This profile is part of “Meet the LAUSD school board candidates,” a series focusing on the candidates running for three open seats on the seven-member school board. LAUSD is the largest school district in the country with an elected school board. The primary is June 7. Read all the pieces in the series as they are published here. Profiles have been edited for length and clarity. 

Name: Tracey Schroeder

District: 4

Background/profession: LAUSD teacher

Why are you running? 

I am running to help guide our district through an Academic Crisis that this district has ever seen. I am a boots on the ground, front-line, eyes-on-student-needs-educator… I have dedicated the past 24 years of my life in service to the students and families of Los Angeles Unified School District as a teacher….”

How are you different from other candidates? 

I know what LAUSD needs to do to get kids back on track and it starts with reading.

What’s the most important issue in your district? 

LAUSD needs to prioritize reading and activate our best practices…LAUSD has students who have never set foot in a classroom, who may or may not return in the fall. This is a learning emergency… 

What should be Superintendent Carvalho’s top priority? 

We need to financially incentivize our highly-qualified teachers to stay with LAUSD…. brand-new freshly-hired teachers need a lot of support. Add to that the severe learning deficits, the emotional issues, behavioral issues, testing season and report cards. We need all hands on deck to help stabilize our teaching staff. 

What skills or past experiences have prepared you to serve as a board member? 

I am a UCLA Communication Studies graduate with a masters degree in psychology. I am a BRAVO Award/Music Center finalist for integrating the arts within subject areas.. I’ve taught every grade, K-3… I’ve helped students with special needs get just the right support.

If you win, what do you hope to achieve for the LAUSD?

I have seen a lot of good over the years as well as an amazing amount of waste…Parents deserve a voice in their child’s education. Students deserve to attend stable schools where they learn to read and apply their skills. Taxpayers deserve to know that these future adults are getting a productive education. Teachers deserve support to help kids do their best work, and need to be able to trust their contract, and the decisions made between the union and school board…. The current school board lacks the classroom experience to know where or how to get started.

• Read all the candidate profiles here.

Destiny Torres is a graduate student at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism pursuing a master of science degree in journalism. She earned her bachelor’s degree at CSU Dominguez Hills. She is passionate about culture and social justice issues. 

Veronica Sierra is a sophomore pursuing a journalism degree at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. She was born and raised in Valencia, Venezuela; and moved to California in 2015 where she continued high school, graduating in 2020. 

Rebecca Katz is a recent graduate of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and a Los Angeles native with a Masters in Journalism and a Bachelors in English and Political Science. She is passionate about mental health and education reform.

This profile is part of “Meet the LAUSD school board candidates,” a series focusing on the candidates running for three open seats on the seven-member school board. LAUSD is the largest school district in the country with an elected school board. The primary is June 7. Read all the pieces in the series as they are published here. Profiles have been edited for length and clarity. 

Name: Miho Murai (write-in candidate)

District: 2

Background/Profession: Education rights/immigration attorney, educator, activist 

Why are you running? I am running for school board because I know I can be a powerful voice for low-income, English language learners, students with disabilities, students in the foster care and juvenile justice system, students who are unhoused, and the Asian Pacific American community. Since 2009, I have had my own pro bono/low bono law firm and have been representing low-income students with disabilities… to ensure children are provided with a free and appropriate public education… I understand what many of our students go through…as I am a proud product of public education and initially struggled academically due to my lack of knowledge of the English language and my mom’s inability to advocate for my needs…

How are you different from other candidates? I am the first Asian Pacific American woman to ever run for school board in LD 2. I have four years of classroom experience as a former LAUSD bilingual elementary teacher. I am earning a graduate certificate as an educational therapist to serve low-income, English language learners with dyslexia and ADHD. I am…the Executive Director of Community Lawyers, Inc…I know the struggles our students and families have undergone as a result of COVID-19… I have been an activist since the 1990s on immigration and education issues and have lived in LD 2 as a renter for over 15 years.  

What’s the most important issue in your district? The most important issue in Local District 2 right now is the negative impact that COVID-19… Students are still traumatized and many students have fallen academically behind…We need to reduce the class size to 20:1 from K to 5th grade and we need to increase the number of school psychologists and college counselors at every high school. Finally, we should increase the number of schools participating in the community school model. 

What should be Superintendent Carvalho’s top priority? Superintendent Carvalho’s top three priorities should be proactively addressing the declining enrollment, ensuring all schools are fully staffed, and maximizing the funding the district has received in response to the pandemic. LAUSD needs to increase the number of dual immersion and magnet programs as many families are leaving… in search of these types of programs. We also need to provide more incentives for teachers and staff to stay in the district.  

What skills or past experiences have prepared you to serve as a board member? Having been a bilingual elementary teacher in South L.A…. (has) prepared me to serve as a board member. I know firsthand the challenges that exist as a new teacher working in an underserved community. In addition, since 2008, I have been an educational rights/immigration attorney… I am currently the executive director of a non-profit in Compton. I regularly attend LAUSD school board meetings, and I am currently on the Executive Committee of the Community Advisory Committee, where I advise the school board on special education issues. Finally, I am very active in my community, serving as the At Large Board Representative for the Historic Cultural North Neighborhood Council and the Chair of the Schools and Libraries Committee. I am also the Membership Coordinator and Treasurer for the California Association for Parent-Child Advocacy, a state-wide volunteer organization.

If you win, what do you hope to achieve for the LAUSD?

My top five priorities include (1) Reduce class size to 20:1 from K to 5th grade; (2) Ensure 100% of students graduate with the tools to succeed in the workplace and in higher education; (3) Decrease the number of high school and middle school drop-outs and ensure effective interventions are in place before these children become disengaged from school; (4) Proactively address the school to prison pipeline by increasing the number of school psychologists and college counselors at every high school and ensuring that every school is implementing the School Climate Bill of Rights; and most importantly (5) Listen to our students and ensure that the curriculum is student-centered and culturally relevant. 

Destiny Torres is a graduate student at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism pursuing a master of science degree in journalism. She earned her bachelor’s degree at CSU Dominguez Hills. She is passionate about culture and social justice issues. 

Veronica Sierra is a sophomore pursuing a journalism degree at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. She was born and raised in Valencia, Venezuela; and moved to California in 2015 where she continued high school, graduating in 2020. 

Rebecca Katz is a recent graduate of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and a Los Angeles native with a Masters in Journalism and a Bachelors in English and Political Science. She is passionate about mental health and education reform.

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This profile is part of “Meet the LAUSD school board candidates,” a series focusing on the candidates running for three open seats on the seven-member school board. LAUSD is the largest school district in the country with an elected school board. The primary is June 7. Read all the pieces in the series as they are published here. Profiles have been edited for length and clarity. 

Name: Gentille Barkhordar

District: 4

Background/profession: Electrical Engineer/Mother

Why are you running? 

I am a parent of two LAUSD elementary students. I am concerned for our children’s well-being, the mental health crisis and learning loss.…Feeling helpless among many thousands of parents made me want to run for school board. Our children have suffered a great deal of social isolation and with little advocacy. Not a single member of the school board is a parent of a school aged child. I am running to give parents a seat at the negotiating table so that when important decisions are made about our children’s futures they are made with parent input.

How are you different from other candidates? 

I have two students in my local school, Warner Avenue Elementary. I have a vested interest in advocating for children and families. I receive no funding from special interest groups. I also have no affiliation with the teacher union that is represented as a stakeholder. I will be representing the children of the district. I have no political motivations for higher office. I am simply a mom who wants to get personally involved in making decisions for the future of our children.

What’s the most important issue in your district? 

The board and Superintendent Carvalho must regain control of our district. Our board has largely let UTLA manage decisions for our district. My goal is to work with the Superintendent and the board to regain control of decision making. The mental health crisis and learning loss… are symptoms of a more serious issue: Who is behind the decisions that are being made regarding our children and are the students’ best interest aligned with the decision makers? Studies have shown that children made little to no progress during virtual learning, especially in disadvantaged homes. Yet, our teachers unions lobbied and achieved one of the longest school closures in the world.

What should be Superintendent Carvalho’s top priority? 

Superintendent Carvalho must determine the effectiveness of our spending to help address the learning loss that resulted from one of the longest school closures in the world…The impact is deep and still untold. We must get creative in how we address this. There are staffing shortages and we cannot depend on our own employees. We must look outside to accomplished tutoring and instruction organizations. The district was given $5 billion dollars to combat the learning loss and currently is not spending that quickly enough on instruction. The majority of that money is going toward COVID testing and masking.

What skills or past experiences have prepared you to serve as a board member? 

In addition to being a parent who has experienced first hand the challenges of raising children during the pandemic, my background and education prepare me for this role. My family fled an oppressive and dangerous regime. I came here without speaking a word of English and with parents that had never graduated high school. I worked hard, had great teachers and role models and was able to get an excellent education. It gave me strong faith in the value and promise of quality education…. I speak English, Spanish, Farsi and French. I have a degree in Electrical Engineering from UCLA and an M.B.A. in Finance from USC. I began my professional career as an Electrical Engineer. Eventually I settled in California as an IBM consultant.

If you win, what do you hope to achieve for the LAUSD? 

…I will work with the superintendent and board to address the mental health crisis among our students, with input from parents, teachers and school administrators. In academics, we need to attract and retain students which means keeping challenging courses and providing advanced level courses. The access to classes like these should not be reserved for students in expensive private schools. For students that are not passing, we need to use resources… in efficient ways to help raise them up. We need to involve parents and support children with learning differences with robust resources such as teachers assistants and appropriate services. I plan to strengthen teacher training with a strong evaluation process… I would work to incentivize employees based on performance. I will strive to make campuses safe…by maintaining our campus officers.

• Read all the candidate profiles here.

Destiny Torres is a graduate student at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism pursuing a master of science degree in journalism. She earned her bachelor’s degree at CSU Dominguez Hills. She is passionate about culture and social justice issues. 

Veronica Sierra is a sophomore pursuing a journalism degree at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. She was born and raised in Valencia, Venezuela; and moved to California in 2015 where she continued high school, graduating in 2020. 

Rebecca Katz is a recent graduate of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and a Los Angeles native with a Masters in Journalism and a Bachelors in English and Political Science. She is passionate about mental health and education reform.

This profile is part of “Meet the LAUSD school board candidates,” a series focusing on the candidates running for three open seats on the seven-member school board. LAUSD is the largest school district in the country with an elected school board. The primary is June 7. Read all the pieces in the series as they are published here. Profiles have been edited for length and clarity. 

Name: Jess Arana

District: 6

Background/profession: Public Service – Police Sergeant/Educator 

Website: jesus-arana.com

Why are you running?

I am running on a student first platform and to give a voice back to parents and the community. Although we can never truly remove politics from education, decisions need to be made from the standpoint on what is best for students, parents, and the community. The interest of outside organizations with political agendas should not weigh more than student achievement and community concerns.

How are you different from other candidates?

I grew up in the trenches of my community and truly understand the plight of the children in LAUSD. Growing up in Pacoima as a poor Mexican boy to a single teenage mother of three, I know what it’s like to depend on LAUSD as my primary source of meals and childcare. My campaign for school board is genuinely a grassroots movement. I am a college graduate with a master’s degree and a proud US Army Veteran. I am a parent of four LAUSD students… I have been an employee of LAUSD for 24 years and I have been a volunteer mentor/coach with the district for over 27 years.

What’s the most important issue in your district?

Returning to a sense of normalcy… The pandemic has hit the nation hard and those most vulnerable, our socioeconomically challenged children, have been hit the hardest. Studies have shown that academics are down student-wide while mental health issues and suicide risks have increased… These issues have been exacerbated by the current political wave of pitting everyone against one another and painting people as far-left or far-right. It’s a good scare tactic for certain politicians but in the end, it impedes progress.

What should be Superintendent Carvalho’s top priority?

Declining enrollment across the district is occurring at an alarming rate… we have to take a customer service approach and give the public what it wants. Why can’t our students graduate with certificates in trades like plumbing, carpentry, and electrical? We have to place value in education by teaching our students actual skills and providing them with training where they can graduate and get a job. We have to create meaningful afterschool programs so parents will want their students involved.

What skills or past experiences have prepared you to serve as a board member?

It’s time we break the curse that has been plaguing our socioeconomically challenged children for generations. We need experienced and bold leaders who are not afraid to be the voice of students, parents, and employees. In addition to serving my country in the US Army, I possess a Master’s degree in Public Administration with an Emphasis in Leadership. As a 24 year employee of LAUSD, I understand the politics and bureaucracy of the district. I have had to navigate through the various departments and personnel within the district as both an employee and coach. As a kid, I grew up in LAUSD schools and experienced gangs, drug dealing, riots, and social injustices. As a parent of four LAUSD children, I have experienced the entire k-12 system, including; special education, fear for safety of my kids, and frustration in the quality of education my kids were receiving in the Northeast Valley. I fully understand the systemic problems that have kept our schools from reaching their true potential. Finally, I have served on the board of two successful community oriented non-profit organizations whose mission was youth intervention.

If you win, what do you hope to achieve for the LAUSD?

When parents drop off their kids at school, their biggest concern is that their kids are going to be safe. The incident rate for violence in 2021 within LAUSD is up 21 percent from 2018. This means 1 in 131 people within LAUSD will be a victim of violence. I plan to decrease school violence by reforming campus security. According to research, 1 in 5 minority children actually graduate from college with a bachelor’s degree. This means that 4 out of 5 actually go into the workplace with no degree. I plan on revamping the education system from not only focusing on college readiness but on preparing children for career pathways… It takes a village to raise a child. I plan on giving parents and our community a voice in education… I plan on tackling community issues on equity, safety, and the quality of education. Teachers are the district’s greatest asset and they have taken a back burner to COVID and other pandemic issues. I plan on empowering teachers by giving them more control over school budget, giving them more access to technology, increasing their pay, and allowing them to be more imaginative in the classroom.

Destiny Torres is a graduate student at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism pursuing a master of science degree in journalism. She earned her bachelor’s degree at CSU Dominguez Hills. She is passionate about culture and social justice issues. 

Veronica Sierra is a sophomore pursuing a journalism degree at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. She was born and raised in Valencia, Venezuela; and moved to California in 2015 where she continued high school, graduating in 2020. 

Rebecca Katz is a recent graduate of the USC Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism Masters Program and a Los Angeles native. She received her bachelors in English literature and political science from USC. She is passionate about mental health and education reform. 

Name: Raquel Zamora

District: 2

Background/profession: Public school teacher/mental health therapist/social work

Why are you running?

I am running because I believe our school board should be a school board of educators who have experience working in our schools… Many times our representatives create… policies that affect thousands of children, families and educators that make no sense… I believe policies should be guided by those working at our school sites and know… what is working and not working. 

How are you different from other candidates?

…I have 20 years of educational experience working at LAUSD schools. I have experience working in the classroom… and I have…experience as a… counselor providing… mental health services to children, families and staff. I also have experience working with homeless and foster care students… 

What is the most important issue in your district?

The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately hit our highest need communities… Many of our students lost a family member or knew of someone who had died of COVID-19. The mental health of our students, families and staff is one of the most important issues in our district. Last year I worked at a school site that lost 2 teachers to COVID-19. As a…counselor I was calling students and families to log on for instruction only to find (they) were struggling with depression and making ends meet. Although addressing the loss of learning and closing the achievement gap are equally important, we must begin by addressing the mental health of our students, families and staff.

What should be Superintendent Carvalho’s top priority?

I believe his top priority should be recruiting and retaining the best talent to serve our children. We are in dire need of addressing our declining enrollment and chronic attendance.

What skills or past experiences have prepared you to serve as a board member? 

I have worked for 20 years in LAUSD schools. I have experience teaching in the classroom and providing direct mental health services. I know … [what] we are doing well and where there are gaps. [I’ve worked] at early education centers, elementary schools, secondary schools and adult schools. Every student, parent and school site that I have been of service to has prepared me to serve as a school board member. 

My experience… running a grassroots campaign for Los Angeles City Council District 14 in 2020 prepared me as a candidate to run for office. I believe the [school] district is ready to have a board member with experience working in our schools… 

If you win, what do you hope to achieve for the LAUSD? 

I would like to expand our early education programs to help increase enrollment… and our graduation rates. We must provide the best education to our students and connect them to the resources they need to reach their highest potential. The health, safety and wellness of our children, families and educators are my priorities.

Destiny Torres is a graduate student at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism pursuing a master of science degree in journalism. She earned her bachelor’s degree at CSU Dominguez Hills. She is passionate about culture and social justice issues. 

Veronica Sierra is a sophomore pursuing a journalism degree at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. She was born and raised in Valencia, Venezuela; and moved to California in 2015 where she continued high school, graduating in 2020. 

Rebecca Katz is a recent graduate of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and a Los Angeles native with a Masters in Journalism and a Bachelors in English and Political Science. She is passionate about mental health and education reform.