Neil Fishman

Neil Fishman is running for the Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) Board of Directors in District A, which is primarily in the City of Boulder south of Arapahoe, west of Foothills, and north of Table Mesa, but see the map below for better detail. BVSD Directors are elected by all voters in the entire BVSD area, though they run as residents of a given geographic district. Terms are for four years, and Directors are limited to two terms.

Relevant Experience:

  • MS, Geology, University of Colorado
  • BA, Geology, University of Colorado
  • Senior Geological Advisor—PetroLogic Solutions, LLC (6 years)
  • Senior Geological Advisor—Hess (5 years)
  • Research Geologist—U.S. Geological Survey (33 years)
  • BVSD District Parent Council (DPC), Creekside Elementary School (2 years)
  • Chair, CU Geological Sciences Advisory Committee (3 years)

Q: What made you decide to run?

I am the product of the public schools, having attended K-12 (Denver Public Schools) as well as CU (undergraduate and graduate degrees).  Furthermore, my kid is a graduate from BVSD (K-12) and I have experienced BVSD at all levels (elementary, middle school and high school).  I owe many of my personal and professional successes to my public-school education.  And so, I am not only an ardent supporter of public schools but am a firm believer in the value of public education and keeping public education a viable option for kids well into the future.  An educated society is critical now and in the future.  I have also spent decades working at the local level (city, county, state) on social justice issues.  Thus, it is a natural next step for me to run for the BVSD Board of Education, where I can mix my desire for local community involvement with my passion for education.  In addition, my engagement last year in the development of progressive social studies standards for all CO public schools was my ‘call to action’ in running for the BVSD school board, as remaining on the sidelines at this critical time for education is not a viable option for me.

Q: Are there specific needs in your geographic district?

Working within the context of declining enrollment, and its implications on budget, I remain committed to advocating for all BVSD kids.  Areas of concern in BVSD are not confined to my district because the concerns I have are district wide.  Furthermore, board members are voted ‘at large’, which helps us focus on the entirety of BVSD and stay away from viewing any board member’s effort to advocate only for their district.  My areas of focus include 1) improving the climate in our schools, 2) enhancing the mental well-being of students and staff, 3) narrowing the achievement and disproportionate discipline gaps, 4) avoiding actions like book bans and anti-trans/anti inclusion from taking hold, and 5) green solutions for BVSD.  All of my focus areas exist throughout BVSD.

Q: How would you characterize BVSD’s current level of academic performance and your performance priorities?

Academic performance is one of the components in my platform as a candidate for the BVSD Board of Education.  Results from the 2023 CMAS (Colorado Measures of Academic Success) indicate that although there is some improvement in test scores from the 2022 results in the areas of language arts and math for BVSD kids, in many cases CMAS results remain below levels from the 2019 (pre-pandemic).  Furthermore, the percentage of students who ‘met or exceeded expectations’ is highly variable when the data are considered as a function of ‘race’.  I believe BVSD can do better in terms of academic performance.  But there is more to academic performance than just the CMAS scores.  I believe that school climate and the mental well-being of at least some kids are barriers to their academic performance, insofar as it is difficult if not impossible for a kid to learn it they feel unsafe or unwelcome.  As such, improving the overall academic performance within BVSD would benefit through a concerted effort to make schools more welcoming and safer for all kids.

Q: Do you believe BVSD has done a good job managing educational achievement gaps? If not, what can BVSD do to narrow the gaps?

Although there has been a significant financial investment by BVSD for assistance in closing achievement gaps, much work remains to close gaps in math, language arts and science between students of color and their white classmates.  In addition, gaps exist between genders.  There have indeed been notable successes as exemplified by Alicia Sanchez Elementary School’s movement out of turnaround status and being awarded the Governor’s Bright Spot Award, highlighting student achievement and growth.  Thus, BVSD is heading in the right direction in closing achievement gaps.  But average to below average performance at middle schools in the district, as well as inconsistencies in implementation of programs such as the Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), are indeed of concern.  MTSS, which is a data-driven system, is intended to identify kids for which additional support might be warranted and then design a program to meet their needs.  But apparently there is inconsistent use of data in planning for student support, and there is also apparently an inadequate variety of interventions to address identified needs.  So, tightening up systemic problems such as those in the MTSS may well be a key to securing more and significant successes in closing achievement gaps.  I do appreciate the district’s transparency in divulging these shortcomings; building new successes off of lessons learned from previous work is smart.

Q: What is your take on the use of or reliance on standardized testing in today’s educational environment, and would you favor changes?

In general, I believe that standardized testing provides information for assessing where students are in their learning and, as such, has a role to play in evaluating how our schools are doing. In addition, I also believe this type of testing may help to guide where additional resources might be needed to bolster the efforts of educators to challenge students while also helping them to be fully engaged and succeeding in their learning. However, I think it is also the case that much of the evaluation in schools everywhere, including in BVSD, is geared to measure outcomes and very little research is geared to understanding the processes that allow teachers to teach well and students to learn optimally. Among the processes I believe we should be thinking about and evaluating more are elements like school climate and its contribution (positively or negatively) to the success of our students and to the work undertaken by educators. In addition, I am also curious as to how the impacts of the pandemic and online learning are considered as far as data collection and interpretation of both students and staff are concerned.

Q: General thoughts on BVSD finance, including whether you could favor running a future ballot measure that would increase revenue for BVSD?

As far as the consideration for any future bond issues, I would not rule one out, but I would listen very carefully to a detailed accounting for the need within BVSD and ask many pointed questions prior to supporting a future bond issue.  Given that declining enrollment is an overarching reality in BVSD’s student population and, by extension, its operational budget—similarly a reality for public schools across Colorado and the U.S.—a bond issue would have to be weighed carefully and would necessitate full transparency with the community.  But a clear and compelling case that could be made for a future bond issue would help me, as well as the BVSD community, to support any future bond issue.  As for specific needs that would compel a future bond issue, I would challenge BVSD administration to develop a clear plan to accelerate the implementation of major components of GreenBVSD, a forward-looking plan designed to fulfill BVSD’s sustainability mission.  I would support fast-tracking many of the capital goals related to facilities and operations such as 1) energy-efficient re-fitting of existing HVAC systems, 2) design and implementation of water-wise landscaping, and 3) decreasing greenhouse gas emissions.

Q: What are your thoughts on censorship of materials in school districts, and what would your thought process include if there were calls to censor materials in BVSD?

At the BVSD board meeting on August 8, 2023, there were two people who spoke in favor of banning books, which is the first time this type of action has been mentioned at a BVSD public meeting.  The BVSD has a well-designed process for addressing community concerns around what books to make available to students within an age-appropriate framework.  I strongly support this process because I believe it has thus far served the district, and the kids, very well.  But I also recognize that BVSD is not immune from intense public pressure (remember the 2021 recall effort) and so I would stand firm to maintain (or strengthen if necessary) BVSD’s policies and procedures on determining the suitability and age-appropriateness of books made available to students in the classroom or in the library.

Q: Has BVSD done a good job managing pandemic-related learning loss, or does work remain to be done?

The effects of the pandemic on student learning are a matter of great concern to me.  I don’t believe we have yet realized all the ramifications on learning because of the pandemic.  To some degree, the rebound has started, when comparing 2019 CMAS scores to those of 2022 and 2023; however, in many cases the 2023 scores are still below pre-pandemic levels.  But of course, the matter is complex in terms of work remaining to be done.  Learning from on-line classes is possible for some and difficult for others, so a single model for getting students at least back to pre-pandemic levels is probably too simplistic.  But equally important are the changes in behavior that teachers are experiencing in students since in-person learning resumed, based on conversations I have had with teachers.  There are disturbing accounts of kids demonstrating poor behavior in classes and elsewhere on school grounds, which has an effect on the school climate, which has been previously discussed.   I support a more detailed analysis of the immediate and potentially long-term effects on kids as a result of the pandemic.

Q: What are your thoughts about education related to diversity in BVSD?

I believe that BVSD students have access to good educational resources around diversity.  This isn’t just by chance but by design insofar as BVSD has been a stalwart in the integration of diversity into its curriculum as well as in some of its policies.  But in 2022, the BVSD board went the extra step to help convince the Colorado State Board of Education (BOE) that diversity and inclusion was of great importance and needed to be incorporated into the social studies standards for all CO public schools.  In fact, the BVSD board passed Resolution 22-27 to present an outward statement regarding the importance of including the history, culture, and social contributions of people from underrepresented communities into the K-12 social studies standards.  Ultimately, this resolution served as a template for municipal governments to follow to show the BOE that diversity is critical.  In the end, the BOE did indeed pass the standards that BVSD advocated.  But the battle over diversity education and inclusion is not over, and in some ways, it is heating up.  Anti-inclusion and anti-transgender policies are being adopted around the country at this time in history.  To think that BVSD is immune from external pressures is naïve and incorrect.  So, the BVSD school board must continue to value diversity and ensure that the progressive policies of the district aren’t eroded or undermined by people who undervalue such components of education.  Diversity and inclusion efforts are critical for all of us, kids included, and I will stand firm against efforts to devalue or delete them from BVSD.

Q: Changing demographics within BVSD might mean there could be school closures or other changes. What factors would enter your thought process if closures are considered?

The closing of schools is a complex matter and one of great concern to parents, students, BVSD administration, and the school board alike.  The BVSD Long Range Advisory Committee has advanced some preliminary recommendations that they consider are of value to be considered by the school board prior to any decisions being made on school closures.  I believe those recommendations can be helpful and they include evaluating open enrollment, possibly changing enrollment boundaries for at least some schools, and conducting community surveys.  But I believe that equity and access to schools should also be a cornerstone of the evaluation matrix in deciding the future of schools and any possible closures.  Although the district has worked to ensure that there is transparency in this process, more engagement with community members about declining enrollment and its impact on schools is warranted.  We should be making decisions using enrollment data as well as community input in order to design the best possible approach to shape the BVSD of the future.

Q: How do you keep in touch with the thoughts of students and parents now, and/or how do you plan to keep in touch if elected?

I keep in touch with parents and students by engaging with them directly.  I am fortunate to know many families with kids in the schools who all have something to say about BVSD—good and bad.  Furthermore, my approach to campaigning is to first provide a brief overview of my reasons for being a candidate for the school board, but then try to shift to listening to what is on people’s minds and understand what people want and expect from BVSD.  Parents and kids want to be heard, and I try hard to give them an opportunity to do so.  It has been my experience, by working for years on community and social justice projects, that listening to people’s concerns is profoundly needed, which is why I go out of my way to listen.  If I’m fortunate enough to be elected, I intend to continue to listen to constituents through direct engagement and by responding to emails and other communications.  And listening will become ever more critical as we deal with a matter of utmost concern—how to deal effectively and equitably with declining enrollment.  I don’t believe we want to repeat the mistakes of neighboring school districts by not being transparent and inclusive as we deal with this difficult issue.

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