The Writings and Thoughts of Nadia Sindi

Join a delegation on Sept. 26th-30th, Amnesty International

2005-09-12T13:16:00.000-07:00

From September 26th - 30th, Amnesty International USA will join forces with other organizations to sponsor a special week of lobbying Congressional district offices. Our message will be simple and clear: Congress should immediately establish a fully independent commission to publicly investigate all allegations of torture and ill-treatment in U.S. detention centers around the world. Join a delegation TODAY!

Please RSVP to me at nadiasindi@gmail.com

The ACLU Freedom Files TV Series

2005-08-27T18:51:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

I'm hosting a screening of a new TV program, "Beyond the Patriot Act," and I'm asking friends who care about the preservation of our democracy to stop by, watch and participate. I'll provide snacks, drinks, and information about how we can get involved today, as Congress prepares for a vote on expansions and revisions to the Patriot Act.The program is the first episode of a new series "The ACLU Freedom Files," which premieres on TV September 8th. Created by the ACLU and producer Robert Greenwald, the director of films including "Unconstitutional" and "Outfoxed," the series tells the stories behind the headlines and reveals how the law threatens the civil liberties of everyday people.Please join me on Thursday September 8th at 8:00 p.m. to watch the show and learn how we can get involved in the fight to preserve our fundamental freedoms.

Please RSVP to me at http://www.aclu.tv.

Click here to view a printable version of this message.
Click here to invite other people to this house party.

More Cola Corruption Elsewhere

2005-05-15T01:34:00.000-07:00

More proof both that issues of corporate influence are widespread and that mixing soda with legislators is risky business comes in a new story from Rhode Island, where Democratic party congressional leaders are facing allegations that they unlawfully accepted tickets and skybox access to a recent Boston Celtics basketball game from the Coca-Cola corporation. (From the Rhode Island Providence Journal, May 13th 2005) The story goes on to discuss the fact that the state's legislature will soon be considering bills to ban soda from schools; much like the bill originally sent to the Oregon state congress and severely "watered down" by Democrat Vicki Walker - a recipient of a substantial campaign contribution from a soda industry organization.

Voters should not simply reject the soda executive Eric Forrest (the incumbent in the contested 4J School district election) but should also prioritize electing a candidate with extensive experience and understanding of the power that special interests like the soda industry and so many others, can exercise over the political process. Nadia Sindi has extensive political experience on every level, from the local to the international. Thus she has an extensive understanding of how corporate and other forms of power can operate in the real world. Nadia lives simply and takes her dedication to political justice far beyond mere words; she is the most qualified candidate to work for children in a world filled with so many other, "sticky" political and economic interests.

Nadia's Responses to OSEA Questions

2005-05-11T14:05:00.000-07:00

The Oregon School Employees Association recently interviewed all three candidates for Position 6 on the 4J School Board. Below are Nadia's responses to the questions they asked before the interview.

Candidates Opening Statement
Nadia Sindi

I. Why are you seeking a district board position? And please identify the knowledge, skills, and abilities that you will bring to the board if elected

I am seeking the position because I think that I have experience, skills and integrity that must be brought to the board. In a world fraught with conflict, it breaks my heart to see children who are not sufficiently supported in their efforts to grow up as healthy, happy human beings. Two huge obstacles are race and class conflict, barriers to all students trying to learn how to be whole human beings. We need some one on the board who is trained to understand the lives of immigrant, non-white, and poor children and families, as well as the white middle class. An ability to facilitate dialogue between all these groups is essential, the conflict along these lines in Eugene can no longer be ignored. Every issue has race and class dimensions to it and failure to engage with these from an informed perspective effectively supports the defacto dominant group’s dominance of the issue. I bring years of training and experience in facilitating dialogue around these very issues.

II. Role of Board Member and Superintendent:

As a board member, the amount of time you can devote to this position is often limited. Every board member relies on the information put forward by the superintendent to make good decisions on a variety of different topics. From time to time, information provided by the superintendent will be challenged, and citizens of the community and/or labor unions representing district employees will oppose recommendations made.

Q. How will you, as a board member, maintain and open mind on issues before the board when individuals or groups are opposed to or are in conflict with a superintendent's recommendation?

I will prioritize validating the experiences and interests of various parties in any discussion, making sure to never deem anyone’s perspective illegitimate because I or anyone else disagrees with it, but instead striving to understand why people believe what they do. Cultural competency is about more than just race, but also understanding how people live their lives. This includes matters of economic class, which are very important to me.

III. District Budget Priorities

The district may face budget cuts during your term of office. Unlike administrators and teachers, the job performed by classified professionals and the important role that each classified has in the education of Oregon's students are often invisible to the outside observer. Those who work in our schools, however, understand and recognize the contributions that the secretary, custodian, educational assistant, food service worker, and other classified make each day to assure a quality education for our students.

Q: As a member of the school board faced with an inadequate to maintain and provide current services, how would you prioritize services and programs?

Openness about the so-called Rainy Day Funds is one thing that is very important to me, to recognize the vital work that schools are doing today for children and not making the funding situation worse by quietly stashing a larger amount than is recommended by the State of Oregon in case the funding crisis gets even worse somewhere in the future.

I also recognize the importance of demonstrating to children that we care about them by adequately supporting all their needs in the school experience; clean facilities and satisfied support staff are essential to showing children that they are important. An inhospitable learning environment only encourages the growth of inequalities as it does not encourage those student’s who are marginalized to achieve and transform their lives. Elite students are far more likely to achieve despite undersupportive school surroundings because of the support they receive from other institutions in their lives.

Q: Given an option between reducing the number of school days or cutting staff and programs, which one would you choose? Do you have ideas or a strategy on how to deal with Oregon's education funding crisis?

It is better to have children well supported when they are in school than to keep them in a less supportive environment for a maximum amount of time. It is also possible that cutting school days would lead to greater parental agitation for increased school funding than would the erosion of services in school, which could feel more like a frog in a pot of water slowly brought to a boil. Also, the Rainy Day fund situation needs to be closely monitored so that 4J does not, as many districts around the state have, make the funding situation worse by over-insuring for a hypothetical Rainy Day. Rainy days are here and today’s students need to be educated well while a responsible amount of money is maintained for the future. Other solutions to the funding crisis will only come from having people in positions like the school board who can act as compelling voices for change.

IV. Contracting out

Contracting out of public sector work and jobs to the private sector has gained popularity within districts as a means to balance budgets. Private contractors claim to provide savings to public employers through better management or economies of scale. However, contractors actually achieve savings for school districts and profits for themselves by paying their employees lower wages and minimal or no health retirement or benefits. A recent study funded by OSEA shows that private contractors also make additional money by taking advantage of districts that fail to include work or other factors that should have been included in the request for bids. After the premium rate. The study also identifies the fact that contractors wins the bid, those items become add-ons to be provided by the contractor at a contract and, over time, when the district is dependent on the contracted services, the contractor or will substantially increase the costs.

OSEA believe that public employers have a responsibility to taxpayers to use their dollars prudently and to act as responsible employers in their communities. Our district's classified (and/or certified) professionals are community members, pay local and state taxes, and work in and support our schools every day. They are dedicated and committed to our students and schools. However, when budgets are cut, it is these employees who are singled out for privatization.

Q: Do you support or oppose the contracting out of jobs and work normally performed by district employees to private contractors? Please explain your position

It is inconsistent with a school district’s mandate to act in the public good to participate in exploitive labor practices. This sort of step ought to be last on the list of ways to save money.

V. Part-Time and No Benefits

Districts throughout the state have responded to budget cuts by splitting full-time classified positions (more that 4 hours) in half (example: a 6-hour position split into tow 3-hour positions). This action lowers wages and makes employees in these 3-hour position ineligible for employer-provided health benefits and participation in the Public-Employees Retirement System (PERS)

This type of response to budget restraints makes classified in districts second-class employees,. This same approach is not used to lower payroll costs of administrative positions.

Q: Would you support a district policy that directs the superintendent to: make full-time status (9-month to 12-month positions working more than 4 hours) a priority when creating new positions; and review current positions for the purpose of creating full-time positions by combining current low-hour, non-benefit position into benefit-eligible positions?

Any institution that does not treat those who maintain its basic functions with essential human dignity is ill equipped to participate in the raising of future generations. It is unacceptable for children to be socialized within the context of an institution reliant on class exploitation. Obviously it happens in many institutions children experience, but schools have a uniquely paradigm-shaping impact on children and I will work hard to ensure that they are characterized by internal justice.

VI. School Breakfast and Lunch Program

Good child nutrition is a critical component to a student's ability to learn. This fact is gaining national attention. In Oregon, which is recognized as having a high rate of hunger especially among our children, the need for a school breakfast and lunch program is absolutely critical. Currently, throughout the state, districts have adopted positions that school breakfast and lunch programs should be self-sufficient and district general fund dollars should not be used for these programs.

Q: Do you support using, if needed, district general fund revenue to improve and/or maintain a district in-house breakfast and school lunch program?

Quality food is an essential human entitlement, especially for children. It is wholly unacceptable to expect children to change their life circumstances through education…but only after they somehow pay for their own food. It’s typical of the right wing, corporate mindset to ask them to, though.

Health care costs are skyrocketing across the nation, and here in Oregon it is no different. Unfortunately for school employees, the costs are higher than they need to be. Because of the separation of employees between bargaining units and jurisdictions, employers, in most cases, purchase health insurance coverage for each group. According to research, this small-scale purchasing of health insurance for school employees costs tens of millions of dollars more each year than necessary.

During this legislative session, the governor's office has introduced Senate Bill 107, which would establish a health insurance pool for all school employees statewide for the purpose of providing high quality health insurance plans at a lower premium rate to districts and employees. It is estimated that this legislation will save between $23 million (lowest estimate) and $50 million (high estimate) per year.

Q: Do you support or oppose Senate Bill 107?

Increasing the power of workers in negotiations of any sort is a basic tenant of social justice. Unless some good reason is brought to my attention by workers themselves, it only makes sense to me to allow them to act together to lower health care costs.

VIII. Collective Bargaining

For the past years, the Oregon School Board Association has lobbied the legislature to remove or restrict the collective bargaining rights of education employees. This session, bills have been introduced to force statewide collective bargaining; take away the right of unions to negotiate fair dismissal language; prohibit bargaining and contract language to protect our members from contracting our; prohibit unions from negotiating retirement programs or plans other than PERS; and shorten the period of negotiating on an agreement in order to allow the district to implement their final offer.

Q: do you support the current collective bargaining law for public sector educational staff? Do you support any of the above-mentioned changes to PECBA?

I do not support any measures taken to alleviate any crisis by reducing the power that workers have over their own lives and work. School employees especially are in charge of helping raise the future generations of humanity, they deserve the utmost respect and support.

IX. Student Vouchers

During the last several legislative sessions, a serious effort has been made to privatize K-12 public education by diverting resources from public schools to other education providers through the use of students vouchers and other schemes..

Q: Do you oppose or support the use of public education revenue to provide student vouchers? Do you support charter schools that are privately run and publicly funded by the district?

These are complicated issues that must be considered in light of questions of equity. I am disinclined to support vouchers and am concerned that the tendency to divert public funds for personal gain is as old as the existence of public institutions. We must be vigilant and prioritize equity.

X. unemployment Insurance for Classified

Even though employers are obligated to maintain U/I coverage for classified educational employees, school employees are ineligible for U/I when it is needed most, during school closures. This ineligibility is strictly applied only to staff hired by an educational institution. Employees of private contractors doing the same work as classified in an educational institution are eligible. Each legislative session, OSEA supports legislation to allow classified employees working for public K-12, ESD, and community college employere to be eligible for unemployment conpesation insurance benefits during employeer-scheduled shutdown periods. At a recent hearing on this session's U/I eligibility bill,OSBA testified in opposition to this bill

Q: As a board member, would you support legislation granting eligibility for unempoyment insrance benefits to classified employees during scheduled shutdowns?

Working in a school should be a good job. Happy employees are going to take best care of children. Steps should definitely be taken to ensure that the quality of school employment for classified staff is not impacted by the job’s inability to support a family during substantial portions of the school year.

Walker and Forrest: Soda Lovers Stick Together

2005-05-10T12:14:00.000-07:00

Newspapers around the Northwest have picked up a recent AP story about Oregon Democratic Senator Vicki Walker accepting $2000 in campaign contributions from the Oregon Soft Drink Association and now watering down bills in the Senate that would have banned soda sales from Oregon schools. The full story is here.

Walker is amongst those listed in the campaign materials of Eric Forrest as an endorser of his campaign. Though Nadia Sindi has worked closely with the Democratic party for years, Democratic Senator Walker chose to endorse the Republican and soda salesman Eric Forrest in this non-partisan race (see entry on "The Other Candidates"). It is hard to imagine what Walker and Forrest have in common other than that both have a sweet tooth and appreciate the money that comes to them from children's' love of sugary drinks.

This is the sort of mess that Nadia Sindi aims to avoid when Integrity is identified as one of her three highest values.

Bahati Ansari endorses Nadia

2005-05-04T18:00:00.000-07:00

Nadia is excited to announce that Bahati Ansari, founder of the Racism Free Zone in Eugene's schools, has endorsed her candidacy for the School Board. The School Board needs advocates for children with extensive training in matters of cultural competency, not just for students of color, but also to help all students get the most out of an increasingly multicultural educational experience.

Also, Nadia now has lawn signs available. Please email nadiasindi@gmail.com with your address for a lawn sign delivery. Get more than one and ask a friend to post one in their yard of in front of their business too!

Friday: Fundraising Party at Perugino's

2005-04-29T02:03:00.000-07:00

Please join Nadia for conversation and coffee at a fundraising party at Perugino's this Friday evening. Peraguino's is at 767 Willamette, next to White Lotus Gallery and on the same block as Misako Japanese restaurant. The event will be from 5 to 7 PM.

Endorsement from Lane, Coos, Curry, Douglas Building Trades Council

2005-04-28T10:42:00.000-07:00

Nadia's candidacy was endorsed yesterday by the Lane, Coos, Curry, Douglas Building Trades Council. Nadia's experience and insight into responsible land use analysis as well as overall commitment to social justice and class consciousness all no doubt contributed to their decision. Nadia would like to thank President Lou A. Christian, and Sec. Treasurer Patrick Smith and the entire Council for their support.

Study Finds Parents Don't Want Soda in Schools

2005-04-27T15:06:00.000-07:00

A new study done in Connecticut found that 70% of parents would not oppose removal of soda vending machines from public schools. This was a part of larger findings that parents strongly support improving the health and nutrition impacts of students' time in school. The full story can be read here. Parents who support changes to favor students' health and nutrition need experienced, capable representatives in government to make those changes. Nadia Sindi is just that kind of person.

New Study Finds Soda Vending Contracts Flawed For Schools

2005-04-26T14:43:00.000-07:00

A recent story in The Oregonian (link here) reports that a new study has found that the contracts schools are signing with soft drink companies are not only bad for students' health, but are also a very bad deal for the schools. This further demonstrates the inability of "corporate sponsorships" to fulfill even their own promises to support schools, not to mention the critiques of corporatization of education. As has been discussed before, the incumbent in Position 6 of the 4J School Board is an executive with a local Pepsi distribution company and has testified in favor of soft drink vending machines in schools before the state congress.

According to The Oregonian:

The total revenue to school districts from the contracts that were analyzed ranges from $12 to $24 per student annually. What parents don't realize, though, is that most of the money comes from their own pockets. That is, it comes from their teens plunking down money to buy soft drinks. Vendors, meanwhile, walk away with between $14 and $32 per kid per year in sales revenue...What we hear about, of course, are big cash advances and gifts such as scoreboards (which usually double as advertising for the vendors).
On an annual basis, such "gifts" amount to paltry sums. Some even have to be paid back, if schools terminate their contracts early without delivering an agreed-upon number of soda sales. Typically, vendor "gifts" equate to $2 to $8 a year per student.

The full story can be read here (link).

Register Guard Write-Up

2005-04-25T12:55:00.000-07:00

The Register Guard has published an article based on interviews with all three candidates for Position 6 on the 4J School Board. It can be read via this link.

The article discusses Nadia's candidacy, as well as Aria Seligman and Eric Forrest. About Forrest it says:

Forrest explained that, as president of the Oregon Soft Drink Association, he is expected to testify on legislation affecting the industry.

He said he would not do so again on any issues that touch on both the industry and schools.

"Now I realize I need to remove myself," he said, just as he would remove himself from any school board discussions pertaining to his company's contract or, in all likelihood, anything related to children's health.

It is interesting to consider what issues the school board will decide on that will not be related to the health of the children.

Nadia Responds to Stand For Children

2005-04-25T11:25:00.000-07:00

The local branch of Stand for Children has sent a series of questions to Nadia, Aria Seligman and Eric Forest. Below are Nadia's responses.

1) Why do you want to serve on the school board?

Young people today face a climate of increasing instability, conflict and at the same time opportunity. This is as true in Eugene as it is anywhere. In a city fraught with difficult feelings and differing perceptions around race, class and other systems of privilege-children are far from immune from these issues. Regardless of how you feel about allegations of racial profiling by the police, about the so called eXit files of professionals of color who have left Eugene because of experiences of racial hostility, about the history of raids on and deportations from Latin American communities in the Eugene and Springfield area- it cannot be denied that these adult matters affect the way that all children grow up in this area. From the recent beating of the Russian immigrant boy in a self-declared "Racism Free Zone" local school, to the growing disparity of access to resources and alleged system of effective segregation the children in this school district are affected by issues of race and class every day, no matter what their personal backgrounds are.

All of the children need someone on the School Board who is trained to address these types of issues. I have that training, and years of experience working with adults and children who need communication to move towards healing the wounds of conflict. Issues of race, class, and struggle to access quality resources are key issues in this election and in educational institutions around the country. They cannot be ignored; they must be engaged with head on, with as much knowledge, skill and priority as we can muster.

2) What qualities do you bring to the school board?

Cultural Competency: I support State Sen. Avel Gordly's bill to extend Cultural Competency training requirement beyond areas such as Eugene and into all schools around the state. Support for measures such as this is key to making schools as effective and inclusive as possible. Cultural competency is especially attractive because it emphasizes knowledge about how all students experience their own lives; it is not ideological prescription for any particular course of action. Cultural competency and years of experience facilitating dialogue across lines of cultural difference are key strengths I can bring the board.

3) What needs to be done to address the achievement gap in our district?

a. We need to increase the number of languages immersion schools. Open and fair lotteries for all children, regardless of their background, ethnicity, class, and other systems of privilege.

b. Teaching languages of the immigrants will give the children a sense of pride, sense of belonging, and build their self steam. It will help the other children to value, respect and understand other cultures and nationalities. Have a heritage day to celebrate the children culture and ethnicity.

By doing this. It will help bridge the gap, of understanding and value other cultures and races.

c. Invite the children to tell stories of their own culture and background. Let the children teach us what they need us to know about them..

4) What is your position on the Superintendent's recommendations on school choice?

I support the ongoing existence of alternative schools, while understanding the vital importance of minimizing any negative impacts they might have on neighborhood schools. Alternative schools must be reviewed, but they are very important.
Immigrant children in particular need to be able to leave a school if it is unsupportive of them and chose another schools that better fits their needs.
All children should have equal access to admissions lotteries, with no system of privilege. There should be extra outreach to less privileged families to compensate for the inequities of the world in general that impact a family's propensity to engage in the school choice process.

5) How should the district address the needs of an increasingly diverse population?

We need to encourage merging the alternative schools into our neighborhood schools. Support and promote neighborhood schools by adding languages and open lotteries for all students. Taking informed steps to maximize inclusiveness is key.

6) What would you do to solve school funding problems?

Taxing corporations fairly could make a huge difference. Likewise, people who make more than $100,000.00 a year need to contribute to the schools' funding.

7) What would you do to improve school nutrition?

Having nutritional food; such as fruit, juices, nuts, etc sold in the vending machines would be helpful. We also need to add some ethnic food to cater to our immigrants students' diet and nutrition value. Diet is key to many cultures around the world, and if a student's otherwise strict diet is disrupted at school, then that school will not be the best place for the student to learn.

CIM/CAM

2005-04-20T15:27:00.000-07:00

CIM and CAM testing has been in the news lately and there has been some discussion of eliminating the tests here in Oregon. I support the position of State Superintendent Susan Castillo, that the tests are required in order to comply with the Federal "No Child Left Behind" law.

CIM/CAM currently fulfills the type of State Standards required by Federal law, thus leading to significant savings over the costs that would be required to re-write a purportedly cheaper "off-the-shelf" test. I support Superintendent Castillo's efforts to cut costs while complying with Federal law and ensuring the most effective education possible for the children.

Position Revision Regarding School Choice

2005-04-17T14:39:00.000-07:00

In an earlier post (here), Nadia stated her support for all of 4J Superintendent George Russell's recommendations in his report of school choice. Upon further reading and discussion, Nadia wants to emphasize her support for the ongoing existence of alternative schools, balanced with the need for changes to be made to increase equity. Nadia supports the assessment that alternative schools should be reviewed in reference to their efficacy and community impacts. She also believes that an open lottery, without a system of privileges, is key to increasing the accessibility of alternative schools for less priviledged children.

These are complex and difficult issues; we can only hope to learn from each others' experiences and formulate policy together as best as possible.

Candidates

2005-04-14T13:56:00.000-07:00

The post formerly titled "The Incumbent" has been changed to include information about all of the candidates running for the position, including not only Eric Forrest, but also Aria Seligman. The new post is "The Other Candidates."

Senator Morrisette Endorses Nadia

2005-04-10T16:03:00.000-07:00

Oregon Senator Bill Morrisette (D-Springfield) has endorsed Nadia Sindi for 4J School Board. Morrisette was the 2003 Chair of the state's Senate Education Committee. He was also the Mayor of Springfield from 1989 through 1999, the Springfield Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Citizen of the Year in 1997, Oregon Mayor of the Year in 1994 and Lane County Elected Official of the Year in 1992.

Morrisette is currently the sponsor of Senate Bill 560, which would require that any food sold on school grounds meet the federal nutritional standards for school meals, as well as other standards. (story link)

Nadia is excited to include the Senator in her list of endorsements (see right side bar).

Cultural Competency in Schools

2005-04-08T14:09:00.000-07:00

The Action for Education Leadership Program of 2001 will require all school leaders to complete a Cultural Competency training starting in 2007. Eugene teachers already receive Cultural Competency training thanks to a previous grant. A Bill requested by the Governor would extend such training requirements to all licensed teachers in the State. The Bill passed the Senate on a 25 to 3 vote, and is awaiting a hearing in the House Education Committee. According a recent Associated Press story this week (Republicans may trap bill on ‘cultural competency' for teachers), the Bill is unlikely to become law. This raises important issues that must receive ongoing attention on the local level. Nadia has years of experience dealing with issues like these.

We need to implement this into our school systems. This is one of the most important and painful issues facing every immigrant to this country! They need to have schools that respect & understand their children's background and ethnicity, comprehending the dynamic effects of policies and behaviors on children’s self esteem. Cultural Competency promotes valuable assets and educational sensitivity to the cultures and religions of all students. It'll help to deter the bullying and hate crimes. We also need to recruit teachers from all diverse backgrounds. That would certainly restore the students’ & families’ confidence in the school system.

While I was researching and meeting with community members to gather information about their concerns and issues regarding the schools, one member of the Russian community approached and encouraged me to run for the School Board. He told me our children need to identify with some one like them in this position of leadership; someone with an accent, different skin color and language. Understanding the experiences of immigrant and diverse communities is key to effective policy making; that is one of my personal strengths and why I support efforts to foster cultural competency on every level.

"Rainy Day Funds" Should Be Limited

2005-04-08T13:47:00.000-07:00

A new story in the Albany Democrat Herald (link), reports that school districts around the state have been saving a substantial portion of their budgets each year, apparently unbeknownst to some observers, in case of future budget declines. According to that article,

"The Oregon School Boards Association recommends a carryover, or ending fund balance, of about 5 percent to 8 percent. But only 21 of Oregon's 197 school districts hit that target. The rest carried over balances ranging from 9 percent to 275 percent at the end of last school year."

I think the school districts need to come clean with the legislators and the public. The schools should not be allowed to hold more than 2-8% of their funds for a Rainy Day Fund. Recent media coverage around the state is bringing this issue into the light of day, but school districts themselves need to prioritize openness throughout the funding process.

School Choice Policy Recommendations: Nadia's Response

2005-04-08T11:35:00.000-07:00

Nadia’s supports the following recommendations from Superintendent George Russell’s recent report, as summarized by the Eugene Weekly in this March 3rd story (link). The executive summary of the full report of recommendations is available in 8 page pdf format here (link).

*Reducing fund-raising disparities between rich and poor schools by requiring centralized donations and a 10 percent contribution to an equity fund
I SUPPORT. We should reduce fund-raising disparities between rich and poor schools to help eliminate students’ achievement gaps related to diverse backgrounds such as race, ethnicity, gender, class etc..

*Moving or merging alternative schools and ending co-location of alternative and neighborhood schools
I SUPPORT. It will help bridge the gap between those who have and have not! It will make school safer and less intimidating for students with diverse background & ethnicity.

*Providing lottery preferences and transportation for low-income kids
YES, I totally agree, we should provide same equal opportunity to our low-income hard working families.

*Strengthening neighborhood schools with extra money
YES, I'm for it. That will level & strengthen our neighborhood schools. It will make the students welcome all kinds of different cultures and teach them respect and acceptance.

*Placing more special education kids in alternative schools
YES, very important to have equity among our most vulnerable populations.

*Reviewing alternative schools
YES, I agree with our superintendent Russell

*Creating a position to provide more information about school choice to low-income parents
I SUPPORT. It’ll strengthen the cultural awareness!

The Other Candidates

2005-04-06T13:13:00.000-07:00

There are two other candidates besides Nadia running for Position #6 on the School Board. One is former Eugene Weekly news editor Aria Seligman. Seligman shares many of Nadia's progressive values. At a time when the School Board faces many large and emotionally charged issues however, Nadia's extensive political experience and training in cross-cultural communication are vital, timely assets that no other candidate can bring to the position on the Board.

Also running for the School Board position is the appointed incumbent, Eric Forrest. Forrest is the former President of Sales for the Pepsi Cola Bottling Co. of Eugene, and a founding member of the Parkway Yes! Political Action Committee. Parkway Yes! was the #1 PAC in terms of money spent locally 1998-2003 according to a study by the Register Guard, published December 22nd, 2003.

Forrest is also an at-large member of the Eugene Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.
He is currently a member of the School Board Budget Committee, a position he took after leaving the City of Eugene Budget Committee.

Forrest is also active on the state level in debates concerning school policy. He was discussed in a Register Guard story on March 29th, 2005 regarding Senate Bills 560 and 860, requiring that nutritional standards be applied to food and drink sold in public schools.

"Eric Forrest, an executive with a Eugene-based soft drink distributor, argued that it's actually beneficial for students to pass by vending machines in their schools that offer a variety of soft drinks for sale; this way, they learn to choose when it's appropriate to have a sugary soft drink and when they would be better off purchasing water or a sports drink, said Forrest, vice president of the MLF Group, a Pepsi distribution business. Forrest also is a member of the Eugene School Board."

Neighborhood/Alternative Schools

2005-04-05T11:32:00.000-07:00

School choice today goes on in a complex global context that cannot be resolved by schools alone, especially when they are not well funded. There are no simple solutions. Cross cultural dialogue is key to making school as inspiring as possible for the least political amongst us - the children.

I believe that the national compulsory school system and is debilitated and dilapidated. If the system fails children of a certain, race, socio-economic status; ability, then the system is failing all of us.

We are much more dependent on each other than our society seems to believe and the media moguls portray. Our world is vastly more complicated than it has ever been and yet, it is increasingly common place not to even know our own neighbors. We are estranged from our greatest resource--each other.

There is a role for our compulsory education system to help to heal some of the unjust and crippling divisions in our society but, it is not the role of schools alone to address those issues. And we cannot expect schools to do their part if they are not funded. Across our country school systems have been so mired for decades in politics and the politics of funding that the education system cannot fulfill its fundamental purpose to educate the electorate and teach basic skills necessary for working and living in the United States and in the world. With such great burdens, how can a system be expected to inspire young minds to discover their own potential and discover the fulfillment of pursing a lifetime of education?

To gain any ground on the plagues of prejudice, institutional poverty and all the divisions that work silently to erode our social fabric our schools must both educate and inspire; and not serve just a few but, all young people. The people in the school buildings each day- educators, school administrators, parents and children- are run ragged with the impossible work of managing to meet just the most basic expectations we have for our schools and still they have invested lifetimes in improving our schools. Surely the educators have been among the leaders in that work of revitalizing our schools and it has been incumbent upon school board members to steward the effort.

Working with the community and bridging cultures in our community is a strength that I can offer. The choices each of us make about supporting our schools can make a difference. It is reasonable to call upon our whole community to come to the table and help shoulder the work of making our schools places that serve the needs of our children.

Alternative school programs and charter schools are examples of what can happen when inspired people work to make a difference, but, again, the work of a few cannot be expected to reverse trends that not only show up in our local schools but, have besieged schools systems all over the country even in more severe and dramatic ways. We must allow our schools to nurture the children. Adults make politics, not children. We can dialogue in a productive way about the role of alternative programs, charter schools and neighborhood schools and so that we can focus our scarce resources on how to make the tapestry of school choices work best for all our children. We can challenge ourselves to model for our children how people can inspire each other and care for each other in the face of great difficulties.

Political Experience

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Nadia has served on many commissions and committees, including:

*The 4J School District Equity Committee
*The City of Eugene's Citizen Involvement Committee
*Faith in Action (Eugene)
*Citizens for Public Accountability
*The Lane County Human Rights Advisory Committee
*1000 Friends of Oregon
*The Oregon Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
*The American Arab Anti-Discrimination League (ADC)
*The National Council on US-Arab Relations, as a Research Assistant for the Center for International Disaster Information
*and many others.

Nadia also received 48.8% of the votes cast in the 2003 election for the Lane Community College Board.

Dialogue

After undergoing extensive training from organizations including the Oregon Diversity Institute, Pacific University, the International Victim-Offender Mediator Association, the US Department of Justice and others, Nadia has also:

*facilitated adult and teen dialogues on racism in San Francisco, Portland, Salem, Corvallis and Eugene.

*co-founded the Eugene Middle East Peace Group (http://www.mideastpeace.net/)

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Education and Employment

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Education

*Bachelor's Degree in Social Science from Portland State University

*Master's Degree in Computer and Instructional Technology in Education from the University of Oregon

Employment

*Five years of consulting in politics and engineering.

*Six years in law and academic offices.

*Ten years as an interpreter and translator.

*Fifteen years as an instructor in Languages.

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Nadia

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none

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Nadia in front of the 4J building

How to Use This Website

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This site is a blog, short for Web-log, and is designed for maximum usability. The main column on the left of the front page is where you will find original articles about the various issues in the election. Most of the time the articles are organized chronologically, and posted as they are written. At the bottom of each article is a link you can click to post comments about that article in particular. Anyone can post comments in response. Comments help fill out the debates and make everyone more informed.

On the right side of the front page you can find the following:

Nadia's email address (nadiasindi@gmail.com)

The XML/Atom feed link for this blog if you use an aggregator to read your news

Links to some of the main articles on the blog

A list of some of the people endorsing Nadia in the election

Links to all the articles on the site

A newswire of links to stories appearing online that discuss Oregon schools

Please feel free to explore and post to this blog, it should be an easy way to interact with the campaign.

There are millions of blogs online, written by people around the world for a wide variety of purposes. To learn more about blogs in general, check out Wikipedia's article on Blogs.

To return to the front page at any time, just click on "Elect Nadia Sindi" on the top of any page.