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Jessica Speiser learned early on that education would be her ticket to a better life.
The daughter of a single, drug- and alcohol-dependent mother, Speiser never knew a stable home. Her biological father died when she was only 6, and in his place entered a series of physically and emotionally abusive men. She spent some time in the custody of her step-father and in the foster care system before returning to her mother’s care. It was then, barely in third grade, that Speiser saw a way out.
“I started to realize that I was doing well in school, and that I liked school, and that maybe if I continued to do well in school, I’d be able to rise up out of my situation,” she recalls. “And that’s what I did.”
Now a candidate to represent Area 1 on the Santa Clara County Board of Education, Speiser is on a mission to give all students the same educational opportunities she had. Describing public school as the only “positive constant” in her childhood, she adds: “I want to ensure every kid born into circumstances similar to my own are given that chance.”
Speiser, who is challenging longtime incumbent Grace Mah, earned her law degree at the University of California, San Francisco, and worked in the corporate legal sphere before moving into the public sector. When her two children reached school age, she turned her sights on education, joining the local PTA and the board of the Los Altos Educational Foundation before becoming a trustee on the Los Altos School Board and co-chairing a successful parcel tax campaign that brought several million dollars into the district annually.
During her seven-year tenure on the board, Speiser served several terms as president, led the acquisition of a new school site to accommodate growing enrollment and closely tracked student progress to work towards narrowing the achievement gap, focusing on opportunities for the district’s most disadvantaged students.
Her new political move represents a continuation of that charge. She describes the SCCBOE as “the safety net of public education in the area” and a place where she can “truly serve the most underserved kids.”
Speiser, who has worked closely on ongoing negotiations around the district’s charter schools, has historically been critical of Bullis Charter School’s enrollment practices. Both the SCCBOE and LASD previously raised concerns about Bullis’ demographics, which includes a disproportionately low number of socioeconomically disadvantaged students. Regarding SCCBOE’s recent decision to grant Bullis a conditional charter renewal, Speiser says she believes it was the right decision.
“Not only was their charter application deficient … but also they had not done enough, as it relates to mirroring the district (demographics),” she says.
If elected, Speiser would oversee Area 1, which serves school districts in Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Palo Alto, Mountain View and North Sunnyvale. She hopes to bring a new perspective and engage directly with her constituents to understand the wants and needs of her district. She also wants to direct more support toward teacher-training and increasing transparency to help residents better access “all the resources that the county offers.”
Touting her experience on LASD, she says she has a depth of knowledge about public education and is “ready to do this as if I were an incumbent.”
Her endorsements include state Sen. Josh Becker, state Assemblymember Marc Berman, President of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors Susan Ellenberg, four current SCCBOE trustees and other regional and local government officials.
