroom volunteer in my Kids’ School. I was involved in school PTA and worked in many roles such as President, volunteer and working as an Executive Vice President. I was enjoying this role to make some contribution, so I continued to get involved in more things. I helped students by teaching them after school math. A debate club was also started with the partnership of the Fremont Debate Academy (FDA). These community projects have added so much to my personal and professional career that I want to continue in this fashion for more years to come.
I am excited to announce that I am running for the Fremont School Board, District 4 Seat. I have worked in so many roles in my life and being a mentor, coach, educator, and mother, and I know the importance of education in our lives. I genuinely believe that no community can progress without the essence of education. Healthy and sustainable communities are built with the help of education so that the younger generation can play their positive part. As an educator, coach, classroom volunteer, PTA leader, and parent, I know the value of education, and it is the foundation from which we build strong, solid communities. As an educationist, I see the direct impact of policy decisions on our students. I work with the principals, teachers, families, and the community to support the learning occurring every day in our classrooms. I believe my participation has prepared me to make a meaningful contribution as a member of the Board.
My top Goals are
- Quality education:
Every student at the campus has the right to get a quality education without any disturbance. Due to overcrowding, the facilities need to be improving so that everyone will get proper attention in regard to education. One of my ultimate goals is to provide quality in education to make students able to perform well in the job market. By coordinating with teachers, students, and parents, it would be possible to maintain a level of studies that would be beneficial for the students.
- Mental Health Issues:
Students on the campus need to get proper direction so that they would be able to grow minds to maintain a healthy mind. Several mental and physical activities will be held to refresh students for their ultimate goals. In the case of safety and respect, I will assure you that nobody will get hurt by physical or mental means. Seniors will not be able to tease youngers that will make the environment friendly for quality education. Parents wouldn’t need to worry about students. There will be facilities and opportunities for the student to groom their minds and to enhance their mental health.
- Safety and Equity:
Student safety is our top priority and to provide equal and balanced rights to everyone. I will make the campus management strong enough to get maximum support from the support staff. Pieces of training and workshops will be held for the proper institution of educators and support staff to guarantee the high levels of education. Students’ problems regarding everything will be heard, and we will try our best to resolve them. Nobody will feel helpless in any way. Facilitating everyone on the campus is the main focus for us. It will let students get equal rights and equal quality of education. Students’ and educators’ safety is our priority in regard to any physical or mental issues.
As we all know, the BoE plays a critical role in determining the policy that will improve the education of all our children. I recognize we are fortunate to live in a community where education is paramount, but each year we face tough decisions on how to allocate our resources. Each year we face decisions like which programs will be funded or cut, do we propose new initiatives or not, and should we fund bricks and mortar or books?
If elected, as a member of the Fremont Board of Education I will ask in-depth questions about policy and programs so that we, as a community, understand the value they will bring to the classroom. I will encourage the proposal of new initiatives to improve the education of our children. I will listen to and reflect on the concerns of our community and work collaboratively with fellow Board members to improve our schools.
Although budget season gets tougher each year, I believe together we can find creative solutions to address those challenges while maintaining the superior quality of education we have come to expect. With a new Special Education Director and many new administrators in our schools, I am hopeful that with fresh eyes and new perspectives the next few years will produce some cost-effective innovations and new initiatives. In our community, we value a top-notch education and we are able to provide that education; however, I am committed to continued improvements and to take our educational system to an even higher level. It would be an honor to serve on the Board of Education.
I ask you for your vote on November 3.
My website is www.jhansi4schoolboard.com
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/jhansi4fremontschoolboard/posts/?ref=page_internal
