Two election-day letters in support of Murphy

This letter is to encourage voters to elect David Murphy to the Area 2 position on the Yolo County Board of Education. I have known and respected David for nearly 20 years, meeting him through school related activities our daughters participated in.

David led efforts in the past to improve Davis schools, including the creation of Da Vinci School, initiating our local Montessori magnet program, and introducing advanced placement (AP) science programs.

David Murphy’s career eventually led him to serve in a consulting capacity for school districts in the region, focusing on program improvements while maintaining fiscal prudence and seeding available outside funding to keep budgets in line with resources.

Through all of this work in Davis, in our region, and in other school districts in California, David has remained in Davis with his family, and with his wife Robbie has raised a family of four young women.

David Murphy is a candidate with integrity, a wealth of experience, and longstanding roots in our community. Please join me Tuesday in supporting him.

Steve Tracy
Davis

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As election day approaches, I want to add my voice to those supporting David Murphy for Yolo County Board of Education.

I’ve known David Murphy for over 20 years, and throughout that time I have seen him advocate tirelessly for all students and for alternate forms of education. With experience as a teacher, principal, superintendent, consultant, advisor, mentor and as a life-long learner himself, David Murphy has built his career on the belief that all students can learn and the awareness that there are as many ways of learning as there are learners.

I first met David at Central Park after a Farmers Market. As our young children played nearby, we began chatting. I told David that my husband and I, both public school teachers, were homeschooling our own children. David was intrigued by the cooperative, collaborative nature of the local homeschooling groups, and that day, we began a conversation that’s continued for two decades about alternative approaches to learning, what works and why, and how as educators, we seek to learn from our students so that they might learn from us.

David had just become the DJUSD Superintendent, and he soon reached out to the Davis homeschooling community. Over the next few years, in response to conversations with that group, the Davis School for Independent Studies expanded its offerings into a thriving program — including the option for split-site studies — that continues to serve families with students who learn best in less-traditional ways. Our family benefitted from the open-mindedness of David Murphy’s view of education as a community program. When I returned to classroom teaching in 2006, I was a better educator for having had the experience of alternatives approaches to learning.

A committed educator for over 40 years, David Murphy has served thousands of students and families from Torrance to Palo Alto, in El Dorado and Davis, within the Juvenile Justice system and at Santa Clara University. With his unparalleled depth and breadth of experience, David Murphy will serve the families of students in Yolo County with vision and commitment.

Carin Pilon
Davis