Laurie Danzuka chosen as Oregon’s school board member of the year

Laurie Danzuka is the 2021 Oregon school board member of the year. She won her fourth term on the Jefferson County School District board in May. She was nominated for the statewide honor in part because of her work bringing diverse communities together across the large district, which includes the Warm Springs reservation. In a year when school boards have been in the news like never before, Danzuka joins us to talk about her work and the challenges ahead.

This transcript was created by a computer and edited by a volunteer.

Dave Miller: Laurie Danzuka is a 2021 Oregon School Board Member of the Year. She won her fourth term on the Jefferson County School District Board back in May. She was nominated for this statewide honor in part because of her work bringing diverse communities together across her large district, which includes the Warm Springs Reservation. Meanwhile, she has received this honor in a year when, nationwide, school board meetings have become the sights of intense conflict and scrutiny. What does it mean to you to have been named School Board Member of the Year?

Laurie Danzuka: Well, it’s very meaningful when you’re recognized for work you’ve been doing for years and work that we do as volunteers too, because we care about kids and the families that we serve in this community. And although it can be difficult at times, there are a lot of rewards in working for kids and families in our district to get them the best education possible.

Miller: I mentioned that, in May, you were elected to your fourth four year term, but let’s go back a bit. How did you become a school board member in the first place?

Danzuka: We had a former school board member who served for a lot of years on the board and he encouraged me to step up when he was stepping down. It was a little bit out of my comfort zone but I had a lot of encouragement from my family [saying] that I needed to take this next step in advocacy.

Miller: What was your educational background or school background before that?

Danzuka: I had served on several smaller committees within the tribal organization. I really got my start in the Head Start Program, serving as an advocate, learning how to find my voice to advocate for education. I had started that journey in 2001 and just continued to progress and serve on different state committees and get more knowledge and background. So I was able to better serve the community I live in.

Miller: So you were no stranger to focusing on education policy or volunteering. But nevertheless, you said that you felt like at that time when you started, it was a little bit out of your comfort zone. What was it like when you started?

Danzuka: I was really nervous. The first meeting we went to and when I spoke to the other newly elected members,I wasn’t alone in that space. So it felt good to be able to work with people who were learning as well as I was. It’s a huge learning curve, once you get on the board and you realize how much is embodied in the work that you do as a board member. But I had a lot of good mentors to help me and a lot of former board members that assisted me in that learning group.

Miller: We’ve talked, over the years many times, with school board members and school administrators. But I have a feeling many of our listeners still may not be fully aware of what exactly it is that a school board does. We know that you’re there to oversee the district and in a sense, you’re the boss, the superintendent. But, but how do you think about the role of a school board?

Danzuka: Our role as board members is to oversee policy. That’s our main thing that we oversee. We have one employee. That is the superintendent. And the superintendent oversees operations. A lot of people assume that we’re operations, but it’s not our direct role. And then our other role obviously is in the financial [realm], to make sure we are financially sound in order to carry out the direction that the superintendent is carrying the district.

Miller: What have your own family’s experiences with the district been ? I’m curious how they’ve informed the way you think about your work on the board?

Danzuka: I have four kids in my care who have gone through the system. As I said, I started out in pre-school and, at that time, I thought the district needed a little bit more family engagement, so the family [would feel] more involved in their own kids’ education. I felt that was lacking and I think that’s across the board. But I wanted to create a culture of schools where families and parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles felt welcomed to come in and be a part of their kids’ education and not just an outsider looking in. I think once they understand their importance and their role in that, their kid is going to be more successful in the end.

Miller: How have you fostered that parental participation in their kids’ education?

Danzuka: I think the main thing to say that helps is that they have a voice — help them understand that they are able to be a driver in their kids’ education. They are their first teacher at home. So the district needs to be mindful of that and how we’re including them as they enter the public school systems. I think a lot of times that is lost and I think it’s really valuable to have that family input to help the whole child be successful.

Miller: A lack of parental participation in education policy has not been one of the hallmarks of the last year nationwide and in Oregon. What we’ve seen is, in a sense, the opposite. I don’t remember a time in the last 30 years where there’s been more focus on school board meetings than there’s been in the last 18 months. Two big topics have really come to the forefront — COVID safety measures adopted at the state level or in some places at the district level and, questions about how to teach kids about racism. So let’s take these one at a time. When you’ve talked about COVID protocols within the district, how heated have school board meetings become?

Danzuka: I have a saying about parents and families whenever they’re talking about their children. It tends to be emotional to begin with. So you have people who have these beliefs that they really strongly believe in. And they want to have the option to do what’s best for their kids. It does tend to get really heated in those moments. It’s our job as a board to make sure that they’re heard, first of all, and that we’re there to listen and reiterate to them that a lot of their concerns aren’t really at the board level. They really go beyond our jurisdiction. And we try to explain to them that what we’re doing is carrying out what’s best for our district. We do follow the directives that were given to us. But we do that in conjunction with our health people that we work with in Warm Springs and in Madras to make sure that we’re keeping all kids safe. What we heard loud and clear is a district in which our constituents wanted to have in-person learning. In order to have in-person learning, we had to have these policies in place and make sure they’re being followed to keep schools open.

Miller: So it’s important to you to make sure that parents know that they’re being listened to.

But what happens if they’re yelling at you, for example,[which has] certainly happened in other districts — yelling at school board members to not follow state mandates. What’s it like to listen to that?

Danzuka: It’s not pleasant. It’s very difficult and hard to be in that position when you can feel their passion towards what they’re trying to get across. I think a lot of times they do want us to advocate. They do want us to say we’re going to stand up for them and do this for them. But our financial mandate as board members is to make sure we do not jeopardize any of our funding that we receive in order to keep providing services to the kids. And I think that’s difficult to get across in those environments. So we’ve tried to push out those communications, not at a school board meeting, but try to push them out and make sure that community members are aware that these are the things we jeopardize if we don’t follow the rules.

Miller: Have you also had to deal with parents or community members who tell you that they don’t want their kids learning critical race theory. This is an academic concept focused on systemic racism, showing its inherent in American societies. And it’s become a kind of inaccurate catch-all to characterize lessons and policies related to race and equity in K-12 schools. Has that come up in the Jefferson County School District?

Danzuka: That hasn’t come up to us recently. We have taken steps to address this over the past two or three years in preparation for making sure our district was prepared. We wanted to make sure that we already have these practices in place in our district, with our teaching staff, with our educational assistants and at the district level. [We want to] make sure that the community knows that this isn’t something new to us. This is something that we’re building on and expanding as we go. There aren’t too many people who have the same demographics as our district. So we’re very mindful of getting ahead of that and making sure we’re prepared for those questions when those questions come.

Miller: Your demographics are roughly one third native students, one third Hispanic or Latino students and one third white students or students of other races. Is that a rough breakdown?

Danzuka: Yes, that’s correct.

Miller: So you’re saying, if I understand you correctly, it’s that you’re trying to actually focus on equity in your school. But in some districts in Oregon and around the country which have done that, that’s when the backlash has come. That’s when people have said, ‘hey, you’re teaching our kids critical race theory. You’re teaching white kids to hate themselves or to feel bad about themselves.’ Are you prepared to deal with that kind of a backlash?

Danzuka: Yes, we are. I think we’ve been very proactive in how we’re rolling that out. We find that critical race theory is really a touch-all word. But we’re trying to put it into a context that isn’t inflammatory. In that way we’re making sure that these are the things we’re addressing for education. And it doesn’t turn into a race issue.

Miller: At the beginning, you ran in May successfully for your fourth term on the school board. Did anything about the conflict or drama that you had to deal with as a member of this board as have so many school boards around the country have had to deal with. Did any of that make you think maybe I just don’t want to run again?

Danzuka: No. My biggest concern in our district was that we were transitioning to a new superintendent. One of our other long standing board members decided not to run. We were still dealing with the situation around COVID. And my focus was [on my] history that can help us continue to tackle those issues in a positive manner. And that was really my focus. I wasn’t deterred by what was happening. I felt more that these things are happening and I wouldn’t want to leave the board in a position where they’re not prepared to deal with those things. And I thought that my history with the district and my knowledge and my background would help us keep moving forward as a district because we did also transition a new superintendent. And I thought it was, it was, it’s a critical time for us to not lose any time. And I wanted to make sure we kept making the progress that we are currently having success with, like all school board positions in the state.

Miller: This is a volunteer job. No matter how much time you spend on it, this is unpaid. How much work does this entail?

Danzuka: Oh, geez, with COVID. It’s a lot. When I first started on the board, I think I shared with one of my fellow board members, ‘You know, it’s 10 to 15 hours a month’. And I think it’s [now] closer to more than 10 to 15 hours a week.

Miller: Wow. Is it sustainable to have that much work with people who are actually caring about the work to have it be unpaid. Do you think this system is working?

Danzuka: I think it has worked. I think it is working and I think it will continue to work. Because the people who decide to run for school board and be in these positions are the ones who really, at the core, care about kids, they care about families, they care about the community they live in. And the community really revolves around that school. And I think when you have a strong school system, it makes for a better community that you live in. And people feel more positive about the outlook going forward.

Miller: It seems like one of the arguments you’re making is that the voluntary, unpaid nature selects for people who are really passionate about this position. They’re not getting paid and so they’re doing it for the right reasons. The flip argument that I’m sure you’ve heard is in terms of an equity lens. It makes it less likely that poor people or people who have two different jobs and are taking care of kids, simply don’t have the time to do something when they actually may be great people to have as voices on a board. How do you respond to that?

Danzuka: That’s why I think it’s really important. We do tend to have that issue in our district, that there are really good people who are simply stretched too thin and they aren’t able to commit to something like that. This is a big commitment. So in order to address that, what we’ve done is to make sure we have strong parent committees at a level that they don’t have to commit so much time. But we are still receiving their valuable input. And we do also have family engagement. Our district has made sure we’re reaching out to the community, getting their feedback on what we’re doing in the district. And we do try to keep those key partners involved in our other smaller committees that we have in our district

Miller: Before we say goodbye, I did note some of the statewide results that you can find online for the district [Jefferson County 509j School District (2021-22) | Madras, ORhttps://www.publicschoolreview.com › oregon › 4106740…] and the four year graduation rate has gone up in recent years. But district wide math and english test scores are below the state average in every grade and in some cases significantly below the state average. What do you think it will take to change that?

Danzuka: I think we will continue the work that we started. We’ve seen some success in that and I think we have to keep fine tuning what we’re doing. One thing we don’t want to do is add more burden to an already burdensome time for our teachers. So I think as we continue to refine what we’re doing and do more outreach and find more ways to offer support for our teaching staff, they’ll be able to offer that support to students in turn.

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