Q&A with Tobias Lester, Candidate for Walnut Creek School District Board

Walnut Creek Patch is featuring Q&A profiles with all five candidates vying for three seats on the Walnut Creek School District governing board. We will run one candidate Q&A each day this week,  in alphabetical order.  

This district usually does not have contested elections for its governing board. Patch writer Lou Fancher submitted a series of questions to each candidate, asking them their views on such issues as teacher tenure, how the district can cope with ongoing budget cuts and the debate over bringing all K-8 Walnut Creek schools into one district. She also asked the candidates to explain their educational philosophy and personal and professional experiences that would make them qualified for this important job.

Today's Q&A is with Tobias Lester

Click on the names below to read the Q&A with the candidate or candidates whose profile has run. 

Monday: Angela Borchardt 
Tuesday: Jon-Michael Johnson

Coming up:
Thursday: Barbara Pennington
Friday: Robert Stankus

Tobias Lester was born in 1974 and has lived in the East Bay his entire life and in Walnut Creek for five years. He attended Diablo Valley College and received a bachelor's degree in history from UC Davis. He graduated from the School of Law at the University of San Francisco in 2002.  He is an attorney.

Lester provides pro bono legal work and volunteers with the AIDS Legal Referral Panel.  The 2010 election is his first run for an elected public office.  He expects to spend under $1,000 on his campaign.

Lester and his wife, Laura, have a 15-year-old daughter who attends Las Lomas High School.

Question: What is the role of the school board in relationship to the school administration?  

The board sets policy and the superintendent and administration implement those policies.

Question: How do you think the state should reform its process so that public schools are not left with an annual budget crisis?

Treat one-time money as one-time money. Do not increase entitlement spending based on money that may not be there the next year.

Question: What measures can the school board take to improve academic achievement?

It is a challenging endeavor to meet the needs of each individual student when considering varied academic preparedness, learning styles and disabilities. However, below are some things that I believe would help. 

Interventions: Helping kids get up to speed with the rest of the class. Just because a child is behind now, does not mean they will always be behind. For example, I have a cousin who was placed in the developmentally disabled group in first grade because of a perceived shortcoming. He was never able to leave that group through high school. He now has a doctorate and a double helping of bitterness from lost opportunities. A proper intervention could have corrected whatever perceived shortcoming he had and helped him get up to speed and back with the regular class. That would have been better for him and better for the district. Special education is not cheap. I have seen a successful intervention where a child in first grade, who was unable to read at grade level, was placed in a summer school intervention. She now loves reading and is reading four grade levels above her actual grade.

Even though this is not intended to be a one-size fits all approach, the district can prepare general guidelines for how to address the needs of children with learning disabilities so that each teacher does not have to reinvent the wheel. This would support teachers by providing them with useful best-practices manuals, similar to the recently implemented homework policy. This maximizes teachers' valuable time by providing guidance and a starting point. For example, the manuals would suggest that visually impaired students should be seated in the front of classrooms and their printed handouts should have a minimum font size of 14, to be adjusted higher as needed.

Smaller class sizes are most important in first grade. First grade is a time when children are still learning how to be students. First grade is the last class that should be enlarged. All other cost-cutting measures should be pursued first.

Homework should be meaningful and not just busy work. I sound like I do not like homework at all. That is not the case. My only problem is when the homework is not age appropriate and/or is excessive. For example, my daughter was assigned a book report in kindergarten. By middle school, she would regularly have six hours of homework per night. I have spoken with many other parents and my daughter's experience was common. The district's new homework policy that is being implemented this year will hopefully curb some of the excesses, but that implementation needs to be monitored and modified as needed.

Require teachers to attend workshops on professional development. Some teachers have not changed their tests or teaching practices in 20 years.

Question: What is your position on standardized testing, teacher tenure and allowing students who live out of the district to attend Walnut Creek schools? 

Standardized testing is like democracy: it is terrible until you consider the alternatives.

Teacher tenure: The inability of districts to address the issue of non-performing teachers is demoralizing for many of the good teachers I talk with. Students should be our first priority, and ensuring students get effective teaching in the classroom is the first step.

Allowing students who live out of the district to attend Walnut Creek schools:  I am generally in favor of increasing enrollment. However, residents of the district should always be given placement priority and never moved to another school if there is a non-resident child that can be moved.

Question: What specific steps can be taken to deal with the achievement gaps in Walnut Creek schools, especially gaps related to students' socioeconomic backgrounds? 

Interventions are an important part of the education puzzle. See response to the question above the measures the district can take to improve student achievement.  

Question: If you win a seat on the board, how will you listen to the people who elected you?

Coffee socials will be held regularly to allow concerned citizens to meet and discuss the issues important to them outside of the board meetings. A coffee social is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 18 from 10 a.m. to noon at Civic Park. We will have face painting to keep the kids entertained. My website, tobiaslester.com, will serve as a two-way platform for me to distribute information to the community and also as an avenue for the community to communicate with me. The Patch is another great place to share information. Lastly, my e-mail at tobias@tobiaslester.com is a great way for people to contact me. There are a lot of people with great ideas in Walnut Creek, and I want to hear from them. 

Question: How will you work with parent groups and the Walnut Creek Education Foundation?

The WCEF is a great advocate for the Walnut Creek schools. I will promote an environment of open communication with all of these groups.

Question: How will you work with other local organizations, such as the city of Walnut Creek, to bolster services provided to students and the school communities?

The city of Walnut Creek has been a great partner with the district. This is a relationship that is beneficial for both parties. The city of Walnut Creek benefits greatly by supporting schools and children because the schools are what makes Walnut Creek such a desirable place to live and work.

Question: What is your view on the longstanding debate about merging all Walnut Creek K-8 schools into one district? 

I am philosophically in favor of this common-sense idea. However, merging the schools would not only be expensive, but complex logistically. The benefits to the students must outweigh the time, energy and costs involved, particularly in this era of diminishing budgets. 

Question: What is your educational philosophy, and did it develop in response to your own experiences as a student or from other events in your life?

Investing in our children's education is imperative to supporting our society as a whole. Each generation should be growing stronger as they take on ever-increasing challenges. Establishing good educational habits will only strengthen our government, economic, and social structures.

Question: What unique history or challenge shaped your interest in education or in seeking this position?

I have been both a success and failure academically and will be empathetic to student issues. I know the difference a good teacher can make in the life of a student.