Candidate: Jorge Chávez
Office: Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District G
Website: http://jorgeforbvsd.com/
QUESTIONS FOR CANDIDATES (200 words maximum for each response):
Are you the parent of a current or former BVSD student? Please let us know when your child attended BVSD.
“My family and I moved to Colorado in 2018. My oldest daughter has been a BVSD student since then and she is currently in 7th grade at Manhattan Middle School. My twins have been BVSD students since kindergarten and are currently in 4th grade at Escuela Bilingue Pioneer Elementary School.”
What motivated you to run for BVSD Board of Education?
“Since moving to BVSD, I have been a parent volunteer on the PTA, Families and Educators Together (FET), 3 years chairing my School Accountability Committees, and 2 years chairing the District Accountability Committee (current vice-chair), where I have been able to connect with families, teachers, and administrators to learn about the challenges, opportunities and needs of BVSD. I am also an Associate Professor in the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Colorado Denver. Because of my volunteer roles and educational background, I have been able to leverage my research and academic experience as well as time spent connecting with families and educators in BVSD and learning about the issues facing our district to collaborate with and advise the Equity Council, the Superintendent and upper administration, and the Board of Education. I have been doing this volunteer work because I care deeply about public education. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the public education system. Our board needs to have members that know our district. I have the background, experience, and education to serve. I’m running for the school board to ensure that BVSD teachers and schools have the systems, supports, and resources to educate and meet the needs of all our students so they can be successful.”
What do you see as the major issue(s) facing the school district? Please list five issues in order of priority, and give a brief explanation of why the issue matters.
“Education in Colorado is underfunded, ranking among the bottom 10 states in the US. For BVSD, this is exacerbated by declining enrollment, which represents reduced funding for the district. This impacts our ability to ensure equitable educational opportunities and challenging programming for all BVSD students – regardless of socioeconomic status, race & ethnicity, language, gender identity, learning needs, or what school they go to in BVSD. Overall, BVSD is a high performing school district, with BVSD regularly ranking among the best in the state. However, there are long-standing inequalities in educational outcomes for students of color, in special education, English language learners, and from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Relatedly, we have long-standing problems with inequalities in punitive discipline practices which affect these same groups of students. We also need to increase awareness around bullying and systems for reporting bullying, discrimination, and sexual harassment and discrimination (Title IX). In addition, youth in Colorado, like those across the nation, are experiencing a mental health crisis. We have reached a critical juncture in the need to address these issues. I support continued investment in differentiated funding to support students with the most need, restorative justice programs, Social Emotional Learning curriculum, use of culturally competent, trauma-informed, licensed health professionals, proactive strategies toward an inclusive school culture, and recruiting and hiring excellent teachers that reflect our students. “
Do you agree with BVSD’s decision to make a $32,500 settlement with a family who alleged that the district’s equitable discipline policies constitute discrimination against white students? Please explain why or why not.
“I support recent district efforts toward addressing long-standing problems with inequalities in punitive discipline practices for students of color, in special education, English language learners, and from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Black and Latinx students, in particular, are more likely to be disciplined for subjective infractions (categories like insubordination and disrespect) and are disciplined more harshly than white students for the same behaviors. I support the current BVSD policies around bullying, discrimination, and sexual harassment. Recent moves toward improved data reporting on discipline, development of the discipline matrix, and training on bias, cultural competence, and restorative justice are all moves in the right direction. Ensuring that all kids are treated equitably does not amount to discrimination for those that have been previously privileged. It is disappointing that the district did not stand behind these policies and these efforts. Addressing these long-standing disparities takes time and buy-in from the entire community, the district needs to be able to stand behind its policies and decision-making otherwise there is no reason for practices to change.”
Emergency department visits for sexual violence among Boulder County teens doubled from 2020 to 2021, then again in 2022, according to data from Boulder County Public Health and reported in Boulder Weekly — do you agree with how BVSD has responded? Please explain why or why not.
“I support the recent BVSD focus on increasing awareness around bullying, discrimination, harassment, and creation of systems for reporting bullying, reporting discrimination, and reporting sexual harassment and discrimination (Title IX). However, this is focused on reactive responses after an incident has happened. BVSD also needs to expand proactive strategies which prevent sexual harassment and related behaviors by focusing on changing attitudes and building an inclusive school climate. This requires school and district wide change, including training on bias, sexual harassment, and bystander interventions for all students and staff. In addition, district wide expansion of training on de-escalation and conflict resolution, social emotional learning and development, and coordination with school counselors and other student support professionals would facilitate building an inclusive and welcoming environment where all students may feel safe. BVSD should also work with public health and community partners to leverage resources and systems in place to link resources for victims and for addressing community wide prevention and intervention.”
What BVSD policies would you change, and why?
“I support reviewing the district’s open enrollment policies and school attendance districts (policies JECC, JECC-R), because enrollment looks very different across BVSD. The budgeting challenges due to declining enrollment changes provide an opportunity for us to reimagine what our schools like and would allow us to consider new models like mixed grade learning communities, focus schools to attract students from across the district, or right sizing schools with large numbers of students with high needs so that they can be better served.
I support continued review of the districts’ policies on student conduct and discipline (policies JDC through JDSE). These policies were reviewed within the last three years and have moved toward addressing the long-standing disparities in the application of discipline. However, given the limited improvement in this area, additional consideration should be given in policy regarding how the district will address bias, cultural competence, equity, and accountability in the implementation of school discipline policy.”
What BVSD policies do you support, and why?
“I support BVSD’s Policy KB which addresses family engagement and collaboration. This is a new policy which explicitly directs increased open and transparent communication between the district and families, in particular requiring the district to provide mechanisms for bi-direction communication. A key focus is developing community capacity so that parents and families can feel empowered to actively engage with their schools and the district more broadly. And at its core, there is recognition of the need for cultural competence in developing greater family engagement to address equitable access to education for all BVSD students. This policy is a critical first step toward increasing parent and family ability to advocate for their students and to partner with BVSD.”
How will you engage with community members?
“It is critical that our school board members be connected to and engaged with our students, families, and educators. And since moving with my family into BVSD, I have served on numerous family groups and school and district committees. I have spent countless hours talking with families and educators about their experiences in BVSD and developed relationships that have allowed me to learn so much and continue to learn about our families, schools, district, and community. This is the work of a school board member. I will work to maintain these relationships and look forward to the new relationships to come. I also support increased use of the BVSD Connect forums which allow parents to engage and provide direct feedback to Superintendent Anderson and members of the BVSD Board of Education. This is a relatively new initiative that should be more widely advertised, and I encourage parents to take advantage as this provides an avenue for direct communication between parents and district leadership. This work requires building a community. And that means that you have to care and that you have to put the work in. If elected to the school board, I will continue to care and continue to put the work in.”
What makes you the best candidate to serve on the BVSD Board of Education? Put simply: How do you stand out against other candidates?
“Thank you for the opportunity to discuss so many of the important issues facing BVSD. I am running for the school board because I believe in the potential of BVSD and that we can do a better job serving our students. I have been working as a parent volunteer for the past five years, this has allowed me the opportunity to know our students, our families, and our educators and staff and to know the unique needs and challenges of BVSD. I am also an Associate Professor in the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Colorado Denver. Because of my volunteer roles and educational background, I have been able to leverage my research and academic experience as well as time spent connecting with families and educators in BVSD and learning about the issues facing our district to collaborate with and advise the Equity Council, the Superintendent and upper administration, and the Board of Education. Our schools are best served by a board which is experienced and knows BVSD well. We have made slow and incremental improvements over the past few years, and I have the education, background, and experience to help BVSD build on the progress we have made.”
