Matt Nagle sees himself as saving the TUHSD board. “The district needs help,” he said.
One of the most important issues to Matt Nagle is the gap between high and poorly achieving students. “We have very wide…gap in [grades],” he explained. He says that one of his main goals is to focus on bringing up students with varying cultural backgrounds. “We’re gonna analyze the data, especially with the smarter balance assessments,” he said. “It’s what we have.”
“[This can be achieved by] engaging with the student, connecting with the student, [and] inspiring the student,” Nagle said. He believes many students are bored and unengaged in Tam’s current environment. He described how an ideal student would function in a school environment that captures the student’s interest. “Number one,” Nagle said, “they’re an eager, socially safe, emotionally safe student who comes to school everyday and actually wants to be there.” He explained that our district is not there yet and students are still uninterested. “You can see it on their face,” he said.
As a board member, Nagle said he plans to let the schools be, at least for the most part. “My main thing is ‘do no harm,’” he explained. The board’s job, according to Nagle, can be summarized relatively simply. “All the board should do… is manage and direct our one employee, the superintendent… [and] vote yes, or no, or abstain,” Nagle said. If he us elected to the board, he says, “the less we interfere, the better.”
Nagle considers himself to have a background that sets him apart. “I’m one of the few people who have work as a classified employee,” he said. Nagle worked as an instructional aide in Orange County. “[And] I’ve worked as a teacher for a long time.” He also the parent of a current student at Drake
His interest in bringing up students of different cultures has root in his own background. He was raised by a Mexican mother and White father. “I know what it means to be in the majority group and be in the minority group,” he said. He plans to think about what inclusion really means.
According to Nagle, a district cannot be judged by the performance of its high achieving students. “[Rather, it can be judged] by how well does [the district] serve that bottom ten or twenty per cent. If our district is doing a good job, we can have students make more than a year’s progress in one school year. And that’s not happening,” he said.
Another issue important to Nalge is mental health. “We have a much bigger problem… than is being communicated to us as parents,” he said. “We have a problem with mental health, with substance abuse. And listening to Robbie Powelson on the few campaign stops that we’ve made has been really educational.” He hopes to increase communication between students and the board to address this issue.
Nagle believes he is the stronger candidate for the board. “[Futterman] doesn’t have much experience whatsoever,” he said, quick to point out that his opponent was appointed to, not elected for, the board position. “If people choose Futterman, they’ll get more of the same,” Nagle predicted. “If they choose me, they’ll get change.”
“My plan is to pursue no donations, no endorsements and almost no campaigning. I don’t want to get involved in machine politics… I’ll let the voters decide,” Nagle said. “I don’t owe anybody in terms of political endorsements or in political favors.” According to Nagle, the political system is broken and he wishes to have no part in it from endorsements or mass advertising. “I truly bring an independent vote and political voice,” he said.