Sign up for aDan Torres, School Board candidate, 2009
The New Paltz Green Party is currently in the process of interviewing candidates for local elections. We will be posting the completed candidate questionnaires on this site as we receive them from candidates.
Here are Dan Torres's responses to our Candidate's Questionnaire. Dan is running for School Board.
Name: _Daniel Torres_____________________________________________________
Office
Sought:_Board of Education_____________________________________________
Telephone: __256-0137________________________________________________
E-mail: ________batterupdan@yahoo.com______________________________________________
Mailing Address:__7 Rocky Hill Road, New Paltz, NY 12561___________________________________________________
(Web site):____www.torres4npschools.blogspot.com______________________________________
Campaign slogan:_People-Programs-Progress____________________________________________
QUESTIONS
Why are you running?
I am running for a board seat because, as my AP US teacher Mr. Bartlett once told me, "You can’t change the system until you have been through it." I really have enjoyed my time at NPCSD, and I know that, as great as it has been, it could be made better. My insight is keen in regards to improving our district. Education has changed drastically in just the last five years. This sometimes scares me, considering that no one on our current board went to high school with a computer, and no one in our high school knows what to do with out a computer. The age gap is an issue, and the needs of students in my generation aren’t fully represented on almost any board of education.
What are the goals of your campaign?
My goals are to make NPCSD a district that understands the needs of the students in the Obama era, as they are very different then the needs of any generation before, and can only be fully understood by someone who has lived it. I also would hope that a possible win in my campaign would set a precedent for other board of educations. I hope that more people would see the need for younger people on things like the board of education.
Do you foresee any conflict of interest between the office you are seeking and any current position, paid or unpaid? If so, how would you handle this conflict? Please explain.
None at all.
What resources are available to you, both financially and otherwise, to fund your campaign?
I am planning on doing a little bit of fundraising, but nothing too big. I will not be spending very much of my own money, though, especially since I am going to college very soon. I may fund raise, but only for small things, such as pamphlets. A mailing may be beneficial as well.
Will your campaign accept contributions from corporate entities, PAC's, etc.?
No thank you!
What other political party lines are you seeking and why?
Although I would really appreciate and love an endorsement from the Green Party I also realize that school boards are not about political parties; they are about education! I won’t turn away any help and I am more then willing to talk to any group which has the best interest of education at heart but I will not actively seek the endorsement of political parties.
What endorsements are you actively seeking?
I am seeking the Teachers Union endorsement.
How much time are you personally willing/planning to spend on your campaign?
I am willing to put in as much time as I can fit around my school work. I am still a student; I have been accepted to Marist but I still care about my academic performance and I certainly care about setting an example for students as a candidate. Outside of that I can see myself putting in anywhere from 3-7 hours a week.
Are any members of your staff paid?
Strictly on a volunteer basis.
Have you ever attended a Green Party Meeting?
I have not yet had the opportunity to attend a meeting.
Once elected, how often will you meet with the Green Party, and what role will the Green Party have in your administration? Please be specific.
I will be more then willing to meet with the Green Party to address any issues or concerns you have in regards to the NPCSD. I don’t just limit it to the Green Party. As a civic servant, if any group or organization wants to discuss educational issues withy me I would love to hear from them.
Do you disagree with any of the Green Party Ten Key Values (which you can read about at newpaltzgreens.org)?
I agree with about everything and I act upon most of these values in my own life.
GREEN VALUES
Listed below are the Green Party’s four defining characteristics. Please explain briefly how your campaign will embody each of these values, or how you have been working for a strengthening of these values in our community.
• Ecological Responsibility:
I have a feeling that no candidate or board member is aware of the fact that every class has two trash cans. One is a trash can and one is a green recycling bin. We don’t recycle at the high school, we were recycling bottles for awhile but no more and we certainly don’t recycle paper. I think we absolutely need to do this! I also think we should significantly cut down on mailings with the use of the internet, we also should look into making our buildings and busses energy efficient.
• Nonviolence:
Compared to most districts fighting really is not a big issue in New Paltz. I accredit this to our faculty members and our great guidance and peer leadership programs. I will support to keep these programs and maybe even expand them if necessary.
• Grassroots Democracy:
I worked on the Obama Campaign through a grassroots organization, I helped get dozens of people to PA, helped with phone banking, raise well over a $1,000 and even held an open forum on Obama’s Environmental stances. I fully understand the beauty and importance of a grassroots democracy, and I plan on running a grass roots campaign.
• Social and Economic Justice:
When I was a sophomore I made the cover of the Poughkeepsie Journal, Daily Freeman, Las Noticias, and numerous internet blogs with my day Yarmulke Day. The day was based off of social justice; I made a myspace page for it that has over 3,000 people on it. I also got a student body to participate in a peaceful day of wearing a yarmulke as an underclassman
MAJOR ISSUES
Please choose two major issues confronting our community, and then list one innovative, Green-friendly idea for dealing with the issue.
• Issue #1: Crossroads at Stoneleigh Woods Development
These projects and proposals not only negatively impact our community from an ecological perspective- but they destroy the character and stability of our community, which in turn can reduce the district's ability to meet the demands of 21st century students
• Issue #2: Waste In schools
We print four report cards, and four five week notices, and send out any other mailings to every high school and middle school student that’s around ten mailings a year for over 1,000 students. Yet we have a thing called "Parent Connect" teacher post there grade book on the internet and parents can get the grades before the report card even comes. Even our newsletter are available online, we could save a ton of money and time if we fine tune this system to put grades on line instead of on paper.
WHY GREEN?
Please explain briefly why you are seeking the Green endorsement, and what support you expect for your campaign from the New Paltz Green Party.
I am seeking the Green Party’s endorsement because of the level of commitment they have towards campaigns. My biggest need at this point is to get people to knock on doors for me.
What is your position on punishment for student drug use as opposed to counseling and education?
I believe that no matter what someone’s stances on drugs are we can agree that drugs have no place in the hallways of New Paltz Central School District. Educating students about drugs and their effects is very critical in fighting drugs in our schools. I believe students who have drugs in school need to be punished in a way that shows their peers that drugs will not tolerated. I don’t, however, believe that just suspending a student is always the right way to handle the situation. From personal experience I have seen people get caught with drugs in school solely for the attention, from their peers or from their parents. This is not always the case, but I feel it is often overlooked. I think that when this happens there are more problems than just drugs. I believe students should berequired to talk to a therapist or psychologist in order to ascertain whether there issues beyond just drugs.
Would you be in favor of or against efforts to eliminate the DARE program?
I certainly would not want to see DARE eliminated, but I am very much for its reevaluation. I believe DARE starts at to young of an age. I feel this gives many kids at around 5th grade the impression that everyone does drugs and that DARE is there to make you be the one that doesn’t. They talk so much about the problems that you will face once you hit middle and high school that by the time you get there you are scared and you are under the impression that everyone does it. It makes me question if DARE has a positive impact on most students. I think if DARE started a year or two later it would have a bigger impact. When you are in fifth grade most people have nothing to relate it to.
Do you endorse the teaching of creationism or religious-based instruction in schools?
I believe that the bible as literature should be taught in school. I am in AP Language and I took AP Literature last year. For those students who have a good grasp on mainly the New Testament there is an advantage. Every high school student reads Shakespeare, but not every high school student understands or notices the religious imagery in his works. For things like the English Regents or the two English AP Exams we offer there are many passages that reference the bible. For those students who can recognize it and write about it, biblical knowledge adds a whole new aspect to their essays and certainly helps their scores. I think this kind of class is crucial to increasing the understanding of many pieces of literature for students.
Do you support teacher’s unions and unions in general, as well as Wicks Law (the law requiring union labor based on project size)?
I certainly support the Teachers Union. There is no New Paltz School District if we don’t have teachers and we often take their presence for granted. Teachers should be some of our most valued workers in our society. However, they are rarely seen that way. Teachers have every right to try to achieve their deserved standard of living. They are one of the most powerful unions out there and I fully support them. My understanding of the Wicks Law is that in theory it sounds great for workers, and it is in many situations. But for school districts they cause a huge strain. The idea of having to hire multiple groups for a job that can be done by one company seems rather problematic for something on such a local level. I feel like this law only slows down building projects which discourages districts from putting forth the effort to fix or build school buildings.
Do you support mandatory state tests to the degree that they are currently implemented in public schools?
I certainly do not support the way tests are mandated, especially not in the high school. State tests given in the elementary and middle school levels evaluate a student’s progress in any given subject to show a basic understanding. This, I feel, is very important. The Regents Exams given at the high school level, however, certainly do not provide the same educational service. I find that teachers end up teaching to the test rather than actually teaching the curriculum. There are also subjects where you can’t cover an entire curriculum in a fiscal school year. The curves given on some of the Math and Science Regents should also give a real indication that there are major issues with the test.
If you don't support these tests or support a scaling down of the tests, what alternatives do you have in mind for gauging student progress?
I believe in changing the tests in order to ensure that curriculums do not focus solely on exams. These tests end up becoming a lot about who is good at taking tests rather than who understands the material. I think that more and more people have noticed this. This can be seen in the recent rise in the people choosing to take the ACT as opposed to the SAT’s.
What alternatives do you have for gauging teacher success?
I would have to further research the issue before I give an educated answer.
Should special education students be required to take the same tests as general ed. students in order to receive a diploma? If not, what standards should special education students be held to in order to graduate?
I would have to further research the issue before I give an educated answer.
What are your thoughts on the role of technology in the classroom?
A computer has become as important to a student as a pen and paper. The world has moved in this direction and so should our classrooms. The new technology has also presented new ways of teaching students of all learning styles. It is one thing to read about Martin Luther King’s "I Have a Dream" speech, and it is another to watch him deliver it on You Tube. It is one thing for a Math teacher to tell you what you need to put into your calculator, and it is another to put it on a smart board and show the whole class exactly what buttons to hit.
What resources do you believe should be available in the NPSD to pregnant and parenting teens?
I would have to further research the issue before I give an educated answer.
How high of a priority are healthier school lunches for you, and what concrete steps would you take to bring about lunches incorporating more local organic produce and fresh foods?
Healthy foods are a huge priority for me. There has been a huge interest in the high school for healthy foods for as long as I have been there. We have such an obesity issue in our country; schools should take a stance to make a change. Eating habits start young and we can help kids make the right decisions. I think incorporating local farms would help our students be healthy as well as support our local farmers. I also think classes like AP Environmental could even use the vast property we have and start a garden on the grounds at the high school to further help students understand the importance of eating right.
Do you support comprehensive, medically accurate, age-appropriate sexuality education from K-12?
I certainly think sex education is very important for our students. To hide and pretend like it doesn’t happen is rather ignorant. Educating students can keep our students informed and help them make the right choices when faced with issues.
Would you support Planned Parenthood's presence in your school, providing peer-to-peer education on sexuality?
I certainly think an outside group like Planned Parenthood could have a very positive impact on students. I think students tend to tune out teachers when sex comes up; they know them too well and the experience becomes awkward, I believe, for the teacher and the student. I think an outside group would be able to deliver the message better to a student body.
Would you support a policy allowing the distribution of contraceptives in the NPSD? Under what circumstances (i.e. condoms in bathrooms, hormonal birth control through nurses' office, etc.)?
I think condoms and things of that nature should be made available to students. Again, to pretend these things don’t happen in high school is ignorant. I don’t think having them in bathrooms would be the right approach though. I believe these things should be made available in the nurse’s office. This also gives the student the opportunity to talk to someone if they so choose.
Do you have any opinion on providing out of the classroom, hands-on education? If so, how do you propose we incorporate real world experience into the curriculum?
I believe we are already doing a great job of this already. Classes like Field Biology give students an experience that can’t be found in a textbook. BOCES and New Visions also provide students with real job experience and internships at places like the Ulster County DA’s office or WDST. PIGLITS is a class open to seniors which also does all of the aforementioned.
Do you agree or disagree with the forfeiture of recess as a method of punishment?
I do agree with this punishment. At a very young age there are few things that a teacher can do to a child that will make them rethink their behavior and recess is one of those things. I lost recess once when I was in 5th grade, and guess what: I still remember it…and I still remember what I did to make me lose it. I certainly think it has an impact.
Do you believe elected School Board members are primarily responsible to the School Board as a body or the needs of the community, i.e. voters?
Any official that is elected is elected by the people. Therefore, an elected official’s duty is to the voting public. They are the people that put them there, and they are the people who pay the taxes and who have children enrolled in the district. In fact, I think community impact should be more then it already is in the New Paltz Central School District. Open comment at board meetings is simply not enough.
Based on your personal experiences as a student, parent, teacher, administrator, etc, what are your impressions of the NPSD, and what policies and plans would you support to ameliorate the shortcomings in the educational system?
I think the NPCSD is one of the best in the entire Hudson Valley. I love to say that what we lack in diversity we make up in culture. I think we truly try our hardest to set our students up for college and we pick the best teachers we can to make this happen. We are blessed to live in a community that stands up for what we believe in, and that is shown in our hallways as well. I think we need to teach our students how to be good "people" along with good students. Social skills are something that is very important in the work force. I know a number of people who are top ten percent in my class who I know will have hard time when it comes to the one on one stuff, or job interviews. We live in a world of texting, IM’s, and Facebook; there are certain skills that people in my generation are starting to lack and we should work on that if it is at all possible.
What do you believe is the best way to cut back expenses in the face of expected reduced revenue streams?
I believe we can cut expenses through going "green." We print four report cards, and four five week notices, and send out any other mailings to every high school and middle school student that’s around ten mailings a year for over 1,000 students. Yet we have a thing called "Parent Connect." Teachers post their grade books on the internet and parents can get the grades before the report card even comes. Even our newsletter are available online; we could save a ton of money and time if we fine tune this system to put grades on line instead of on paper. Things like solar panels should be seriously evaluated; even windmills should be looked into. We should, as a district, be thoroughly researching NYSERDA grants to make these things possible.
What do you believe is the ideal way to fund education and other services provided by schools, and what will you do to secure these funds?
I think we should really look into grants from the government. We should hire teams to research such entities. Being persistent with our local politicians is also important. Writing letters isn’t always enough; we need to be vocal when we need things and let the community know what we need, who we are asking, and why.