During the more than two decades that I served as the City Manager of the City of Thousand Oaks I had the privilege of working closely with exceptional members of our School Board, their administrative staff and scores of faculty members. Excellent leadership in our School District is extremely critical to ensure that all our students have the opportunity to experience solid and balanced educational opportunities. Your children and ours deserve it; and, provide it we must! Therefore, I enthusiastically endorse Sandee Everett and invite you to join me in her candidacy for the Conejo Valley School District Board of Education. Sandee has the background, the temperament, the experience, and the values that we need on our school board.

In my view Sandee is by far the most highly qualified candidate for our Board of Education that I have seen in years. Above and beyond her years of volunteer service in the schools and community, she has a Master’s Degree in Education from a highly respected program (Purdue University), and holds an active California license as a K-12 School Counselor. Sandee understands education issues inside and out from the perspective of helping students succeed, and she will bring this valuable expertise to our School Board.

Sandee is levelheaded, good-natured, hard working and works well with people of all backgrounds and worldviews. I am sure that, in part, this is the result of her training as a school counselor. Additionally, her readiness to serve our children and our school district is enhanced by her long history of community and church service.

Sandee brings enormous energy, insight and solid values to education issues. She is the daughter of two public school teachers. Public Education is in her blood and she will work tirelessly on behalf of students, teachers and parents. She has continually shown tremendous dedication to our school district by faithfully attending School Board meetings since early 2015, by serving on the Student Publications Handbook committee, and through her involvement in the schools where her children have and do attend.

Because Sandee is the full-time mom of children currently in CVUSD schools, I am confident that she will be particularly sensitive to the concerns of parents, our children, and their families. She will represent our district with integrity and solid educational expertise. For these reasons, I will be voting for Sandee Everett on Election Day. Please join me in supporting this exceptionally prepared, well-educated, devoted and integrity-laden woman.

Dr. Grant R. Brimhall
Retired City Manager
City of Thousand Oaks, California

I was given a tour of the Horizon Hills school and its Parenting Program and Preschool by Eilene Green (the director). The philosophy there is that the parents are the students while they fully engage in the pre-school experience with their children. This is an opportunity for parents to learn and put into practice proven, successful parenting skills in a warm, supportive environment. Parents who participate in this program learn important skills that often help them continue being very actively involved in their children’s education throughout their K-12 education.

The setting for this school is truly special. Each of the classrooms are inviting and have access to outdoor spaces – which is an important part of the learning environment the school creates for the children. It is also tucked away in a neighborhood where the playgrounds are private and with plenty of parking for the 200 plus families that attend each day.

This award-winning school serves approximately 700 families at any given time. The Horizon Hills Parenting Program and Preschool is a program that makes CVUSD special. It is impossible to completely understand what this school offers parents until you explore it for yourself. I encourage anyone with young children - who is interested in learning and developing proven parenting skills - to go and take a tour.

The Horizon Hills Parenting Program is a gem in our community.  We need school board members who understand how much this program means to the parents and families of the Conejo Valley.  The incumbents cannot be trusted to keep Horizon Hills in its highly successful current form.   It is time for school board members who listen to and value community input.  I would be the only member of the school board with children currently attending our CVUSD schools.  This is a perspective that is currently lacking and may account for why some programs that are very important to the community do not seem important to the current board.  

Please consider voting for me on November 8th so that I can advocate for the Horizon Hills parenting program.

Sandee Everett, MSEd
Candidate for CVUSD Board of Education

The CVUSD School Board recently approved the 2016-17 Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) which includes a major new homeschool partnership initiative.  The new K-6 Independent Home Study Program is designed to provide a “personalized and flexible home-based learning experience.”  So far, the details of this new program are sparse, but apparently the district is already starting to gather applications for enrollment.

To provide insight on my perspective, I am the daughter of two public school teachers, so I believe in public schools and that they are the best education option for most families. I am also a California licensed K-12 school counselor, and as such, I am trained to help students get the resources and learning environment they require in order to succeed.  But for some students, homeschool is the most appropriate option for their needs.  It is encouraging to see that CVUSD is starting to reach out to this segment of our community.

This type of homeschool partnership initiative was first proposed two years ago by CVUSD trustee John Andersen as a way to serve the needs of certain students and families so that they would not feel like they have to leave the CVUSD schools for private school or home school.

Home study students will have access to resources at Lang Ranch Elementary.  I am told that there is no cost associated with participating in the program.  The K-6 program is now accepting students and people wanting more information should contact Jeanie Valentine, CVUSD Director of Elementary Education at 805-497-9511 Ext. 241, or her assistant, Kate Potter. The website is http://www.conejousd.org/Portals/0/Landing%20Pages/home-study/

As a candidate for school board, I of course support initiatives that will improve the educational experience for more students in our community.  I believe that the new Independent Home Study program has the potential to do this.  And as a member of the school board, I will support expanding this K-6 program to include all grades, K-12.