Name: Abdur Sikder
Age: 48
Job: Scientist/entrepreneur
What office are you are running for? Berkeley School Board
What is the main reason you are running? I want Berkeley School District to be a place where all children have an equal opportunity to have high quality education, all students are taught to enjoy learning not that they have to. As a parent I know what kind of environment requires for students to become lifelong learners. I attended Schools in Bangladesh, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, and USA including UC San Diego, being founder of a nonprofit research institute and a for profit Software company in Berkeley I have the diverse background to understand all the stakeholders in BUSD. My two children currently attend Berkeley public institutions.
Why are you qualified for the position? Having a Ph.D. in Computer Science and training in Teaching & Learning in higher education I have the skill, experience and commitment to ensure that we use our resources efficiently. I will listen to all stakeholders and will incorporate their suggestion in the decision making process. Together we can achieve impossible. If elected I will work to have a safe, fun and friendly environment for our children to be successful including special need students. My goal is to facilitate practical oriented curriculum for our children to be ready to go to college or enter into workforce and live a productive life.
What sets you apart from other candidates? I do have strong educational, scientific and business skills and educated in five countries.
How did you end up in Berkeley? I came to work for UC Berkeley as a visiting scientist. I liked Berkeley and raising my children here. Two of my children attending UC Berkeley and Berkeley City College. I have business in Berkeley.
What are the three biggest challenges Berkeley faces in the near future? Priority to special need children, allocate more resources for before and after school care, affordable housing for teachers.
What are your ideas to solve them? Allocate more resources and work with all stakeholders to solve these issues.
What is your most inspired/unique idea for Berkeley? Working closely with parents, teachers and students to identify issues and their solution.
How will you be accessible to constituents? Office hours.
How much money do you expect to spend on your campaign? $1,000
A final thought? Together we can achieve a lot.
Campaign information
Website: www.abdursikder.com
Facebook: (none listed)
Twitter: (none listed)
See past Berkeleyside coverage related to Abdur Sikder. See complete 2016 election coverage on Berkeleyside.
