Local opinion: Help us protect Catalina Foothills schools

I am Eileen Jackson, candidate for the Catalina Foothills School District (CFSD) Governing Board, running with Jacquelyn Davoli and Tom Logue on the CFSD Students First ticket.

We chose that name for our slate because it aptly describes our philosophy: every decision made at the board table should center on improving students' academic and personal success to enable them to transfer their learning to life beyond CFSD and become contributing members of our global society. The well-being of our students is the only yardstick by which a candidate for school board should be judged.

Sadly, and despite the fact that school board elections in Arizona are meant to be nonpartisan, conservative groups have been making a concerted effort to promote candidates that reflect the positions of one of the major political parties and none of this has anything to do with what is good for kids or their education.

I'm a proud parent of three CFSD graduates, and I've been privileged to serve on the Governing Board since 2012. CFSD is an exemplary school district. In addition to the basics of reading, science and math, its curriculum includes language immersion and comprehensive World Languages instruction; gifted, extended and Read Strong supports; a wide array of visual and performing arts; 24 Advanced Placement offerings; ten CTE pathways; a commitment to regular PE; robotics/computer science at every level; with the concepts of social emotional learning (SEL) woven into the curriculum at every step.

The district has an attendance rate of over 90% – a measure of student engagement to be envied when Arizona's chronic absenteeism rate is 28%. CFSD boasts some of the highest graduation rates in the state and its 2024 graduates earned over $16 million in merit scholarships (a typical achievement for a CFSD graduating class.)

CFSD outperforms the state on standardized testing and its schools are consistently rated A by the Arizona Department of Education. CFSD enjoys widespread volunteer support of its parents and families. It further enjoys the enthusiastic support of its voting community which has approved every bond and override budget measure placed on the ballot in the last 30 years.

As if none of these data points exist, our opponents (one of whom ran and lost two to one in 2022) describe CFSD as "at risk"; they oppose the bond and override measures that keep CFSD at the forefront of public education in the state; they want to marginalize LGBTQ+ students and oppose the concepts of social emotional learning proven key to academic and professional success. They are endorsed by Arizona Women of Action, a PAC that embraces book bans. But what's worse is they've aligned themselves with an organization ironically titled Save CFSD. This organization has no respect for the hard-working teachers, staff, administrators, and board members who have dedicated themselves to the well-being of the CFSD students and community.

With about 5,000 students in our classrooms, we can't afford to allow education to become political capital or permit culture wars to drive decision-making at the board table. The achievements of CFSD are not accidental. They happen because of a collaborative board-superintendent relationship that builds on current successes. They arise from the dedication of professional administrators, teachers and staff who want to educate our kids and leave party politics at home.

The way forward is not through tearing down CFSD's carefully constructed curriculum and policies to support a one-sided political ideology. The way ahead is student-centered, with students' academic interest the only guidepost. Candidates who inject their politics into our public education system must be overwhelmingly rejected so that the message is clear. Keep politics out of our public school system and let the professional educators educate. I ask you to help us protect CFSD with a vote for Jackson (2-year position), Davoli and Logue (4-year positions).

Eileen Jackson is a current member of the Catalina Foothills Governing Board and a candidate for reelection to the board in 2024.

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