Incumbent trustee representing Area 7, Ashley Anderson, is seeking to be reelected Nov. 8 to the Newport-Mesa Unified School Board.
Anderson is running for reelection to address several issues that she said were sidelined by the pandemic.
“We need to ensure students are catching up on learning, while not overwhelming them, to make sure that they are back on track after the effects of the pandemic,” she told The Epoch Times in an email.
If reelected, Anderson will address issues sidelined by the pandemic including parent involvement in classes, literacy and math acceleration for students, increased classroom funding, and multilingual academic opportunities.
She also supports the district’s move to add transitional kindergarten classes which she says will help students be successful readers by the third grade.
To better connect the community, Anderson says she would like to open school playgrounds—which are often the only green spaces available in neighborhoods—for public use on weekends and holidays. She believes increased community partnerships with the district can provide more opportunities like this to help students currently struggling with mental health, homelessness, and learning loss.
Anderson is a lifelong Costa Mesa resident who grew up going to district schools.
Prior to her election to the board in 2018, Anderson taught English-as-a-second-language classes, led parenting education and advocacy trainings, and trained classroom volunteers.
She is a credentialed teacher and has a master’s in Education.
One of her favorite memories, she said, was when she worked in Newport-Mesa as a reading coach for a 2nd-grade class and brought her pet rabbit.
“The students were thrilled to get to pet and play with a bunny in their classroom,” she said. “Every student wrote and illustrated a thank you letter—some were addressed to me and some were for my bunny, Coco.”
Anderson said she first got into politics by studying political science at Point Loma Nazarene University with the intention of pursuing international relations and foreign policy. However, when she became involved in local politics and saw issues go unaddressed by the former school board, she decided to join and represent students.
“I think our local public schools are essential for building and maintaining a connected community, as well as an educated electorate. Education is key to a good quality of life and opportunity,” she said.
Anderson’s opponents for Area 7—including Wilson Elementary, Whittier Elementary, Pomona Elementary, Rea Elementary, and Victoria Elementary—are Kristen Seaburn and Vicky Rodriguez.
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