As a former math teacher, Assemblymember Garcia is a strong proponent for quality education. For thirteen years, Garcia worked as a middle school, high school, and college math teacher. She saw firsthand that kids must first feel safe in order to thrive in the classroom. In reaction to the growing epidemic of cyber-bullying, Assemblymember Garcia authored legislation designed to protect our children. Under AB 256, authored by Garcia, cyber-bullying is now grounds for suspension or expulsion.
Math literacy (“numeracy”) in the United States is staggeringly low with nearly 40% of young adult displaying inadequate numeracy. The OECD recently ranked American adults 21st in Math Literacy (out of 23 developed countries). With businesses increasingly integrating automation into their routine and exhibiting an accelerating demand for employees with a STEM education, a strong understanding of mathematical fundamentals is vitally important. However, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, Californian students annually place in the bottom 10 in mathematics. That’s why Assemblymember Garcia believes that schools should take numeracy as seriously as they take literacy.