Ruthi Hanchett

Since joining the board I introduced a new board goal on digital citizenship and led the district to develop online student safety curriculum, becoming a model district to the nation. We restricted cell phone use on campuses years before the state, and sent middle school students to county-wide human trafficking prevention education events,  to keep students safe. When our district started contracting more independent non-profit groups to work with our students afterschool, I raised the bar, and insisted that any adult responsible for the care of our kids is held to the same standards as our teachers, including child abuse prevention training, transparency and background checks, and mandatory abuse reporting. I also worked with our city and Maple school community to introduce a new traffic light on Valencia and Lemon, to keep our students and families safe. 

  As someone who has worked with trauma survivors, I know children cannot learn when they are locked in a stress response and they need the tools to talk about their emotions, learn self-regulation, and coping skills to help them perform academically, as well as live fulfilled lives.  I have worked with our staff and leadership to increase our mental health supports at every school over the past three years, including new training and teacher positions to deal with the significant need to address challenging behaviors in the classroom. In my time on the board we have expanded our staff to respond to the physical and emotional needs of students and families at every single school site. 

  As your trustee, I began working in Nov. 2024 to ensure our school district was prepared for threats against our students. FSD has been a model of proactive preparedness. I led the efforts to develop a new board policy on inclusive education, and as a result, we have trained (and retrained) all staff, hosted dozens of Know Your Rights trainings, legal workshops for vulnerable families, increased mental health supports, food assistance and other supports to affected families, and more,  and I have led county wide-efforts to share best practices with other school district leaders.  Our district has also increased efforts to make visible our supports to students with disabilities and their families, at a time when resources are under threat.

 As a child participation and youth empowerment expert I know how important it is to listen to students and respond to their input.  When a student noticed risky job signs posted around Ladera Vista Jr. High, I jumped into action and our staff shared lessons on labor trafficking and trusted adults, when students told me they wanted more environmentally responsible options, we ditched the Styrofoam lunch trays for sustainable bamboo. When students told me their walk home from school was unsafe, we worked with our afterschool program and city to change our pick up patterns and add street lights to keep them safe.  When parents shared that they felt alone in supporting their students with disabilities, our board asked for a district-supported parent group. And when staff have shared their concerns and needs, I have worked to bring their voices to the dias.