Candidate Q & A: Jane Bock

Glendora Patch asked the candidates for the Charter Oak Unified School Board to answer questions before the Nov. 5 election. All the candidates answered the same questions via email.

Name: Jane A. Bock
Age: 58
Occupation: Governing Board Member

1. Please introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your background and why you should be re-elected.
I have been a member of the Charter Oak community since I entered the District as a kindergarten student. My husband, Dennis, and I have three children that were educated in the Charter Oak District and now have five grandchildren that are in the Charter Oak School District. I have had the privilege of working with the Charter Oak District as a volunteer and employee for 33 years. This is my ninth year serving our school district as a Governing Board Member. Along with fellow Governing Board Member, Don Davis, it is my goal to continue to be of service to the Charter Oak School District. Charter Oak is a strong school district and with your vote we intend to keep it "Charter Oak Strong."

2. What do you think distinguishes you from the other candidate? What do you bring to the table?
What I feel I bring to the Board table is the ability to look at all of the information received from all parties and make the best decisions possible for the advancement of the education of our Charter Oak students. Having the background of being a student, parent, grandparent, and an employee of this District gives me the unique quality of being able to see any given situation from several different points of view. I always keep an open mind during discussions so that I hear all sides of the information fairly.

3. How do you plan on working with the school board to address the needs of students, staff and faculty?
We are very fortunate, here in Charter Oak, to have five school board members that have mutual respect for each other and work very well together. We can agree to disagree when certain decisions are made, and when the majority has spoken and the vote is done, we all get on board to make the decision work in the best way possible. Our student's needs are our first priority in all decisions and along with the faculty, staff and administration in Charter Oak we all make up the team that keeps our students first.

4. What are the most pressing issues facing the community? How would you approach and resolve these issues?
Although our budget needs are always a pressing issue in all school districts, we are also always working with constant changes in the educational world. With the new local control funding formula, LCFF, we will have more flexibility in our budget due to the change in restricted and unrestricted budget categories. This will give us the opportunity to put some of our funding in the places where we see more need.  
We will also be implementing the new nation wide educational instruction program called Common Core. This is an entirely different teaching strategy and it is going to be a huge change for our students, teachers as well as our parents here in California.
Charter Oak has become a leader in the Common Core training throughout the San Gabriel Valley and is on the cutting edge of implementing the Common Core into our curriculum. We have had several Parent Academy Evenings to help our parents become aware of the changes in their student's educational instruction. Helping our children with their homework is going to be a new experience for all parents.