Meet Armando Montero
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I believe in public education. It is the ladder that allowed my family to be where we are today. I went to school here in our community and it has shaped who I am today.
In 2020, I was honored to be elected to the Tempe Union Governing Board as the youngest person to ever hold a seat on the Board in the District's history. Since then, we have made tremendous progress on a wide variety of issues and made Tempe Union a statewide leader on many fronts. I was elected to serve as the Board's Vice President in 2021 and currently lead the Board as the President for the second consecutive year. I also currently work as a Senior Planning Analyst in ASU's Education Outreach and Student Services (EOSS) department after graduating from ASU with degrees in Political Science, Economics, and Mathematics (Statistics) and was elected by school board members to represent Maricopa County on the Board of Directors of the Arizona School Boards Association. In 2022, I was selected to represent Arizona as 1 of 58 student nationally as a Harry S Truman Scholar. With this experience, I have been able to see the impact policy has on our communities and build broad coalitions of students, teachers, parents, and administrators to work on the issues close to our hearts in the education community. As a product of the Tempe Union High School District and graduate, I know firsthand what issues our students are facing and have a fresh perspective on how to solve them. I firmly believe that a board with more diverse perspectives that reflect all parts of our community is a stronger board. I am running again to continue to put partisan politics aside and bring a voice that has been missing for too long. After the past years of fighting on behalf of students across the district on social/emotional well-being, suicide prevention, and student advocacy, I was called on by board members, teachers, students, and community members to run. I am proud to be supported and endorsed by national and local leaders in our communities and have grown our support over the past four years. As a student in the District, I helped draft and introduce a board resolution that called on the board and state to prioritize mental health and allocate more resources to school counselors which has now passed more than 12 districts state-wide. I worked alongside district officials to create a student advisory committee at every school in the district to ensure that student voices were heard on decisions that affect their everyday lives. Now, Tempe Union is a statewide leader after I introduced and passed the most comprehensive mental health policy in the state. Throughout my high school years, my teachers fought tooth and nail to ensure that I had the best possible education to succeed after graduation. I know the impact that the governing board has over the lives of every student in our community and am ready to continue to ensure that every single one of them has access to a fair and equitable education and the resources available to thrive after graduation. A lot of work has gone into this campaign already and there is still a lot more to go. With your help we can win another term! Join us! |
Common Questions and Answers
1) What are your qualifications to serve on the board?
I have lived, gone to school, and worked in this district for many years. As a recent graduate of the district I know firsthand what issues our students and teachers are facing and have a fresh perspective on how to solve them. I would say I have the most valuable experience to bring to the board as someone who has experienced the classroom in recent years and has seen firsthand the impact the board has had on our students, teachers, and staff. I strongly believe a board with more diverse perspectives that reflect all parts of our Tempe Union community is a stronger board.
I have been involved at the district level for several years after writing and introducing a mental health resolution which was passed that allowed me to work with district leadership and the superintendent to create and chair a student advisory committee. This is what led to current board members, students, teachers, and parents asking me to run this year.
I also currently work as a Senior Planning Analyst for ASU and as the Maricopa County Co-Director for the Arizona School Boards Association which have taught me how to create broad coalitions of students, teachers, staff, and parents to work on the educational issues close to our hearts which is key to being a school board member.
2) Please tell us three reasons you are running for the school board?
1.First, in many ways as a student of the district and part of the younger generation I felt that our voices were not being heard on a board that directly makes decisions that affect students’ lives on a daily basis. My generation is going through a unique set of challenges that other board members who were in school many years ago may not understand. A school board is a team and in order to have a strong team we need to have everyone in our community represented.
2.Second, I first got involved as a mental health advocate many years back. After going through my own struggles in high school and losing a close friend to suicide, I began to notice the lack of resources and attention being payed to the suicide crisis my generation is facing. This has been the main issues I have worked with the district and current board on and continue to make my top priority to reduce the stigma around mental health and bring some changes to the district on that end.
3.I am a strong defender of public education and it hurts to see our public schools come under attack year after year at both the state and national level. My public education has allowed me to be where I am today and feel a certain level of responsibility to give back and defend the district and community that has given me so much. That especially includes looking after our teachers and ensuring they are offered competitive compensation and benefits.
3) In your opinion, what are the three most important education issues schools and all stakeholders in the district face?
1.Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. While we have been able to create a state-wide conversation around this issue, there is much to be done to support the social/emotional needs or our students. One of the things that is rarely mentioned is the stigma surrounding mental health. We as a school board have a unique opportunity to reduce this stigma and foster open discussions around mental health while also bringing tangible change to help our suicide prevention efforts.
2.School Equity. One of my other main focuses is around ensuring we offer equitable access to education for all of our students. The demographics of our district have changed drastically over recent years and we need to start paying attention to the achievement gap that has presented itself. Rather than offering one-size-fits-all solutions, we have the opportunity to look at our schools on an individual basis to fit their needs best given that we have only 7 high schools in the district.
3.Teacher Retention. Our teachers are the backbone of our district and deserve to have the appropriate compensation and benefits to back that up. We need to create strong incentive programs to ensure that we keep the high-quality teachers that we are fortunate enough to have in our district right now. I will always stand up for our educators and advocate as a board member for fully funded public education.
I have lived, gone to school, and worked in this district for many years. As a recent graduate of the district I know firsthand what issues our students and teachers are facing and have a fresh perspective on how to solve them. I would say I have the most valuable experience to bring to the board as someone who has experienced the classroom in recent years and has seen firsthand the impact the board has had on our students, teachers, and staff. I strongly believe a board with more diverse perspectives that reflect all parts of our Tempe Union community is a stronger board.
I have been involved at the district level for several years after writing and introducing a mental health resolution which was passed that allowed me to work with district leadership and the superintendent to create and chair a student advisory committee. This is what led to current board members, students, teachers, and parents asking me to run this year.
I also currently work as a Senior Planning Analyst for ASU and as the Maricopa County Co-Director for the Arizona School Boards Association which have taught me how to create broad coalitions of students, teachers, staff, and parents to work on the educational issues close to our hearts which is key to being a school board member.
2) Please tell us three reasons you are running for the school board?
1.First, in many ways as a student of the district and part of the younger generation I felt that our voices were not being heard on a board that directly makes decisions that affect students’ lives on a daily basis. My generation is going through a unique set of challenges that other board members who were in school many years ago may not understand. A school board is a team and in order to have a strong team we need to have everyone in our community represented.
2.Second, I first got involved as a mental health advocate many years back. After going through my own struggles in high school and losing a close friend to suicide, I began to notice the lack of resources and attention being payed to the suicide crisis my generation is facing. This has been the main issues I have worked with the district and current board on and continue to make my top priority to reduce the stigma around mental health and bring some changes to the district on that end.
3.I am a strong defender of public education and it hurts to see our public schools come under attack year after year at both the state and national level. My public education has allowed me to be where I am today and feel a certain level of responsibility to give back and defend the district and community that has given me so much. That especially includes looking after our teachers and ensuring they are offered competitive compensation and benefits.
3) In your opinion, what are the three most important education issues schools and all stakeholders in the district face?
1.Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. While we have been able to create a state-wide conversation around this issue, there is much to be done to support the social/emotional needs or our students. One of the things that is rarely mentioned is the stigma surrounding mental health. We as a school board have a unique opportunity to reduce this stigma and foster open discussions around mental health while also bringing tangible change to help our suicide prevention efforts.
2.School Equity. One of my other main focuses is around ensuring we offer equitable access to education for all of our students. The demographics of our district have changed drastically over recent years and we need to start paying attention to the achievement gap that has presented itself. Rather than offering one-size-fits-all solutions, we have the opportunity to look at our schools on an individual basis to fit their needs best given that we have only 7 high schools in the district.
3.Teacher Retention. Our teachers are the backbone of our district and deserve to have the appropriate compensation and benefits to back that up. We need to create strong incentive programs to ensure that we keep the high-quality teachers that we are fortunate enough to have in our district right now. I will always stand up for our educators and advocate as a board member for fully funded public education.