Maimona Afzal Berta
2022 - Present
2026
2
Maimona Afzal Berta is a member of the Santa Clara County Board of Education in California, representing Trustee Area 6. She assumed office on December 9, 2022. Her current term ends on December 11, 2026.
Afzal Berta ran for election to the Santa Clara County Board of Education to represent Trustee Area 6 in California. She won in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Afzal Berta completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Afzal Berta obtained an A.A. in art and animation from San Jose City College in 2011 and a B.A. in liberal studies from San Jose State University in 2013. She received an M.A. in special education and teaching from Loyola Marymount University in 2015.[1]
Afzal Berta's professional experience includes working as a middle school director and as a public school special education teacher in the Alum Rock School District.[1]
Elections
2022
See also: Municipal elections in Santa Clara County, California (2022)
General election
General election for Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee Area 6
Maimona Afzal Berta defeated Magdalena Carrasco in the general election for Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee Area 6 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Maimona Afzal Berta (Nonpartisan)  | 57.1 | 25,250 |
 | Magdalena Carrasco (Nonpartisan) | 42.9 | 18,953 | |
| Total votes: 44,203 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
To view Afzal Berta's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.
2020
The general election was canceled. Incumbent Maimona Afzal Berta and incumbent George Sanchez were elected without opposition to two at-large seats on the Franklin-McKinley Board of Education. Their names did not appear on the general election ballot.
2018
General election
Special general election for Franklin-McKinley School District Board of Education At-large
Incumbent Maimona Afzal Berta defeated Sylvia Ornelas-Wise in the special general election for Franklin-McKinley School District Board of Education At-large on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Maimona Afzal Berta (Nonpartisan) | 66.9 | 10,689 |
| Sylvia Ornelas-Wise (Nonpartisan) | 33.1 | 5,285 | ||
| Total votes: 15,974 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2022
Video for Ballotpedia
| Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released Oct. 6, 2022 |
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Maimona Afzal Berta completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Afzal Berta's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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- Policies for Academic Excellence: Maimona will utilize her experiences as teacher and local elected official to lead the Santa Clara County Board of Education in developing trailblazing policies for academic excellence. These policies can become model examples for all 31 school districts in the county. As a special education teacher, her expertise working in schools with students, educators and families is unparalleled. Her accomplishments include: developing Ethnic Studies curriculum, environmental and financial literacy resources, and transforming special education policies into classroom practices that promote inclusion and high academic achievement for all students.
- Early Learning & Youth Leadership Development: At San Jose State University, Maimona tracked developmental milestones in children under 5 and helped run reading literacy programs for inner-city students. She knows first-hand what it takes to run effective programming that meets the needs of every child. As a mother of a young child, she understands how learning begins much earlier than kindergarten. Research shows 90% of brain development occurs before age 5, that is why Maimona prioritizes providing rich learning experiences and environments early when it matters. She wants to ensure we continue to expand family resource centers and child care provider (family, friend and neighbor) training to empower parents and care-givers.
- County-Wide Resource Equity & Accessibility: The fact is our school districts and our education system are not equitably funded. As a community leader and elected official working within California school systems Maimona understands these intricacies and short-comings directly and more importantly how they are impacting our students. She has worked with local, county, and state stakeholders and agencies to cut the red tape and finally bridge the opportunity gap. Whether in her own classroom or at the school board level, Maimona continues to prioritize providing resources to our most vulnerable student populations including students receiving special education services, English language learners, and unhoused and foster youth students.
Equity:
Co-found the Digital Equity Coalition in response to COVID-19 to address the digital divide. Our advocacy secured over $15.3 million to purchase devices and hotspots for 15,000 Santa Clara County residents and students.
Successfully expanded the special education inclusion program and developed a roadmap to support English language learners with disabilities.
Built partnerships to increase the number of students who could participate in summer enrichment programs. For the first time, the Franklin McKinley School District partnered with East Side Community Arts for an additional 100 students.
Community:
Oversaw the opening of two dual language immersion programs in Spanish and Vietnamese, becoming the first Vietnamese dual immersion program in Northern California.
Served as chair of the Franklin-McKinley Children’s Initiative to lead on issues to include increasing access to early childhood learning opportunities.
Safety & Environment:
Developed the first Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) committee for all stakeholders to engage in Board policy development and improvement.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
2020
Maimona Afzal Berta did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Maimona Afzal Berta completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Afzal Berta's responses.
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
Achievement Gap/Inequity-Address inequities that exist for students with disabilities, students of color, and underserved families. Community Supports- Utilize and expand opportunities to support families and the community in areas including: social-emotional/mental health access and housing. Safe Environments- Ensure the district provides safe, conducive and adaptive learning environments that meet the needs of students and support the work of all individuals in the district.
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
As an English language learner and daughter of immigrants, education transformed my life and the lives of my family. I'm actively fighting to make this a reality in my classroom and for all students every single day. Education continues to be my passion because it has the potential to change every child's future. Growing up as a student of color in East San Jose, like many of those in Franklin-McKinley School District, I experienced injustice within our community. Human rights issues and societal inequities will continue to be challenges that I am committed to addressing. Advocating for systemic change is necessary when tackling challenges like poverty and how it affects children and discrimination within our communities. An inclusive society that equitably supports the specific needs of all individuals is how we uplift and empower each other. Working collaboratively to problem solve and share ideas is how we build our collective power and expand impact. As a public school teacher and current school board leader, these are policy areas that I will actively continue to prioritize.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2022 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee Area 6 |
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