They said what?? Takeaways from the GUSD School Board Forum
Reuter and Merkley have unmatched experience, dedication, and a deep understanding of Glendora's public schools. There's NOT ONE THING Dan Cayem and Michale Muñoz will bring to the Glendora Unified School Board that Reuter and Merkley don't have.
Well, that may not be completely true:
They will bring the far right agenda of Save Glendora Schools.
Why Elizabeth Reuter and Robin Merkley are the best choice for GUSD
Incumbents Elizabeth Reuter and Robin Merkley are campaigning to be re-elected. They are running against Save Glendora Schools-backed candidates Dan Cayem (mental health professional) and Michael Munoz (personal injury attorney) respectively.
Glendora School Board incumbent Zondra Borg and opponent Gary Clifford differ in many ways..
Read our takeaways from the candidate forum, and how Zondra Borg and Gary Clifford differ on issues ranging from preparing students for their future, required curriculum including sex ed, and LGBTQ and students of color.
What does “curriculum transparency” really mean?
Save Glendora Schools, the organization that has recruited and funded school board candidates Shaunna Elias and Gary Clifford, are calling for increased “curriculum transparency.”
What does this mean?
The “curriculum transparency” initiative is a national effort by those are seeking government control and censorship over classroom instruction. We can look to several states that have implemented policies under the banner of “curriculum transparency” for examples, Michigan and Iowa, for examples of what these policies entail.
Parents Rights in Public Education Explained
There’s been a lot of talk about Parents Rights in the lead up to our school board election. Here’s the thing - in California we are lucky to have a robust set of rights already when it comes to our kids’ education. In fact, it’s the law!
Parents’ rights are outlined in California Education Code.
So…when school board candidates, like those endorsed by Save Glendora Schools, talk about increasing parents’ rights, or ‘restoring’ parents voices, we’re curious what specific additional measures, specifically, they’d like to see?
Are they really talking about parents’ rights? Or, are they talking about mistrusting teachers and censorship?
Glendora celebrates Pride in the Foothills
Glendora’s first Pride event, Pride in the Foothills, brought over 200 people to Gladstone Park for an afternoon of celebration, community, education, and awareness.
Several community partners and groups participated in the Pride event, offering activities and educational opportunities for attendees.
San Gabriel Valley Tribune spotlights “Pride in the Foothills”
The San Gabriel Valley Tribune wrote an article about Glendora’s inaugural Pride event, “Pride in the Foothills,” being held at Gladstone Park on Friday, June 24th. Reporter Anissa Rivera spoke to a few Glendora Forward event organizers, and event partners Manish Patel of Doghaus and Angel Hermosillo, CEO of Grit & Gratitude Fitness about what this events means for the community:
Glendora Forward hosts Glendora’s first Pride celebration
Glendora Forward is thrilled to be planning our first Pride Picnic on Friday, June 24 at Gladstone Park to celebrate LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) Pride Month!
Pride month is celebrated annually in June to honor the 1969 uprising at the Stonewall Inn which sparked a liberation movement — a call to action that continues to inspire us to live up to our Nation’s promise of equality, liberty, and justice for all.
Pride in the Foothills will feature interactive activities including face painting, paint a pot with the nonprofit group Plants 4 the People, a fitness session by LGBQT owned Grit & Gratitude Fitness, and well as a very special performance from Trans Chorus of Los Angeles, or TCLA.
Food vendors from Glendora Public Market will offer “Pride Specials” for people who would like to purchase and bring food to the event.
Guns are now the leading cause of death for children in the U.S.
Glendora Forward mourns the deaths of 19 small children and their two heroic teachers murdered in Uvalde, Texas yesterday. Like many parents and US citizens, we have had enough.
Guns are now the leading cause of death for children in our country. Our political leaders are more concerned with gun rights than the lives of Americans. Schools, places of worship, and grocery stores should all be safe places.
There are no words to adequately express the pain, sadness, fear, and anger we are collectively feeling. We extend our deepest condolences to all those impacted by the all too common and preventable gun violence that’s running rampant in America.
GF put together some actionable items and resources we’d like to share with you.
Zondra Borg announces school board re-election campaign at community mixer
Over 150 community members, including Karen Davis (Mayor) and LA County Superior Judge candidate Thomas Allison, gathered at Glendora Forward's community mixer on Saturday, April 30 where current GUSD school board member Zondra Borg announced her re-election campaign.
Helen Glaze, VP and founder, kicked off the event by welcoming attendees, and speaking about the political action committee's goal to recruit and support like-minded candidates for the upcoming GUSD school board elections in November.
Who is the ‘Our’ in ‘Save Our Schools’? It’s not who you think
Is “Save Our Schools” just a Glendora-only group? Not at all.
There are many groups like the Glendora one that have been organized across the country, and several national conservative groups are using parents' fears and lack of understanding of the issues to tear apart our schools. They have endorsed Michael Munoz and Dan Cayem for Glendora School Board and Shaunna Elias for Glendora City Council.
It is clear that the Glendora group is closely following what these organizations want. They are disrupting school board meetings, trying to get rid of board members, intimidating our educators who are trying to teach that we live in a diverse nation, and creating petitions to ban the use of certain words and the teaching of race and racism. (What will be next? Banning any mention of the Holocaust or the Civil Rights Movement?)
School board meeting update
Following a racist incident at Sandberg, and our collective efforts as a community (i.e. meeting with the board as groups and individuals, signing and sharing petitions), Superintendent DeLeon read a public statement at the school board meeting on Monday, February 28, 2022. As part of this statement they announced that they will be hiring Dr. Judy White, former Riverside County Superintendent of Schools, to lead a listening tour to inform their work moving forward for the Every Child Initiative.
GF issues an urgent call for a strong anti-racist statement from GUSD
Glendora Forward issued an urgent call for GUSD to stand firm against racism in our schools after the Sandburg incident, and our Change.org petition garnered over 500 signatures (thank you!). On Thursday, Feb. 10, GF's Board met with Superintendent DeLeon and Trustee Elizabeth Reuter to request several actions.
Our kids cannot afford a Cory Ellenson recall
Efforts to recall GUSD board member Cory Ellenson are underway, and only 1400 signatures in Ellenson's trustee area are needed by March 8th to force a recall election. Certain interest groups have been leveraging GUSD's misstep with the Sandburg social media racist incident as a reason to launch another recall effort of Ellenson (their fourth attempt this year), collecting signatures outside local stores and parks.
Resources, Articles, & Helpful Information
UCLA report: “The Conflict Campaign: Exploring Local Experiences to Ban Critical Race Theory in Public K-12 Education in the US” (READ)
“California becomes first state to require ethnic studies in high school”- EdSource - (READ)
”Uncovering who is driving the fight against Critical Race Theory in schools” -NPR - (READ)
Glendora Unified School District Website - (VISIT)
Joint statement from the GUSD Board read by Dr. DeLeon at Feb. 28 board meeting (READ)