Newport-Mesa Unified Candidate Michelle Barto Wants to Restart Where COVID Left Off

Since being elected in 2018 as a trustee for the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, improving school safety and academic performance have been key concerns of Michelle Barto. But any advances in those areas, she said, were interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now that things are returning to normal, Barto, who has four children in the district’s schools, is seeking re-election to her seat in the upcoming November election in the hope she can restart those priorities.

“We started to do some good things and make some gains for academic achievement pre-COVID-19 … but got derailed in what we were doing in 2020. Recently, I feel like we’re finally able to continue those good things that we started to do four years ago,” Barto told The Epoch Times.

(Courtesy of Michelle Barto)

If re-elected, Barto said she would build on the initiatives she’s already begun, including improving school safety and expanding access to student technology.

Barto said one of her main priorities is to continue making academic improvements, which would include bringing advanced math and reading programs to classrooms.

School sites across the district have been conducting various pilot programs for math and for reading, Barto said, adding that she wants “students who are achieving at a high level to have knowledge that there are resources available for them, and students who are struggling to understand that there are resources for them and they’re not just working on their own.”

She said she began this endeavor in 2018 but was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns, which then exacerbated learning loss in students.

“Let’s focus on [student performance] and get those [academic] gains that we were looking for,” previously, Barto said. “Having well-educated citizens is one of the most important things you can do for your community and for your country.

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