*Trustee Don Whisman was appointed to the LUSD in June 2021 to replace vacated former trustee Rhona Taylor who became the LUSD superintendent. His term is up in November 2022.
Don Whisman, 66,
Retired educator/incumbent
Candidate Lakeside Union
School District
Why are you running for school board?
I have been lucky to have been a public school educator for over 40 years and a Lakeside resident for 35 years. I care about kids, learning, and opening doors for all students. With my extensive background as an educator, I thought serving on the school board in Lakeside was one way to give back to the community and continue to serve students in a meaningful way. I applied for and was unanimously selected by my fellow board members to fill an empty seat on the Board in June of 2021. I was a science teacher (20 years) and Vice-Principal (3 years) at Tierra del Sol Middle School in Lakeside. I was chosen Lakeside Teacher of the Year in 1991. I also was the Science Program Manager and a STEAM Principal in SDUSD. Under my leadership, Franklin Elementary doubled in size in 4 years from 216 to 408 students due to engaging hands-on, minds-on, project-based and innovative STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art Mathematics) curriculum and strong community involvement and partnerships. We were awarded the PTA School of Excellence. With this skill set, I make decisions that support the physical, emotional, social, and academic well-being and growth of all Lakeside students and engage them actively in meaningful learning. Students need to be in school interacting with each other as critical thinkers and problem solvers. I uniquely understand the inner workings of a school as a parent, teacher, and administrator. I fully support Lakeside’s signature Science, Arts, and Language Immersion programs. My wife and son attended Lakeside schools, and both became teachers. I have a career of building great working relationships with all stakeholders in a school and in the community. I have a strong respect for teachers and commitment to both public education and the Lakeside community!
What are your top three priorities if elected?
1) Keep students physically in school interacting and learning in person with teachers and other students. We know that a dynamic classroom is the best learning environment.
2) Support the current school board goals-
• Academic Achievement- student mastery of grade level standards and reduce the achievement gap between different groups of students
• Support the district signature programs that extend student engagement and learning including. These Include Arts and Sciences, Digital Literacy, and Multilingualism.
• Support the social and emotional well-being of all students.
3) Develop innovative and engaging hands-on, minds on programs like STEAM (Science Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) that promote problem solving and critical thinking and prepare students for possible future STEM careers.
With studies showing students are behind due to the COVID-19 pandemic, what would you do on the policy level in ensuring students behind are able to catch up?
Lakeside has implemented several strategies to support students who are behind academically. I support all these strategies. These include hiring intervention teachers at every school to support students who are not at grade level in literacy and math and give students more individualized instruction. Developing and using formative assessments to specifically target student areas of need. Provide extended opportunities beyond the school year for students to catch up such as summer school. Provide digital programs and technology that reinforce concepts and skills students are lacking. Providing teachers with professional development to improve teaching strategies and give them more tools to address student needs. The hiring of counselors at every school to support student emotional and social well-being and needs.
Are you a proponent of armed teachers in classrooms as a way of addressing school safety for students, parents, and staff?
I am not a proponent of armed teachers in schools. It is sad that in the current state of our country and society that we even must consider this. As a former teacher and principal, I went into education to teach science, not to carry a gun. All the colleagues I have talked to regarding this topic are also against teachers being armed. However, we do need to keep our campuses safe. As a principal, I kept my campus secure by keeping all doors and gates locked. Visitors needed to buzz in at the office to check into the school and be allowed access. Parents, authorized visitors, and volunteers need to be welcome at the school, but safety precautions need to be taken. Weapons, if at schools, need to be in the hands that are trained in their use such as our sheriffs or school police.
How can the district support homeless students?
Schools are a great place to support all students, especially homeless students. Schools provide a safe, nurturing, and secure environment for students. Homeless students can participate in the extended day program (6 am to 6 pm) offered at every school. This would allow support to their parents who may have work hours that don’t align with the regular school day and keep students off the streets unsupervised. Free breakfast and lunch are available to all students. A health clerk is on duty at all schools to address student health needs or concerns. School counselors are available to support students socially and emotionally and support parents with referrals to social services, health services, and housing/ shelters.
Under what circumstances is it appropriate to ban books from school classrooms and libraries?
The California Department of Education provides schools with an extensive list of appropriate and recommended reading selections for all ages and grade levels that align with state standards in different subject areas. School libraries and classrooms should utilize this list. If not on the list teachers need to have the book reviewed by administration to make sure it is appropriate. It should also be listed on the classroom syllabus, so parents can review it if they have any questions or concerns ahead of time. What is appropriate in a high school classroom, may not be appropriate in a lower grade. However, books on the state matrix should not be banned. Curriculum experts have screened and approved this list of books for the appropriate grade levels.
What past board efforts would you amplify or grow, and are there any which you would phase out?
The Board should double down on supporting the academic achievement and growth of all students especially because with Covid many students we know fell far behind. Therefore, we should continue with our board goals and keep the focus on student learning. We need to also continue our support for teachers. They also had a really hard time during the pandemic trying to teach virtually and physically in person at the same time. We have a wonderful professional group of educators and there is a high demand for highly qualified teachers statewide. We need to keep our focus on key initiatives and phase out extraneous duties or programs that add more to the plates of our administrators and teachers without direct benefit to students.
What policies or processes would you propose to support student life such as anti-bullying training, efforts to reduce student vaping and drug use, and extracurricular events?
I support all policies and processes that support students physically, socially, or emotionally. If a student feels safe, nurtured, and engaged at school they will want to be at school. Extracurricular activities such as drama, band, chorus, dance, sports, engineering challenges, science clubs, etc. all provide connections for students to the school. They are very important. When I taught in Lakeside, I coached a Science Olympiad team, taught drama, directed after school performances, and established an Invention Convention and Science Fair. In addition, anti-bullying programs and training and health initiatives like anti-vaping and anti-drug programs like Red Ribbon Week that support students physically, socially, and emotionally enhance a student’s experience at school and make them feel safer. A student can’t focus on learning if they do not feel safe or are being bullied. I also support having a counselor at the school to support students with personal issues or problems.
Lakeside Union is well-known for its multi-language immersion and STEAM programs. Do you feel there is equity to these programs throughout the district, and if not, what would you propose to give all students access to these programs?
These signature programs have been expanded to most of the schools in the district. I think that is why our district’s enrollment is up this year. A lot of the success with these programs is finding teachers who have the qualifications, expertise, and passion for the programs. Therefore, to increase equity and access to these programs for all students we need to hire more teachers in the future that will champion these programs and place the teachers at a school where there is a need. Also, we need to allow schools to decide what signature program(s) they want to focus on at their school and give parents choice in selecting where their child will attend in the district, if not at their home school. Being a former science teacher and STEAM Principal, I think we should expand STEAM opportunities for all students at all schools. This is especially true since most careers in the future will be in the STEM fields. During this past summer, students who were behind in reading were able to experience Lego design challenges as part of their summer school day and their reading scores and skills greatly increased. There may not be a direct correlation to of an increase in reading achievement to building or designing with Legos, but having the Lego component increased student attendance, engagement, and connection to school.
What is it that makes the Lakeside Union School District special to you, and why?
Lakeside Union School District is very special to me for several reasons. First, professionally it is where I learned to be an effective teacher and where my passion for teaching was nurtured. Colleagues provided me with strategies that helped me understand how students learn and engage students in meaningful learning. In addition, with the support of administration, colleagues, and staff in the district, I developed my leaderships skills that led to my becoming a department chair, mentor teacher, beginning teacher support provider, science resource teacher, Science Program Manager, Vice Principal, STEAM Principal, and School Board Trustee. As a result, I won multiple teaching awards including Lakeside Teacher of the Year in 1991 and as a principal my school was selected as a PTA School of Excellence in 2017. In addition, personally I met my wife when she was hired as the art teacher at Tierra del Sol Middle School. She grew up in Lakeside and attended Lakeside Schools. She was Lakeside’s Teacher of the Year in 1992. Our son also attended Lakeside schools. He is now a PE teacher at Santana High School. Therefore, I have a personal connection to the district. Moreover, I developed many lifelong friendships with fellow staff members, parents, and former students. I have served on the Board of the Stadium Association and am proud to have worked at many rodeos including this past Spring in support of Lakeside students. I feel lucky to be part of the Lakeside community and am proud to serve on the school board.
