by Andrew Alonzo | aalonzo@claremont-courier.com

Political newcomer and 23-year Claremont resident Cheryl Fiello, 46, is looking to take over the Claremont Unified School District Board of Education Trustee Area 5 seat occupied by outgoing board President Bob Fass. She face fellow political newcomer Mark Reynoso in the November 5 election.   

Fiello, a self-described “mom, former educator, community member, [and] businesswoman,” said her combined 18-year history with CUSD — 12 years as a chemistry and biology teacher at Claremont High School, and eight as a teacher on special assignment and district administrator — make her particularly qualified for the Trustee Area 5 seat.

“As the Coordinator of Educational Technology, I was in nearly every classroom at every school site. This exposure to all grade levels and all school sites has equipped me with a complex understanding of the culture and student experiences at each school site,” Fiello wrote in an email. “The combination of my classroom and administrative experience across all school sites, not just those in trustee area 5, make me particularly well suited and prepared to serve on the school board.”

Fiello has two children in CUSD schools. She holds a Bachelor of Science in biology from UC Riverside, a Master of Arts in educational technology from Pepperdine University, and multiple teaching and administrative services credentials.

“My innovative approaches to transform teaching and learning earned me international recognition as an 2011 Apple Distinguished Educator,” she wrote. “From 2015-2017, I was further appointed as a board member for the Apple Distinguished Educators Americas program, serving as advocate, advisor, author, and global ambassador for educational technology.”

Fiello also served on the board of Claremont Educational Foundation and has been school site council chair at Chaparral Elementary School for the last six years.

She left CUSD in 2019 to become quality assurance manager at Scott Brothers Dairy.

“Working in CUSD for 18 years was an absolute joy and privilege,” Fiello wrote. “In 2019, I only left CUSD at the calling of my family to help manage my family-owned and operated dairy. As the Quality Assurance Manager, I oversee all aspects of food safety and regulatory compliance. Many duties of this role, including setting high expectations, putting policies in place to meet those expectations, reviewing data to monitor expectations, and maintaining accountability to government agencies, along with managing a small business, are skills that translate well to serving on the school board.”

Fiello said the biggest challenge facing CUSD is regaining post-pandemic learning loss, citing English language arts and mathematics scores that have dropped.

“And I think we need to do that through supports and intervention, supporting the multitiered systems of support that are going on in the schools and continuing the teachers on special assignment that are focused on intervention. I think we need to put a tremendous amount of focus on early literacy for our earliest learners and be exploring the science of reading throughout the entire district.”

Fiello also addressed CUSD’s budget challenges.

“Current and future budget projections show us with declining enrollment,” she said. “That is not unique to Claremont Unified School District. That is a statewide problem as we’re seeing population decline. And also compounding that is a decrease in state revenue. So those two things combined are going to have a huge impact on the services that we can provide to our students.”

Fiello said she’s focused on minimizing the effects on students. “That’s my highest priority. … We’re going to have to stretch every single dollar to make sure that we provide the services to get our students back up to grade level standards.”

Last year, a lawsuit accused CUSD of assault and battery, dangerous condition of public property, negligent supervision and negligent hiring, training, and retention. Fiello was asked what new ideas she would bring to combat bullying.

“I think a big part of this has to do with the trauma our students faced going through COVID, and when our schools reopened — to no fault of our educators. I think we were ill-prepared to deal with the social-emotional needs that our students came in with,” she said “And since then, we’ve put additional mental health supports in place for our students and I think that we need to continue that because I think the bullying is an outward expression of many of the unmet social-emotional needs of our students. Our students are overwhelmed by anxiety and depression, and teachers are struggling with behaviors in the classroom. So, I absolutely believe we need to revisit our bullying policy and strengthen it.”

Fiello said the board does well in “focusing on the whole child beyond academics, making sure that we are focused on the social-emotional needs of our students, and providing opportunities both in and out of the classroom where students can show their expertise, where they can shine, where they can grow as individuals.”

She enjoys when the board spotlights students during meetings, saying “we’re recognizing not only things that students are doing within CUSD, but that they’re doing in their personal lives, which really demonstrate the core values of Claremont Unified School District.”

She’d like to see the board do better in public accessibility and transparency. “Again, not a criticism at all of the current board, but I think [for] any elected official there’s always room for improvement for access to the community,” she said.

Cheryl Fiello faces Mark Reynoso for the Claremont Unified School District Board of Education Trustee Area 5 seat on November 5. Feillo’s campaign website is fiello4cusd.com.