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Home > Interviews > Interview with Christine Lim
Voices of Innovation
Interview with Christine Lim, Former Superintendent,
San Leandro USD
Considering the upcoming reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Act, it is often said that small and rural school systems lack the resources, expertise and manpower to compete with larger and more affluent districts for a sizable share of funding, what advise can you offer to local school boards on how to voice concerns, take action and secure worthy funding for their schools?
I do have some serious concerns with the philosophy of, "one size fits all" which is under NCLB. It is extremely important that we emphasize with our legislators, the Obama administration, and others, the importance of FLEXIBILITY, so that we can better serve our students locally. Ideally, I would like to see school communities with their governing boards convene through a consensus process an open, healthy discussion regarding their wants, needs and desires. It would be extremely powerful if school districts could identify their top "Must Haves" that could be communicated to George Miller, chair of the reauthorization. Listen 
You are deeply involved with arts education and serve on the Alameda County Alliance for Arts Learning Leadership, what drove you to advocate for arts education, were you involved in the arts as a child?
Yes, art was very much apart of my childhood, unfortunately not in school, but through my parents who made sure I took classes and music lessons. My interest in the arts started when I began in 1978 as a Principal in west Berkeley, California. As part of developing a meaningful professional development program, I began studying brain research and the integration of the right and left brain. It was clear to me that through the arts, meaningful teaching and learning does occurs. Listen
The San Leandro Unified School District will open its new ninth grade campus this fall which will include an arts education center with classrooms Can you tell how the school board was able to get community support for this project?
In 2006, after a number of community forums, it became clear to the school board and the community, the importance of the arts in the District's mission and vision. We hired a firm to conduct a survey to confirm this direction and it ranked as one of the top needs in the community of San Leandro. When Measure B passed in November 2006, we convened a number of Steering Committees to gather input to help shape the vision for each new facility being built under the bond...library expansion, 9th Grade campus, Arts Education Center, and Career Tech Education. The Arts Education Center by far was the most popular and commanded over 35 volunteer participants who took it upon themselves to visit neighboring communities to see other theaters on high school campuses. Listen
Like other districts throughout the U.S., San Leandro Unified School District is experiencing deep cuts to education due to the fiscal crisis, in these times, how can school districts continue to fund arts education?
We were fortunate in San Leandro, that in spite of the budget cuts in California, I and the current Board were committed to keeping the arts program as part of the "essential" core program. We have arts specialist teachers in every elementary, middle and high school. By design, the arts education program is a release time program which results in making it part of every child's experience in school. I believe where there is a will there is a way. You can figure what are the must haves in the district, and you leverage your resources to provide arts education. Listen
Many arts advocates and others in the field of education understand how the arts contribute to the development of the 'whole child', but how can they bring relevance to this argument and translate the benefits of the arts to a parent or state leader who thinks that the arts is "fluff" and that the educational curriculum should be solely based on core academic subject areas-- English, Math, Science and Social Studies?
For me, the arts is a civil rights issue...that it provides a mechanism for educators to provide rigor, allow students to express themselves creatively and really it's the only way to totally involve ALL of our students in schools. It is through the arts, that we allow students to demonstrate their understanding of English, Math, Science and Social Studies.
Listen
You are particularly interested in equity in education, and the academic success of African American and Latino children, what is the current system lacking in regards to helping them reach their full potential?
First and foremost, I believe we MUST examine race, as to why it is the predictor of the achievement gap. It is about challenging our belief system that reverse this change and sustain outcomes. Given adequate training regarding those agreements and having systemic courageous conversations on race is essential to tackling the challenges that result in positive change. After being the superintendent of San Leandro for the past 6.5 years, I can proudly show data that demonstrate we were closing the racial achievement gap. All students progressed on an average 6.23% API with Black students 8.40% and Hispanic/Latino 8.29%. We were able to reverse the predictability over time for our Black and Brown students. Listen
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