Biggest Challenges Faced by a School Board Member at Los Angeles Unified School District
Being a Los Angeles Unified School District board member presents the challenge of balancing diverse opinions while prioritizing the needs of underrepresented voices; this requires "innovation and creativity," "humility," and a commitment to addressing difficult issues like declining enrollment and racial achievement gaps, rather than simply satisfying powerful interests.
Leadership, Public Service, Community Engagement, Overcoming Challenges, Political Landscape
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
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Job Functions
Traits
Tanya Ortiz Franklin
School Board Member
Los Angeles Unified School District
Columbia University 2005
Loyola Marymount University, MA Elementary Education; UCLA School of Law JD, Public Interest Law & Policy, Critical Race Studies
Political Science, American Studies
Education
Education
Pell Grant Recipient, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Balancing diverse opinions while prioritizing underserved voices.
2. The need for innovative and creative solutions to complex issues like student achievement and declining enrollment.
3. Prioritizing equitable solutions over appeasing the loudest constituents or campaign funders.
Transcript
What are some of the biggest challenges that come with being a board member?
In public school, everyone has an opinion. People everywhere have opinions, and a challenge continues to be listening to a variety of them.
The real challenge is to still make the best choices for those whose voices are not often heard. This requires reaching out to folks who often don't have easy access or agency to be in decision-making spaces.
I think this requires a lot of innovation and creativity, and a lot of humility. It also requires a willingness to take on persistent challenges.
This means not just appeasing your loudest constituents or your campaign funders, but really thinking about hard problems. These include student achievement, declining enrollment, and helping Black students achieve at levels they have never seen before. This requires different thinking, which many people are not necessarily willing to do.