On Nov. 8, Berkeley will vote for 3 faculty board members. This is a crucial election popping out of a really difficult time for colleges. With the departure of two skilled faculty board administrators (Julie Sinai and Ty Alper), Berkeley Unified Faculty District wants board members with deep expertise working with our college district and having longstanding relationships with the group to resolve systemic issues that have an effect on our college students.
As members of Latinos Unidos de Berkeley, we’d like to focus on one in all our endorsed candidates, Michael Chang. Mike is a longtime BUSD father or mother, PTA member and a 15-year training lawyer with the U.S. Division of Schooling’s Workplace for Civil Rights (OCR). At OCR, he has labored with faculty districts throughout California to implement constructive treatments so their applications are accessible to all college students with disabilities, English Language Learners and victims of sexual hurt. He has applied treatments in districts throughout California, making certain that college students, significantly college students of coloration, have equitable entry to the applications and providers. Mike can also be a longtime lecturer at UC Berkeley’s Division of Ethnic Research.
Not solely is Mike Chang a extremely certified skilled with a confirmed monitor file of supporting all college students, however he’s additionally a bridge builder who understands work collaboratively with community-based organizations. For instance, Mike has been current for the Latinx group earlier than and in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. He has usually engaged with Latinos Unidos de Berkeley (LUB) to supply steerage on authorities coverage and rules and assist us advocate for higher providers for multilingual learners.
Because the son of immigrant mother and father, Mike understands the distinctive challenges immigrant households face making an attempt to navigate our public colleges. One of these help has been game-changing and so wanted, particularly when Black and Latinx communities have been hit so exhausting by the pandemic and the systemic inequities it laid naked.
Mike can also be dedicated to constructing belief and relationships with all underrepresented communities in Berkeley. He has been a bridge builder between our Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) and Latinx households within the Berkeley faculty district and labored intently with a trustee from the California Latino Faculty Boards Affiliation and BUSD to move a decision denouncing hate crimes and bigotry focusing on the AAPI group in our colleges.
Latinos Unidos de Berkeley believes that unity amongst all affinity teams is essential to assist shut the chance hole for weak college students. We all know we are able to depend on Mike to proceed working collaboratively with group organizations to move essential insurance policies making certain that each one our college students will thrive in our colleges.
Greater than ever, we want faculty board administrators like Mike Chang, who perceive civil rights, the significance of sturdy governance, and advocacy for equitable training for ALL college students. Be a part of Latinos Unidos de Berkeley and vote for Mike Chang!
Héctor Malvido, Laura Rivas, and Lupe Gallegos-Diaz are co-chairs of the grassroots group group referred to as Latinos Unidos de Berkeley. For the reason that early Nineties, LUB has been centered on servicing and centering the voice of the Latino group, working throughout ethnic teams and points, and constructing bridges with group members and organizations to make Berkeley a metropolis that’s for everybody.
