San José Unified's performance has stagnated. Enrollment is declining faster than the decline of school aged children in the district. Families are choosing charter schools, private schools, and neighboring districts because they've lost confidence in San José Unified to provide what their children need. It’s time for a change to restore the trust in public education.

We live in the most innovative region in the country. The answer is not found by continuing to run the same playbook we’ve always run, lowering expectations and closing schools. The answer is to set clear goals, hold the district accountable, close the resource gap between schools, and give teachers and students the tools they need to succeed.

Agenda

Set measurable academic goals and hold the district accountable. No more vague promises. The Board should establish clear benchmarks for reading proficiency, math achievement, and graduation rates and report progress transparently to the community. While working at Apple, I have spent nearly 20 years using data to identify problems, build the case for solutions, and drive accountability at the highest levels of the organization. Our kids deserve the same scientific approach, and I will bring that same rigor to tracking and improving student performance.

60% of our schools are below average in math.

Strengthen early literacy and math intervention. Kids who fall behind in the early grades rarely catch up. The district must invest in evidence-based early intervention programs so that no child leaves elementary school without a solid foundation in reading and math. This is where the return on investment is highest, and where San José Unified has the most room to improve.

Prepare for Transitional Kindergarten expansion. California's expansion of Transitional Kindergarten to all four-year-olds requires San José Unified to adjust staffing models and facilities to provide quality learning experiences for our youngest students. This is an opportunity to get early education right, but only if the district plans for it rather than treating it as an afterthought. The demand for TK currently exceeds the capacity at many elementary schools, which provides a great opportunity to give families a high-quality learning experience before they make the decision to go to private or charter schools.

Make special education a priority, not an afterthought. Every student in San José Unified deserves an education that best serves them as individuals. Too many families feel like they have to fight the district just to get their child the support they are legally entitled to. IEP meetings should not feel adversarial. Parents should not have to hire advocates to get the district to follow through on its own commitments. The Board has a responsibility to ensure that special education is resourced, staffed, and delivered with the same urgency and accountability as every other program in the district. When I was on the board in 2018, the Community Advisory Committee for Special Education was among the best attended and most active advisory committees. Now it no longer exists in that form, and has been outsourced to the county SELPA. CACSE should be a place where families of students with disabilities have a real voice in shaping district policy, identifying gaps in services, and holding the district accountable for outcomes. When parents are heard and included, students get better support.

Close the resource gap between schools. The difference between school performance shouldn't be determined by the amount of money parents raise and contribute to the school. The district has the resources now to provide equitable funding and programs to ensure every school provides high-quality learning experiences.

Partner with our Community College District. San José Unified students should graduate prepared for college, career, and life. The San José-Evergreen Community College District is focused on ensuring all students, especially those with educational and socioeconomic challenges, have the skills to succeed in the next stage of their life. Their priorities include college readiness, transfer preparation, degree and certificate completion, and career development with local employers in high-wage, high-growth fields. These are the exact outcomes we should want for every San José Unified graduate.

There is already evidence that this works in California. San Diego Unified has partnered with San Diego Community College District to improve the outcomes of their graduating students.

Prepare students for an AI-driven economy. Artificial Intelligence is the largest disruption to both education and the workplace since the advent of the personal computer. But it comes with dramatically more risks. Without a comprehensive policy on AI, our students and teachers may be doing more harm than good. Fewer than one in five teachers nationally have received any professional development on AI.

Negative transfer in action

A 2025 Stanford study found that students who used AI tools and then lost access performed worse than students who never used AI at all, a phenomenon researchers call "negative transfer." If we let students become dependent on AI without teaching them how to think independently alongside it, we risk making them less capable. We need curriculum that includes AI literacy and critical thinking about AI-generated content. We need professional development so teachers can integrate AI on their terms as the leaders in the classroom.

AI is not new to me. I have years of experience using it at Apple and I have seen the risks firsthand. No other candidate in this race brings that experience to this issue.

Stem enrollment decline by rebuilding trust. Enrollment decline is easy to blame on the high cost of living in the Bay Area. Yet many families are also choosing to leave public schools when they lose confidence in the school. As expensive as it is to live in San José, it's even more expensive to pay for private schools on top of it.

Strong public schools become the center of the community, with families choosing to send their children to their neighborhood school because it delivers real results: better student outcomes, transparent reporting, and responsive leadership. That's the district our kids deserve, and that's the district I will fight to build.