Sonal Tandale is running for Coppell ISD Board of Trustees Place 7. Tandale is a CISD parent and thinks rank transparency is the biggest issue existing in CISD.
Sonal Tandale (Place 7)
What inspired you to run for Place 7 on the Coppell ISD Board of Trustees?
I am running for the Coppell ISD School board trustee office, because I want to serve my students and parents. I am a current parent at the Coppell ISD, so I have firsthand information on the enhancements that will aid our students here.
Today I am a legal US citizen and my identity in the USA comes from education. I believe in education. Education has shaped up who I am today. Education brings patience and dedication and defines our entity.
Serving my student community is my passion and also a civic duty. Monetary benefits do not motivate me. My driving factor for this office is to offer help to raise healthy state of mind youth in Coppell. Coppell first is my motivation. I want to focus on the Coppell area first and not bring in external influences in this city. I am a conservative and would like to see Coppell grow that way.
I am a first timer, and I do not come from any PTA organizations. I believe this will bring in a neutral perspective to the voters. I am not biased and do not have any association with any groups.
I am here to serve students first with the help of parents and staff. Students and their well-being are my priority.
You can connect with me and know more about me at www.sonalforcisd.com or email me at sonal@sonalforcisd.com and FB page: www.facebook.com/sonalforcisd.
I support Transparency, Tradition and Transformation. Trust me and you will not be disappointed. Come out and vote for me on May 1. Early voting starts April 19.
What experiences prepared you for the role of Place 7 on the CISD Board?
Career wise, I am a successful Project Manager. I have worked with Big 5’s like Microsoft, Boeing, ATT, and Verizon. I have extensive experience working with portfolios and managing people resources. But, the biggest qualification is that I am a current parent at Coppell ISD. I have personal vested interest in the school district as my daughter is a current student here.
What are the biggest issues currently facing CISD?
My intent in running for the office is to serve our students and get our students’ work force ready. We need to reduce the stress from our students. CISD graduates about 900 high school students each year. Asian students form the largest demographic, followed by whites. The top 54 students (i.e. top 6%) gain automatic admission to UT Austin. So the competition amongst the students is fierce. The options to increase graduation rates, and to be able to strike a right balance between college readiness and workforce readiness here is my proposal for CISD.
- CISD should have rank transparency and offer a wide variety of subject’s extracurricular classes like orchestra or athletics.
- The district should offer in-house training by hiring experienced tutors and preparing students for the SAT/ACT. While this investment causes a dent in the budget, it will be a welcome expense line item, that will be supported by parents.
- CISD should offer an AP Capstone program. This is one of the main reasons why high school parents choose to move to Frisco, Grapevine, and Lewisville ISD. I would like to retain our students, our talents in Coppell TX.
What are your plans to address these concerns?
Rank transparency is the biggest challenge at CISD. I believe non-disclosure of ranks to the students is discriminatory. I think the school district should involve and include students and also their parents in career decision making. Today’s parents would like to see their children prioritize their education alongside personal social emotional metrics. In order to have more engaged students and parents, school districts like CISD should disclose all the ranks of the students. This transparency will allow students to make more informed educational choices. At the same time, school districts should include additional non-traditional curriculum to engage all cadres of students per their social emotional needs.
I will vote for CISD to offer in-house training and an AP capstone program. I would like to build our students ready for the workforce. This will be a welcoming change both by parents and students at CISD.
How would you describe CISD to a stranger?
CISD is a grade A school district, and holds true its core values – Engagement, Great teaching, Relationships and Redefining success. It is an education hub with wonderful students and exceptional teachers. CISD has versatility and showcases a great cadre of knowledge among students. CISD offers additional curriculum that benefit all our students. Come and enroll your students, you will not be disappointed.
Amav Khambete: Innovative
Coppell High School senior Amav Khambete participates in swimming and leads the Japanese club CHS students voted on the 19 most influential seniors in the graduating class of 2023.
A peach tree growing in Coppell High School senior Amav Khambete’s garden in 2019 led to one of his greatest passions.
Khambete devoted his high school years to four main activities: learning Japanese, cultivating his personal garden and the community garden, conducting neuroscientific research and varsity swimming.
Despite being too young to adopt a plot in the Coppell Community Garden, an exception was made for Khambete after his home garden became too large. Since, he has grown produce in and out of his home, including peaches, figs, grapes and other berries. He gives back to his community by donating the produce he grows.
Khambete is also the swimming team captain. His passion for swimming grew in an effort to improve his mile times his first year on the team.
His interest in research also stemmed from his freshman year after meeting seniors that would balance research at local universities with their swim practices. Upon taking all AP science courses, Khambete took on a research project at UT Southwestern to research drug development. His research awarded him the title of Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholar out of 300 competitors.
“I started high school looking up to the seniors on my swim team who were balancing multiple things at once,” Khambete said. “But I’d like other students to know it’s not inaccessible to them. Research can be started by anyone in anything they’re interested in.”
Khambete hopes he leaves a legacy at CHS that teaches underclassmen scientific research is within their reach.
In the fall, Khambete will pursue neuroscience research at Harvard and work in labs that collaborate with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to further research he started in high school.
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