Voter guide: Ellen Wheeler Voter guide: Ellen Wheeler (October 25, 2002)

By Candice Shih

Although Ellen Wheeler said she's always received little hints about running for public office, the tipping point was when former Bubb (and current Graham) Principal Judy Crates issued the challenge to step up and volunteer.

It made sense for Wheeler to run for the school board since she sees trustees as the "ultimate parent volunteers," in addition to being advocates for the community.

Parent volunteerism is nothing new to Wheeler. While her children were growing up, she partook in parent participation programs, like PACT and CEL, in Santa Clara. A credentialed teacher, Wheeler also did some substitute teaching in Santa Clara and later in Mountain View.

With her two older children grown-up, Wheeler now volunteers at Bubb School where her seven-year-old is a student. After serving on the PTA board and site council, she became Bubb's representative to the district's Communication Action Team.

Wheeler, 50, graduated from San Jose State University with a major in social sciences and took evening courses at Santa Clara University, where she earned her law degree in 1987. She now practices as a mediator and attorney in family law, wills and trusts.

Wheeler said the financial situation of the district is a major concern to her and a districtwide parcel tax would be worth looking into. She thinks it's too early to develop spending priorities but calls herself "a big proponent of small class sizes."

Making the MVWSD a district of preference is important to her, as is smoothing over the effects of the merger.

"Some people don't know if they can let go" of the Mountain View and Whisman districts' separate cultures, Wheeler said. "With time, people in the district will come to trust people who work for the district," she added.

Improving communications between the school board and the public is also a key goal for her. Town hall meetings and more appreciation of public input are ways to do that, said Wheeler.

As a board member, she said would set aside three hours a day, three days a week for open office hours during which time anyone can communicate with her.

On the issue of standardized tests, Wheeler said, "It's useful to know where each child is."

She agrees with the district's adoption of state curriculum content standards but with the advent of the California High School Exit Exam, state-mandated testing is more stressful than ever before. It's to the extent that Wheeler said schools should "prepare kindergarteners from day one for the high school exit exam" (she also has a stepson at Mountain View High School).

Wheeler was pleased to see that Castro School had raised its test scores and views it as a vital community center in its neighborhood. However, she cautioned, "on the one hand, it's critical to help the kids who need a lot of help . . . On the other, the GATE program has not been utilized as well as it should."

High-achieving students are taken for granted and funding for their programs are often cut first, said Wheeler.
E-mail Candice Shih at cshih@mv-voice.com