When elected in 2018, I was the youngest person on the William S. Hart Union High School District board and the ONLY person who was the parent of a school-age child. I ran on a platform of educational excellence, emotional well-being, equity, engaging families and maintaining economic responsibility. Who would have guessed that, for the better part of three of the last four years, the board would be responding to crises?
I served as board president in 2021, when the pandemic was at its height and the community was divided regarding many issues. Schools had been closed for nine months and parents, staff and students were striving to manage our new remote learning paradigm. Board meetings went from nearly no attendance or public participation to overflowing meetings with regular outbursts of frustration. There were even moments where comments from some attendees were seen as personal and cruel attacks. During that time, I never lost my focus — service and accountability to students, staff and families of the Hart district. As the leader, I knew my role was to listen, learn and act in the best interest of the district’s 21,000 students and the 1,800 staff members. Under my leadership, we safely reopened all campuses in spring 2021.
Throughout my term, I’ve demonstrated compassionate leadership and worked to ensure that diverse student, parent and educator voices were heard as we tackled difficult issues head-on. I am proud of the district’s accomplishments over the past five years as we:
• Opened student wellness centers on all school campuses. We hired a district wellness coordinator and increased the number of both licensed therapists and social workers to address student needs.
• Implemented best practices for enhancing campus safety and security. Most notably, we increased the number of school resource officers from six to seven to support campus safety as our number of campuses grew.
• Excelled academically. Designated an “exemplary district” for academic excellence in 2019; eight of our schools are California Distinguished Schools; six high schools are ranked in the top 12% of public high schools in the country by U.S. News and World Report and we’ve had multiple faculty members named county Teachers of the Year, with one designated California Teacher of the Year!
• Opened or completely renovated school facilities. Castaic High School opened in 2019, new performing arts centers at Saugus High School and Canyon High School were opened, and we completed modernization at three high schools and two junior high schools.
Many believe it’s important to have the voice of current parents on school boards. I am the ONLY candidate who is the parent of a current school-age child. I am the ONLY candidate who has been a teacher and administrator in the district, and I currently work as an educator at the state and national levels.
I am running for re-election because I believe students matter, teachers matter, representation matters and most importantly leadership matters! I want for every student what I want for my own child; I make decisions with that in mind. My campaign puts students first and engages parents as partners in their child’s education.
I am honored to be the ONLY candidate endorsed by the Hart District Teachers Association AND the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce – educators AND the business community. I have also been named a gun sense candidate and have the support of numerous parents, educators and community leaders.
If your vote is based on what is best for students and the future of the Hart district, I am the ONLY qualified candidate! Please vote for Cherise Moore.
Cherise Moore
Board Member, William S. Hart
Union High School District
Newhall
