Biography

Sandra Nichols has been a leader on the Pajaro Valley School Board since she was elected in 2000. She is acknowledged as one of the hardest working of the seven trustees.

    Sandra Nichols is now in her 30th year teaching in California public schools, and her eighth year in school governance as a Trustee for the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, the county's largest school district. She is currently in her 22nd year teaching for Santa Cruz City Schools and serves the Santa Cruz County Office of Education as Project Director/English Learners. Sandra is a proud, 22-year member of the California Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO and is a licensed Speech Pathologist.

Prior to her career as an educator, Sandra worked in the Department of Social Services for the County of Santa Cruz serving underprivileged families in the Beach Flats and Watsonville areas. She recently served as Supervisor Ellen Pirie's appointment to the Santa Cruz County Children and Youth commission. She is a mother and a dedicated advocate for children.

She was the school board leader protecting the rights of parents to withhold student information from military recruiters by including "opt-out" statements on student emergency cards. As the board oversees the county's largest school district budget, she is the one trustee who continually seeks to contain and reduce administrative costs, including administrative salaries and positions. She is the leader in supporting the needs of English Language Learners. She recently helped create the District's new English Learner Master Plan. She has been a leader in providing a healthy school lunch choices and reducing junk food in schools. She is the school board leader against segregating schools along ethnic and socio-economic lines. She organized and led a coalition of county education leaders (CampaignSOS) to fight for Governor Schwarzenegger's attacks on public schools, teachers and public employees in the 2005 special election. She has been the county leader advocating Certificates of Completion for students who meet all graduation requirements except the High School Exit Exam. And she was the school board leader in the successful, three-year struggle to name a school after civil-rights leader Cesar Chavez.

As a writer, her essays (www.Education-Matters.com) have attracted the attention of educators around the world. Her Education Matters column has appeared in the Watsonville Register-Pajaronian and other area publications. Her May 2003 essay, "A Win-Win for the High School Exit Exam," was selected for inclusion in "California Dreams and Realities," a text book published by Bedford/St. Martins, Boston and New York, and currently being studied in California universities and community colleges.

Sandra was also a school spirit leader at Grossmont High School. She was one of the best flag twirlers in the league.

Sandra attended public schools in California, graduating from Grossmont High School in 1965. She was an honors student, and obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in English, Spanish, and Speech Pathology from the University of Redlands in l969. Sandra was awarded her Master's degree in Speech and Language Pathology from San Jose State University in 1979. She remains proud of the 4.0 GPA she earned in her graduate work. She obtained her credential, the Clinical-Rehabilitative Services Credential, from the State of California in 1978. For many years Sandra was a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), and was awarded that organization's Certificate of Clinical Competence in 1979.

In 2005, Sandra returned to graduate school at Chapman University in Monterey. She earned her Administrative Services Credential in 2006.

For the past 30 years, Sandra has served students at all levels as a speech and language specialist and Program Director/ English Learners in California public schools. She continues working with English Learners through the Santa Cruz County Office of Education's Alternative Education Program. For Santa Cruz City Schools, Sandra specializes in diagnosis and treatment of bilingual students with speech and language disorders. Previously, Sandra worked for the Santa Clara County Office of Education, becoming their bilingual language specialist. Sandra has dedicated herself beyond the call of duty, presenting parent workshops and in-service programs to encourage parent participation in their children's education and to promote the acquisition of English language skills.

Sandra supports English Language Learners. Here, she meets with parents during a forum at Calabasas Elementary School.

Sandra was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania, April 11, 1947. She moved to California in 1948, where she has made permanent residence. Peter Nichols, her husband of 30 years, is a teacher, writer, and editor. Her son Kelly, 40, graduated from San Lorenzo Valley High and San Diego State University. Her daughter Jessica, 28, graduated from Aptos High in 1997 and Sonoma State University in 2001.