The San Mateo Union High School District’s Board of Trustees welcomes two new members, Jennifer Jacobson and Teri Chavez, following the recent November election.
Chavez, Area 1, has served on the San Bruno Elementary School board for the last four years, and will join the SMUHSD board in December. Chavez received a completely public education and was a first generation college graduate.
“What I hope to add to the board is having the lens of somebody who is passionate about student achievement,” Chavez said. “I’m very passionate about equity and every student having the same opportunity within a school site, but also within all the school sites.”
Chavez is entering her term with certain visions and values.
“What I hope to add to the board is having the lens of somebody who is passionate about student achievement”
“The policies I support would be anything regarding diversity,” Chavez said. “I also support ethnic studies, … funding student clubs [and raising] mental health awareness.”
The other addition to the board is Jennifer Jacobson, who will serve as the trustee for Area 5. She received her bachelor and master’s degree from Brigham Young University and worked as a registered dietician before picking up a career in family photography.
As the mother of five children, two of whom go to Hillsdale, Jacobson has always been an involved parent.
“I decided that as a parent, I would like to have more of a voice at the policy level”
“Just over the past few years, I’ve been awakened to the important decisions that the school board makes, [and their] direct impact on students’ lives and their families,” Jacobson said. “I decided that as a parent, I would like to have more of a voice at the policy level.”
Jacobson lived in Utah with her family from 2017 to 2019, but ultimately returned to California.
“One thing that I missed while we lived there was the diversity, [which] was one of the big reasons why we moved back to California,” Jacobson said. “With that, I think there’s an emphasis on diversity as a strength and bringing forward more and more marginalized voices and perspectives [in the District].”
With Chavez and Jacobson added to the SMUHSD board, the board will continue to meet and discuss district-wide issues and proposals for all the schools. Terms last four years, and elections, which are held every other year, will occur again in 2024.
