Trustee Area 2 Nirza Starks

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By Nirza Starks

Nirza Starks

I’m a mom and educator and have dedicated my adult life to work and advocate for children. I am Nirza Starks and I’m running for GUSD as trustee for Area 2. I have been a nanny, a teacher, a specialized tutor, and recently the board president of a local nonprofit preschool. Being a mom with two kids in school has made me realize that, unfortunately, we need an urgent change in our school programs. I want to explain what motivates me and what I would do if I get elected as a trustee.

Learning English as my second language has shown me the importance of language programs for all students. I believe that we can do better for all of our children in this area. Several studies show the positive cognitive impact of early language studies in developing children and teens. Also, exposing children at an early age to new arenas and being the witness of their exploration and achievements is extremely rewarding for all parties involved.

All of our children should receive a quality education that prepares them to become who they want to be when they grow up and not only for the next school year.

I manage the financials for my preschool and my home. I have been conservative financially my entire life; this was mostly due to the life as an immigrant in the United States. However, it has taught me to be fiscally careful and be creative with often too few resources. Making our funds stretch as far as possible is key to any public school, especially here in Gilroy.

We need to take advantage of our community and find those with experience and skills to get involved at all levels of education. Gilroy has MMA champions that can help with our wrestling programs, artists that can show students how to see the world in new ways and create amazing things, engineers that imagine and build the city around us. Bringing those local experts into the education process helps us to create those programs that allow children to find their passion, whatever that may be.