About Scott

I'm very excited about the opportunity to run for Saratoga Union School District (SUSD) board! When my wife and I decided to make Saratoga our home in 2009, one of the major factors was the amazing public school system. After many years of watching my kids adventure through elementary and middle school, volunteering and acting in leadership roles, I decided that I could serve our schools in a meaningful and lasting way if elected to the SUSD board.

Upbringing and Education

I was raised in the suburbs of Chicago and attended public schools.

My mother was a speech pathologist for the local schools, worked in early childhood education and taught English as a second language. She helped foster a lasting love of music, theatre and the arts in all three of her children. My father was an engineer for Motorola specializing in communication equipment for police and fire departments. He proudly served on the school board for the local elementary and middle school district.

The public schools I attended were great examples of well-rounded schools. In addition to excellent academics, they had outstanding music and arts programs which I loved being a part of throughout elementary, middle and high school.

I received a degree in Computer Science from the University of Michigan. Go Blue! I was honored to be a member of the University of Michigan Men's Glee Club and Amazin' Blue where we performed all over the country and world.

Family

I am the happy father of two students, Riley (8th grade) and Conrad (6th grade), at Redwood Middle School. My wife Christy and I have an amazing partnership. We both work full-time so share in the wonderful, and sometimes challenging, responsibility of parenting. It has been a great experience watching our kids grow into responsible and fun people. Elementary and middle school are such an important age to discover and foster their individuality and interests.

Volunteer

When my first child started kindergarten at Saratoga Elementary School, I had no idea that I was stepping into such a wonderful and supportive community of kids, parents, teachers and administrators. I learned through experience and involvement that Foothill Elementary, Argonaut Elementary and Redwood Middle schools are also stellar communities made up of truly amazing people. This makes the SUSD such a phenomenal place to be!

I have been a very active school volunteer for the past nine years, from helping with classroom parties to serving as Executive Vice President of the PTA. Through this experience, I learned just how valuable parent volunteers are in making special things happen. I also discovered how much teachers do that often goes unrecognized. They are heroes!

I have volunteered for our local little league for several years. If you had a child in little league you probably saw me scoring games or prepping/cleaning-up the infield. I also coached my daughter’s basketball team when she first started out. I have enjoyed watching her develop into a strong basketball player on the Redwood Middle School team.

I've also been lucky enough to have an employer that donates money to match my donations and volunteer hours. A significant amount of money has been donated to the school and in turn I have not only been able to help Saratoga Little League and our school PTAs, but I've also become the go to person to help raise funds through corporate matching and volunteer matching in our schools.

Board Member

After years of volunteering I realized that I wanted to contribute more by being on the board of the Saratoga Elementary PTA. Three years ago I was elected Vice President in charge of Programs. For two years I managed all the programs at the school including the school musicals, family picnics, book fairs, pumpkin walks (annual halloween parties with games, dancing and haunted houses) and more. I was responsible for finding dedicated parent volunteers to lead each program. I worked with them regularly to help solve problems, make sure timelines were met and programs were within budget. My volunteer plate was always full because there were at least one or two large events per month. I was able to use my strong and effective management skills like problem solving, open communication, time management, budget monitoring, resourcefulness and flexibility to help make these programs successful and fun for everyone. Last year I was elected, and served as, Executive Vice President of the PTA. I also was in charge of the school musical.

My experience on the PTA taught me many important lessons. Our PTAs and SEF contribute so much to the schools, both monetarily and in ideas and execution. While our schools are public, these non-profit community-led and funded organizations make a huge difference in improving our schools and creating a well-rounded education for our children.

Every dollar raised matters. Helping manage the PTA budget was a great experience. Seeing how much of an impact the teacher supplements (PTA and SEF funds) make in setting up classrooms, providing equitable materials to the students and enabling education grants for teacher training was eye opening.

Our schools thrive because of ongoing collaboration between parents, teachers, administrators and students. As a key member of the PTA board, I’ve had experience working with the principals, student councils, parent volunteers and teachers on many issues related to enhancing our schools.

I know that this experience will translate well if I am elected to the SUSD board.

Career

I create software and manage a team of engineers for a living. For the past 20 years, I have developed software that is used by hundreds of millions of people around the world. In fact, you are probably reading this on a device or software that I helped create.

An important part of my job is making products that do very complex things, yet are easy to use and understand. I’ve learned that the key to success is listening to many different competing ideas, requests and requirements to come up with creative ideas and solutions. These creative thinking, problem solving and teamwork skills have translated well into my volunteer experiences.

Musician

Ever since I've been able to talk I've been singing. This has entertained and annoyed my family growing up, and it still does.

I’ve been singing in organized groups since grade school, and still do today. Being a musician in a group requires active listening skills, collaboration, adapting to change, improvising, practicing, planning, and public speaking. These are all life skills that kids and adults can learn through the arts.

I also have been in leadership roles within many of my music groups. I’ve done everything from directing, organizing tours and being the business manager, to producing albums and videos. My current band, Halfway to Midnight, recently released a few music videos and is the current SF Harmony Sweepstakes Champion.

Hobbies

I have lived in California for 20 years and learned to take advantage of all that the Bay Area has to offer. My family and I enjoy doing lots of outdoor activities together. We love to snowboard, camp, fish, get into our wetsuits and boogie board, hike, and play basketball, pickleball and volleyball. We recently taught our kids how to play poker and they are a little too good.

Vote Scott Adler for SUSD Board!

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