I am honored to be endorsed by Seattle Times as Voters' Best Choice with my skills and experience - "Makam understands the social-emotional needs of Bellevue’s students....she will prioritize improving communication between the board, district administrators and the public. Her big-picture orientation and willingness to ask tough questions will help the board hold administrators accountable for results."

 

I will strive to bring Bellevue School District to its leadership position and work to have every child reach his or hers highest highest potential. I have been an involved parent with two children currently in the Bellevue School District that will be 4th and 8th graders in the Fall. For the last decade, I have served on local PTAs, district wide curriculum, equity and advanced learning task forces, and have been an advocate for ALL children. My vision as a Board Member is centered on these areas:

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COMMUNICATION​

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• As the district reviews their communication policies and procedures, I will be a partner in the process to rebuild trust so that the district can regain its leadership position again.

• Data behind decisions should be shared, I plan to encourage our district to share the "why" behind decisions. Access to data pre and post program changes are critical.

• I will model open and authentic conversations. I believe we must first exemplify what we desire to see around us.

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CURRICULUM

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• Children received lower instruction minutes in 2020-2021, how do we effectively address the learning loss? With a year of virtual learning, should we employ more project based learning? 

• Our teachers desire consistent curriculum as well as continuity between elementary, middle and high school. The rate of curriculum change does not serve many of our teachers and students well. I will work with the district to balance short term versus long term goals.

• We have to  listen and support our teachers as our experts in understanding how our children learn and engage with curriculum. Do we have a sound approach in capturing all of the inputs necessary to provide the best learning outcomes?

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CONNECTION

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• There is a strong correlation between academic success and social emotional health. We also have seen the results of a pilot at a Title 1 school in 2018-2019 demonstrating that having consistent and high academic expectations coupled with robust SEL can see positive results. Are successful pilots being scaled?

• Addressing mental health for our students will be paramount. BSD will be bringing in additional counseling staff next year. I will assess if needs are being met and how to close any gaps in a thoughtful and financially responsible way.