Find Out Why Teachers and School Employees are Supporting Kareem Gongora for Fontana School Board

06Nov
by Rocio Aguayo

Kareem graduated from AB Miller High School in 2005 and went on to earn his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at nearby colleges while raising his three children in our local public schools. He was a youth coach and after-school mentor, while supporting local and state leaders on legislation.

In addition, he served on the Fontana Planning Commission and the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools (SBCSS) Committee on School District Organizations, as well as the Vice President for Dolores Huerta International Academy (DHIA) School Site Council. Currently, he serves as a member of the California State Bar Committee of Bar Examiners overseeing the bar exam.

“In 2009, I coordinated a community event to raise money for three young boys who passed away in a tragic accident. It inspired me to serve my community and look for ways that I could contribute or give back to our youth. I ran unsuccessfully for Fontana School Board in 2014 and in last year’s special election. I am back again to get the job done because I care about this community and the future of our children. I have grown up in Fontana for over 28 years and am now raising my three children in Fontana with my wife, Christina. I can say my desire to serve was reinforced when our family learned that our daughter would be entering the special education program. Through this experience, we have met many parents who feel disenfranchised and are looking for help since our current system is not addressing their concerns,” said Kareem.

Kareem wants to focus primarily on:

  • Invest in early student intervention programs: “We know that children are four times less likely to graduate if they are not reading at grade level in the third grade. We should explore universal pre-school and continued expansion of all-day kindergarten programs. We need to also look at how we can prevent bullying through addressing the behavioral and mental health needs of our children as well as expanding socio-emotional development programs.  Children should have access to counselors in our school or marriage and family therapists who are prepared to deal with the trauma needs of our students as well as their families.”
  • Keep tax dollars in the classroom to support our teachers: “Our teachers work incredibly hard and it is time to look at how we can decrease classroom sizes while bringing in the resources and training for 1-to-1 technology. At minimum, teachers should be provided the tools, resources, and support they need to provide effective instruction.”
  • Ensure our graduates are career-ready upon graduation: “We need to implement K-12 career pathways through expanding trades, vocational and apprenticeship programs, while providing the basic skills to be successful either as an entrepreneur or small business owner. It is important that every student understands how to balance a budget, apply for a good paying job, and understands leadership as well as emotional intelligence.”

Kareem in the past has both worked with charter schools (i.e. John Muir Charter Schools) and also advocated against certain charter schools (i.e. Uplift Fontana). He believes that children need good school choices and that schools need to be held accountable whether they are charter or not.

What do you think?

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Rocio Aguayo

Rocio Aguayo is a young community oriented aspiring educator who has worked as a mentor with Inland Congregations United for Change (ICUC), a tutor with Youth Action Project at local high schools and now a youth leader with CAPS in San Bernardino, CA. She previously took pictures and wrote opinion pieces for the El Chicano Newspaper in the Inland Empire and was yearbook editor-in-chief at Arroyo Valley High School.

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