NPE Action endorses Robert Garcia for the Etiwanda School Board
NPE Action proudly endorses Robert Garcia for the School Board of the Etiwanda School District in San Bernardino County, California.
Robert was a teacher for 12 years, and he is in his second year as an administrator. Robert taught in a charter school for a short while, and helped unionize its teachers. He now has this to say about charter schools.
“Having worked previously at a charter school, I am a strong proponent of due process and seniority systems. There is an overwhelming anxiety that cripples you as an educator and your campus as a whole, when you know that you cannot do what is best for students or the school. Teachers’ only motivation is to stay employed. Teachers were fired arbitrarily and it was used as a mechanism to instill fear and conformity…Charter schools are a detriment to students and to the American taxpayer. I worked at a charter school and have seen the corruption, lack of accountability, and poor educational results first-hand.”
Robert is not a proponent of standardized testing, which he believes primarily measures the socio-economic status of the child’s family.
“Assessments should be formative and demonstrate gaps in understanding and informs the teacher in guiding future instruction and interventions. Summative state tests results have become the end-all be-all of a school’s effectiveness, but it is mainly the measure of the community’s socioeconomic level. I recently visited another school’s classroom and I was just discouraged by the drilled-in practice of “citing evidence from text.” I was intrigued by what students were reading (volcanoes in Italy) but there was no joy among students, it was all about acquiring this skill that will be tested.”
Robert supports smaller class sizes, opposes vouchers, and wants to make schools more equitable for all students.
He will face his opponents in the general election on November 8. He has the endorsement of the Network for Public Education Action.