Picture of health?

DIAMOND SPRINGS – Janet Barentson and Ken Pimlott, retired from Cal Fire, will be the speakers at the next Amador-El Dorado Forest Forum. The meeting is at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 19 th at Colina Del Oro Mexican Restaurant, 694 Pleasant Valley Road in Diamond Springs.

The Venado Declaration is a call to action from California’s scientists, land managers and former government leaders. In September 2021 former Gov. Jerry Brown convened a group of California experts and managers to discuss the fire crisis and identify solutions to guide the management of our landscapes and the resilience of our communities.

The group identified key principles that included making sustained investments in proactive solutions across every acre of forest land using all of the tools in our toolbox. The declaration continues to be an open discussion as California and the western U.S. are impacted by severe drought and catastrophic wildfire.

Social hour begins at 6 p.m., and dinner is at 6:30 p.m. To RSVP, contact Diane Dealey Neill at dianedealeyneill@gmail.com or (530) 417-1960 by Monday, Oct. 17. Dinner can be ordered from the menu with entrees from $15-$20 per plate. Raffle tickets to support the Forest Forum may be purchased at the door. Donations help support scholarships and forestry education efforts.

The Amador-El Dorado Forest Forum is a group of forestry professionals, forest educators and others interested in forestry practices and issues. The Forum meets once a month in fall, winter and spring months at various locations in the two-county area. The forum awards scholarships to local college students majoring in forestry and sponsors the Forestry Challenge. For more information visit forestforum.org.

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important to me. I graduated from this district in 2009. My education from EDUHSD was instrumental to success later in life. I want to make sure when Owen attends high school he will get a better education than I received. I believe that means we need highly trained teachers, access to career training programs, college prep courses, quality sports, clubs and visual/performing arts programs and an overall positive and welcoming environment.

When I graduated from this district, I felt like most of these things were present — but we can do better. Our job isn’t just to teach students math, English, science and history. It’s to prepare them for their lives as adults and open doors for success.

What makes you a good candidate to represent the district?

I believe I’m a good candidate because of my character, passion and ability to work with others. I go all-in when I commit to something. I am honest, reasonable and optimistic about our future.

I understand that we are in a phase of healing from a very challenging time but this is our opportunity to come out stronger and more united if we do this right.

I represent the parents whose children will be attending our schools over the next 10-15 years. This group is the future of this county and we all want what’s best for our kids. That’s why I’m doing this — to give young parents a voice in shaping what high school looks like by the time their kids are old enough to attend our schools.

I welcome any parent in the community to reach out to me to discuss their ideas or concerns.

Do parents have the right to shape what is being taught to their children?

Legally, parents have a right to participate in their child’s education. There are many opportunities where parents can get involved to help shape what’s being taught at schools. This includes committees on curriculum, budget, career technical education and more. One priority of mine is to work on communicating those opportunities to parents so they are more aware of ways they can be involved.

While we are obligated to teach the subjects mandated by the state and federal government, there are many ways that we have a say in what’s being taught. Too many times parents become disconnected once their child reaches high school (let’s be honest, high school is even more complex than it was when we were kids) but I hope we can get parents re-engaged and make sure those who want to participate, can do that.

What are the most pressing issues for the district right now?

Some of the most pressing issues begin with staffing. The challenges of the pandemic created a wave of people leaving the education field and our district wasn’t immune to that. While we are managing much better than other districts, we are having a hard time finding enough staff to fulfill important roles (bus drivers, food service workers, paraprofessionals, teachers, tutors and more).

Another pressing issue is ensuring students are engaged in learning and successfully passing courses. While our district was the first to open schools in the county, today there are still students struggling to catch up from virtual learning. We need to continue to provide supports for those students to graduate on time.

Lastly, a big issue is our facilities. Buildings and infrastructure are aging. We have needs to update classrooms, technology/internet, parking and parent drop-off zones (just to name a few).

As we move forward, these and many others are going to be a high priority for me if re-elected.

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