Meet Dan Sloan for Shasta County Office of Education Trustee 

Sloan, a graduate of Shasta College and Simpson University and teacher of 30 years, has not limited his experience to the borders of California.

With experience as a teacher in China and curriculum development in Vietnam, Sloan’s priorities for the Shasta County Office of Education Board are math and literacy, special education, funding transparency, career readiness, holding regular town halls for parents and students, and funding WES Camp. 

What background or experiences have prepared you to serve on the SCOE Board? What are your priorities as a board member? 

I am a professor now, and have been a teacher for 30 years. I have several master’s degrees. One of them is a Masters in Teaching focused on the specific skill of  teaching English to speakers of other languages. I’ve been a fellow at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. and a specialist with the U.S. Department of State, engaging with other cultures.

I’ve had a lot more engagement with education than most people, and what I find is that without literacy and math skills, it’s very hard for students to accomplish whatever their goals are. So that’s an immediate issue I want to address, because I see that as undermining a person’s ability to succeed at whatever their goals are. 

As a board member, I’m committed to not going against state rules, regulations, or the law. I’m a big law-and-order type person so I would want to find ways to work with our SCOE board  to make change happen in that context. 

What do you see as the value of public education? Have you or would utilize public schools for your children? Why or why not?

I would use public schools for my children. The value of a public education is it gives a lot of equity to everybody and should also give a lot of freedom to everyone. I’m into letting people have freedom to make choices. That would include inter-district transfers if they find that they don’t have a school nearby that meets the needs of their child. 

Growing up, I was diagnosed with ADHD at a very early age. We had 30 students and two teachers, one for me and one for the rest of the students. So I understand the challenges and difficulties different students can face, and I am grateful that my public teachers were phenomenal. 

This board has seen a significant amount of conflict over the ideologically diverse views of its current members. How would you work to center the needs of students and collaborate with those you may disagree with? 

I meet people where they’re at and I love them where they’re at.

Our board currently has a lot of division. Some of it is ideological. I think I could listen to people that have different perspectives and we could easily sit across from one another and talk about our differences, debate the benefits and the pros and cons. You could vote your way, I could vote my way, but we could still discuss our ideas and better understand them, and each other. 

As a board member, you’ll oversee the county’s budget. What concerns if any do you have about SCOE’s current budgetary approach? What would you intend to change, if anything? 

I would want to fully investigate the budget and make it more visible to the public. I think at times keeping things to where they’re not as transparent provides the board with the cover they need to make difficult decisions that are not popular. But even if it’s an unpopular decision, they need to inform the public as to why it’s being made. When we have poor scores in literacy and math, and children’s lives and the future of their families is at stake, that’s too important not to let those funds be utilized in ways that are the most impactful for them and their future

SCOE board members also oversee several schools. How would you safeguard the rights of ethnically diverse children and those who are part of the LGBTQ+ community?

In China, I was this white guy amongst 1.4 billion Chinese, and I stood out. I’m used to being in a minority position and know what that feels like for a prolonged period of time. I want people to have the rights and privileges that they are entitled to by our society. Other societies don’t afford people those rights but in America we do. 

My foundations in Christ are mine. I believe in those, and I model those and mentor people. But I don’t believe in forcing them on others. Knowledge and experience and living by example are all part of being a good teacher and a good mentor but I want parents to have a say with what happens to their child. So I would work to do what I do best, which is to communicate well with people. 

Shasta County serves numerous special education students. How would you work to uphold state and federal special education law and ensure the needs of such students are met? 

Right now, there’s an ad hoc special education committee. Special education is paramount. I think most families have somebody in their family, whether it’s an uncle, aunt, cousin, nephew, or niece that has special needs. It’s a very costly program for most school boards or school districts, but I think we need to have more attention paid to it so that we can do better with those students. 

I am an advocate for reviewing carefully what is happening and looking at the law. And if we are required to do it by law, then we will follow the law. 

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