Making a difference for schools

Four years ago, I decided to put my decades of education experience to work by serving on the Eugene 4J School Board. Good education doesn’t just happen; it takes informed, experienced, visionary leadership. As an educator and school board member, I strive every day to ensure all students succeed.

My guiding principle is that action speaks louder than words. As a strong advocate for smaller class sizes, I have worked hard to increase state funding so schools can add teachers and staff and to target resources to the greatest needs. I successfully advocated for legislation and a ballot measure to help restore services and programs such as music, art, career/technical education, librarians, nurses and counselors.

Finally, I worked hard to pass local measures that fund classroom staffing, new school buildings, technology and infrastructure.

The question of standardized testing often comes up. I firmly believe that education must be focused on instruction and engaging students, not on unnecessary testing.

With gratitude for the trust you’ve placed in me, I pledge to always work hard and do my best to listen to all voices in our community. And I will always put kids first!

Judy Newman, Eugene