Daniela Darling for Poway Unified School Board — Trustee Area D | Kids First, Parents Heard

🎒 Poway Parent • Child Therapist • Volunteer

I Believe in Kids’ Success — Together We Can Make It Happen.

Close your eyes. Picture your child’s classroom right now. Are they reading with confidence? Do they feel safe? When you raise your hand at a board meeting — does anyone actually listen?

I’m Daniela Darling, and I’m done watching parents get ignored. That ends when you elect a parent who listens first — before the decision, not after.

Feel the Difference. See My Plan. Say Hola 👋

No new bonds. No closed doors. Just kids first. ✏️

Daniela Darling smiling in front of the American flag

Daniela Darling — your parent on the board! 💙

Listens First! 🗣️
Kids Before Politics ⭐
DD, the smiling blue backpack mascot holding a pencil
No New Bonds. 💰🚫

Homework, but the good kind ↓

My Plan for Our Kids

You already know what our schools need. You feel it every drop-off, every report card, every meeting you leave unheard. Here’s what changes the day I take that seat.

📚 Plan #1

Academic Excellence — Back to Basics

Picture your child opening a book and reading it with ease — not guessing, not struggling, just understanding. Right now, 1 in 4 Poway kids aren’t proficient in reading. 1 in 3 aren’t proficient in math. And the district just cut special education and English-learner support while it’s short on money. That’s not okay. That stops now. (Source: CAASPP ↗)

What I’ll fight for:

  • Real phonics-based reading in grades K–5, and grade-level math in every classroom.
  • Test scores and academic growth reported publicly, school by school. No hiding the truth.
  • One code of conduct, every campus. No exceptions.
  • Special education and English-learner support protected first, not cut first.
  • Me, on your campus, in your classrooms, talking to your teachers myself.
🗣️ Plan #2

Parental Involvement & Transparency

Remember the last time you spoke up at a board meeting, and it felt like the vote was already decided before you sat down? That stops. You get a real seat at the table — before the vote, not after.

What I’ll advocate for:

  • A voice before the board decides anything that touches your child: curriculum, safety, boundaries, budgets, bonds, superintendent hires, school closures.
  • No closed-door decisions on the choices that shape your child’s education.
  • Agenda packets released to the public the moment board members receive them — not three days before the vote.
  • I will explain every one of my votes out loud, in public. No hiding behind a silent “yes.”
  • Information sent where you’ll actually see it. No more burying it on page four of a website.
💰 Plan #3

Fiscal Responsibility

Feel that tightness when another tax bill shows up with your name on it? You’re not imagining it. This district ran a $10 million deficit this year. It got fined for illegally using your tax dollars to campaign for more of your tax dollars. It signed a bond deal that will cost this community nearly $1 billion. Enough. I will not add one more dollar to what you owe.

What I’ll protect:

  • No new bonds on your back. Full stop.
  • Every dollar we already have, tracked and shown to you — line by line.
  • An independent audit of how our money has actually been spent.
  • Students and teachers funded first. Always.

📋 The District’s Report Card

Time for a fresh start!

1 in 4

Poway kids not proficient in reading

$10M

district deficit this year

~$1B

bond deal cost landed on this community

We can do so much better — together. ✏️

Vintage newspaper photo of Daniela hosting her live children's show Tía Luna on stage

“Tía Luna” — live, outdoors, every Sunday ☀️

Daniela and her daughter in Frozen costumes at a party

My why. (Yes, I’ll be Anna again. 💜)

Romeo and Snoopy, two fluffy white dogs

Romeo & Snoopy, Poway’s goodest boys 🐾

Once upon a time… (really!)

My Story

I was the oldest of four. While my mom worked long hours at our family’s small retail store, I was the one at home — changing diapers, keeping my brothers and sisters fed and safe. I didn’t always get to go out with my friends. Someone had to stay with the kids. That someone was always me.

By my early twenties, I turned that love into a career. I hosted a live children’s show called Tía Luna — “Aunty Moon” — every Sunday, outdoors, dance and play and confidence-building. Then I became a broadcast journalist, and one story changed everything: a child, a victim of trafficking, sitting across from me. I couldn’t just report it and walk away.

So I acted. I raised money every year on my own birthday for nonprofits fighting child trafficking. I ran the Rock ’n’ Roll half marathon for St. Jude Children’s. I fundraised for Susan G. Komen in the fight against breast cancer. I built my own fundraisers for homeless children right here in San Diego. I spent years as a hospice volunteer, sitting with families in their hardest moments.

Then came the children with autism and Down syndrome. I became an Early Childhood Interventionist, and I learned what actually works: play, consistency, and correction with love — not punishment. I watched a child go from 13 words to nearly 70. Not from more discipline. From someone who refused to give up. I became a certified NLP coach because I needed to understand not just what kids do, but why. I became a certified supervised-visitation monitor, protecting kids through their family’s hardest moments — when the only ones who really suffer are the kids.

Today I’m still that same person. I volunteer in my own child’s classroom, face paint and all. I teach the school’s art class. And I sit through Poway Unified board meetings, watching parents get talked over and shut out on decisions about their own children.

I’ve spent my whole life showing up for kids — as a sister, a journalist, a therapist, a coach, and now a parent. This isn’t a new chapter. It’s the same fight, on a bigger stage. I believe every child can succeed. I’ve seen it with my own hands. And I am not backing down.

“I’ve spent my whole life showing up for kids. This isn’t a new chapter — it’s the same fight, on a bigger stage.”

— Daniela

Show & tell time! 🙋

Credentials, at a Glance

A lifetime of showing up for kids — trained, certified, and ready to work.

Early Childhood Interventionist

Helping kids with autism & Down syndrome thrive — play, consistency, love.

Certified NLP Coach

Understanding not just what kids do, but why.

TPG Coach

Top Producer Global — coaching others to succeed.

Certified Supervised-Visitation Monitor

Protecting kids through their family’s hardest moments.

Licensed in Insurance

Detail-minded with the fine print — handy for budgets.

Broadcast Communication Graduate

Journalist, host, and communicator — your voice, amplified.

Recess crew, assemble! 🔔

Meet the Darling Team

Every campaign needs a quality-control department. Ours is extremely good.

DD the smiling blue backpack mascot holding a pencil

“DD” the Backpack 🎒

Official campaign mascot. Part backpack, part hype-squad, 100% here for the kids. Pencil always sharpened.

Romeo and Snoopy, two fluffy white dogs, sitting together

Romeo & Snoopy 🐾

Chief Morale Officers of the Darling household. Accepting payment in treats and belly rubs.

Daniela wearing her Darling campaign cap and t-shirt

Campaign Mode: ON 🧢

Cap on, shirt on, doors knocking. If you see this blue cap around Poway — come say hola!

DD Leads the Pledge 🫡🇺🇸

Our mascot starts every good day the right way — hand over heart, pencil tucked in. More campaign videos are on the way, but DD couldn’t wait to get started. Press play!

One last thing…

I don’t work for a system. I work for your kids, and for mine.

If you believe our schools can be excellent without draining your wallet — I’d be honored to earn your vote. Together, we make it happen. Let’s go.

Join the Movement 💙 Read the Plan Again ↑

My inbox is your inbox! 💌

Say Hola!

Questions, ideas, a story about your student, or a front porch that needs a yard sign — I’d love to hear from you. I read every single message, because that’s what listening first looks like.

Poway, San Diego County — Trustee Area D 📍

Send a note to Daniela ✏️

She’ll write back — a parent who listens first, remembers first too.

Your info goes straight to the campaign — never sold, never shared.

Community backed 🤝

Endorsements

Teachers and parents who know Daniela are backing her for Poway Unified School Board.

🎥 Video endorsement

I support Daniela Darling. "She will make a great board member. She will make a difference. I urge you to vote for her."

Rodger Dohm Teacher, 30 Years in Poway Unified
Play the video
“

"Daniela is energetic, creative, trustworthy, and dependable. Her concern extended beyond her own child. She cared about the well-being, education, and success of all of the students in the classroom."

Tina Wilhelm Former First and Second Grade Teacher,
Tierrasanta Elementary School
Read the full letter ↗
🎥 Video endorsement

"Anthony Carnevale, current Cajon Valley Union School District Board Trustee, endorses Daniela Darling for Poway Unified School District Board."

Anthony Carnevale Board Trustee, Cajon Valley Union School District
Play the video

Privacy Policy

Darling for Poway Unified Board Trustee 2026 · FPPC ID# 1491971
Last updated: September 15, 2026

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