Leslie Hamada ready for Kent school board | Letter

I am writing to add my support to Leslie Hamada in her quest to serve on the Kent School Board, Position No. 3.

I have known Leslie for several years especially in regard to her efforts to improve the health and well being of our public school students.

Leslie has worked tirelessly as an advocate for including physical education as a core subject area. As you perhaps know, the health and well being of students was not a central concern during the years of No Child Left Behind. The result was, in my opinion, a misguided effort to focus exclusively on academics at the expense of health, music  and the arts. As many groups such as the National Association of School Boards and ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) have recognized, students in our schools cannot perform well if they are not healthy and ready to learn. Separating bodies and minds makes little sense and is counterproductive.

Leslie proved herself to be an outstanding advocate for students. She understands the political system and works hard to develop relationships with those in decision-making positions. I have spent time with her in Olympia and can attest to her well honed communication skills with our state legislators.

As a former school board member myself here in Ellensburg (eight years), I am very familiar with the job expectations. If elected, there will be few school board members in the state as well prepared or knowledgeable as Leslie on the key issues affecting today’s students and schools. In short, Leslie Hamada is a wonderful candidate for the Kent school board. Citizens in your local community will be very fortunate if they elect Leslie to represent them.

Steve Jefferies

Department of Physical Education, School and Public Health

Central Washington University

Ellensburg