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About Diane Houser

I am the Republican candidate for the Downingtown Area School District School Board, Region 6. I have lived in Uwchlan Township for 45 years in an old stone home that my husband and I restored. Both of my sons, Matthew and Stephen, attended the Downingtown Schools K-12. They played football at Downingtown East High School. I was Secretary of the Booster Club. My oldest son, Matthew, also ran track. He broke school records and was named All State and All American. He received the Most Outstanding Athlete Award his senior year. Stephen joined the Marine Corps after graduation. Both attended West Chester University and work in special education. Now, I am Grammy to five grandchildren. 

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I taught public elementary school for 31 years. I attended Penn State University for my Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education, Temple University for a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education, and received a second Master’s Degree in Reading from Widener University. I became a Master Teacher after completing 15 more credits geared toward adapting curriculum to meet the needs of every student. 

 

As a teacher, I saw each student as unique and special. I tailored instruction to meet the learner’s individual needs. I believed that student success was fostered by positive collaboration between the teacher and the parents. Working together as a team was a vital part of my teaching philosophy. Parents and I wanted their child to be prepared to meet the challenges of this ever-changing world and become productive citizens. As a School Board Director, I would look for ways to improve student achievement and I would welcome input from parents and other taxpayers to improve services. 

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​My Goals As School Board Director

School Board Directors are locally elected officials who work with the superintendent and other administrators to ensure that the school district operates in an efficient, effective manner. School Board Directors are responsible for making decisions that impact the lives of students, families, and the community.

Goals

 

School Board Directors must be independent thinkers who can thoughtfully direct administrators to achieve DASD School Board goals:

  • Improve academic success by defining specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound objectives

  • Make decisions based on data, evidence, and research, not on ideologies without basis in fact 

  • Execute sound and explainable financial decisions 

  • Provide students with the best possible education at an affordable taxpayer cost 

  • Solicit input from parents and other taxpayers to improve services 

  • Establish clear school safety protocols 

 

Questions From the Community

  • Why are many DASD students (up to 25-30%) not performing at proficiency level? 

  • How does social-emotional learning and gender ideology education lead to improved academic achievement?

  • How is the data from student surveys used? 

  • If tax increases are proposed, can some costs be trimmed that do not affect the students and the classroom? 

  • How are property taxes and tax assessments determined? Who sets the tax rate?

  • Can school safety be improved? Currently, an agency is contracted. How would full-time district hired security guards improve school safety? 

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Recommendations

If elected, I would get answers to your questions and recommend common sense, back-to-basics academic solutions that would enhance student achievement and wellbeing, positive collaboration with parents and taxpayers, and fiscal accountability. 

  • Request to observe current educational methods being practiced 

  • Inspect the curriculum and surveys

  • Engage with parents, taxpayers, students, and teachers, reporting concerns to the board

  • Focus the budget on the classroom and students rather than the administration 

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Children are our most valuable resource. Every child is unique and special. Teaching should be tailored to the individual needs of every student (inclusion) not custom-made to a group’s wants (exclusion). Students must be prepared to meet the challenges of this ever-changing world and become productive, self-sufficient citizens. I believe that the future of our children depends on effective leadership from our school boards. I am asking for your vote and the opportunity to serve you. This all-important Municipal Election is November 4, 2025.               

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Children are our most valuable resource. Every child is unique and special. They must be prepared to meet the challenges of this ever-changing world and become productive, self-sufficient citizens. 

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Student growth is the change in student achievement between two points in time.  
Has student growth improved between 2019 and 2024?  
Student Achievement Scores Have Not Gone Up! 

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Source: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/education/data-and-reporting/assessment-reporting

Proficient means competent or skilled in doing or using something. This level represents solid academic performance for each grade assessed. 

Below proficient means that a student's performance falls short of the expected standard for their grade level. 

Language Arts encompasses reading, writing, listening and speaking.

 

 

 

In 2019, 12.8% of the Downingtown School District third graders were below proficiency level in language arts. In 2024, that same group of students, now in eighth grade, are 28.7% below proficiency level in language arts.  In 2019, 19.8% of the Downingtown School District third graders were below proficiency level in math. In 2024, that same group of students as eighth graders are 51% below proficiency level in math. One can see the same trends in fourth grade as well as the total number of DASD students in grades 3,4,5,6,7, and 8. The question is WHY? 

 

According to Rep. Jason Ortitay, “If students can’t read by third grade, the odds of success in school, work and life begin slipping away fast.” “Kids who can’t read by third grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school. They’re more likely to need special education, end up in the criminal justice system or struggle to find meaningful work.” “That costs taxpayers a fortune in the long run.”  (https://broadandliberty.com/2025/06/02/rep-jason-ortitay-time-to-fix-pennsylvanias-literacy-crisis-now/.)

THERE IS A WAY TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE

As a School Board Director, I would look for ways to encourage more positive parental involvement. 

In my classroom, promoting parental involvement was the most important aspect of fostering student success. I accomplished this through positive communication and collaboration. Parents signed off on homework assignments, weekly tests, and take-home book reading that the students chose from my extensive classroom library. Parents were aware of the content and concepts that were being taught in the classroom. I sent key vocabulary and spelling words, math facts, and study guides on social studies and science home so that parents could work directly with their child. I was always available if a parent wanted to discuss something with me. I developed a classroom website. I also informed worried parents of their parental rights so that their child could receive needed special education services. 

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There is a difference between parental engagement and parental involvement.  

Parents working together with the school on a strategic plan is parental engagement. Parental involvement is when there is positive collaboration with the classroom teacher, when parents have full access to the curriculum, know what their child is expected to learn and how they can help their child, and can communicate with the classroom teacher over any concern and know that their concern is being heard. 

Parental involvement is a two-way street. 

Parents must also be willing to partner with the teacher. As a parent, I was fortunate to have a great rapport with my sons’ teachers. Both of my boys have a learning disability, dyslexia. The positive communication that I received from the teachers enabled me to be able to chunk up and explain new concepts at home so that my sons would have a better understanding of the content that was being taught in class. I also made suggestions to their IEPs.

 

I believe that parental involvement is the most important factor that leads to student success. 

ISN'T IT TIME ?

 

Isn’t it time to elect new leadership on the Downingtown School Board?

 

Isn’t it time to elect someone who taught third grade for 28 years and fourth grade for 3 years.

 

Isn’t it time to elect someone who gave the PSSA Test and knows what below proficiency level means and its ramifications?

 

Isn’t it time to elect someone who knows the importance of teaching back-to-basics academics?

 

Isn’t it time to elect someone who knows the significance of teaching to the needs of the individual student?

 

Isn't it time to elect someone who supports parental rights and understands the value of parental involvement within the school?

 

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Isn’t it Time to Elect Diane Houser to the DASD School Board?

Paid for by Diane Houser

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