José Magaña

My name is José Magaña and I represent Area 2 Trustee of the San José Unified School Board of Education. As an educator, I have dedicated 15 years working to make sure that every child, including my daughters, receive a world class education. My own children attend our neighborhood public schools, so this is personal. We have made great progress these last four years, but have more work to do.

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Growing up as the son of an incarcerated father, a teen mom, and in a Spanish speaking family, my family instilled in me the importance of getting an education, but it wasn’t always easy. Luckily, I had amazing educators who cared for, challenged, and helped me grow to become a hard-working person of integrity, dedicated to serving those around me. Through them I learned what it meant to be confident, advocate for myself and others, and the transformational power a community has to come together to support a child. These experiences led me to the be the first male in my family to graduate from college. This work is personal.

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I have the relevant professional experience that is needed to be a champion for our children. I moved to San José to be a kindergarten teacher to provide students with an equitable start to their educational journeys. Working towards equity took me from my own classroom to hundreds of classrooms across the country when I worked as a coach for mathematics and literacy. My passion for service continued as a senior leader at an education non-profit that ran after-school programs in the city of San José. I led national efforts to collaborate with foundations, government entities, and private funders to ensure that all students receive personalized, high-impact academic tutoring. And finally, used my expertise in education as an Executive Director for a non-profit building leadership pipelines for educators. Now, I support worldwide education organizations to ensure they are serving the communities, including in the city of San José.

 

As trustee these last four years, I put my Certificate in Education Finance, experience as a teacher, a district parent, and a proven track record in education to work. With another four years, I will keep building partnerships that invest in student safety, academics, STEM, and extracurriculars. I will make sure students are ready to compete in an economy reshaped by AI, whether they choose college, a trade, or starting their own business. I will continue protecting the mental health resources our students rely on and the policies that make every student welcome on campus –even as those resources and policies are threatened by our current political climate. Now more than ever, this board needs a proven policymaker and an experienced educator who keeps the focus on students, not politics. And that leader is me. I hope to earn your vote again in November.

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-José Magaña

(SJUSD Parent & Governing Board Member)