Dear Neighbors and Supporters,

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My name is Francisco Gutierrez and I am running for West Covina School Board. I work as an Immigration Paralegal for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA). I served as Student Board Member for our school district in 2017 when I attended and graduated from Edgewood High School. I also attended Hollencrest Middle School in 2011. I am a member of the National Association for Legal Assistants (NALA), a paralegal member of the American Immigration Lawyer Association (AILA), and a Board Member for the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Paralegal Association (LAPA). I currently attend Mt. SAC and plan to graduate next year, 2021, with an Associates Degree in Sociology, Paralegal Studies, and Political Science. Due to my work and substantial coursework, I have extensive knowledge in the social and behavioral sciences; which I plan to use as your school board member to figure out preferable ways to educate our students in this ever changing world. 

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I am running to be your school board member because I believe we need innovative and fresh ideas that new people could bring to our district; that can better prepare our students for the REAL world. We need 21st Century Leadership! We need programs that not only teach students the academics but also programs that teach them about life. We need to implement classes that help them learn to budget their expenses, how to cook, and how to do the basics of life. We should be preparing our students not only for college and their careers, but also for the life challenges they may face in the future. We need people in our board that are not afraid to address the district's weaknesses and find ways to improve. 

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Due to today's social, safety, health, and political climate; we need to learn how to quickly adapt to serve our students and communities. As your board member, I will take action without hesitation to protect and serve our students and you. We need to promote better student and parent involvement because the district serves the community, not the other way around. It's time for change and time to bring that mind set back to our schools. I want to encourage our community to be part of the educational development process. I want us to work together to combat the challenges we are facing as a district and community. Because when we are stronger together, we can cultivate a brighter and innovative future. Let's Break Barriers and Build Futures!