Shrewsbury candidate profiles: Andrei Kapoustine – School Committee

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Shrewsbury candidate profiles: Andrei Kapoustine – School Committee
Andrei Kapoustine is running for for a spot on on the Shrewsbury School Committee. (Photo/Submitted)

SHREWSBURY – Shrewsbury is gearing up for its 2021 municipal elections on May 4. As voters get set to head to the polls, the Community Advocate has zeroed in on contested races for prominent bodies like Board of Selectmen and School Committee.

The Community Advocate reached out to candidates who filed paperwork to appear on their town’s ballot and asked them to submit a personal statement as well as answers to three specific questions.

See those biographies and read extended questions and answers from Shrewsbury School Committee Candidate Andrei Kapoustine here…

And see profiles of other candidates…

PERSONAL BIO

Andrei Kapoustine has been living in Shrewsbury for 10 years with his wife Mila and two twin sons. Bachelor’s Degree Holder in International Finance and Master’s degree holder from the French Insurance and Actuarial School Andrei has 20 years of experience in various finance roles with increasing responsibilities in the UK, Eastern Europe and US. Currently Andrei is working as a supplier relationship manager with Takeda Pharmaceutical in Lexington (MA). Andrei remains connected to the Shrewsbury Public Schools System through his sons who started their education in the old Beal school and currently attending fourth grade classes in Floral School.

QUESTIONS

What do you see as the most important issue(s) facing the Shrewsbury Public Schools today?

I would not use the word “issue” in this context as it may imply a negative connotation. During two years at Beal school and three years at Floral school our family did not see facts that can be considered as an issue and classified as systematic with a lasting negative effect for the residents of Shrewsbury.

Shrewsbury School District was rated as #14 out of 214 best school districts in Massachusetts and #15 out of 237 safest school districts in Massachusetts. More than 90% of students from Shrewsbury high school are continuing their education by attending 4-year colleges across US including the most prestigious colleges such as MIT and Cornell. These facts make us believe that School Committee in partnership with the office of Superintendent Joseph Sawyer were able to build and successfully maintain a robust system capable to produce satisfactory results in line with the expectations of our residents

COVID-19 has uniquely impacted school systems and members of the school community. How would you approach the ongoing questions and decisions any school committee member will have to make as the vaccine rollout and school reopening process continues?

As all systems involving this level of complexity Shrewsbury School District has existing and upcoming challenges including those related to COVID-19. School Committee strength is coming from the contributions of its individual members and I will act for the best of our residents using my professional skills, practical experience and knowledge. Among other challenges I would prioritize efficient operations of Schools with a limited budget, accuracy of actual spend for real needs, interaction with teacher community and building of adaptability & resilience mindset for all members of Shrewsbury Public Schools in post COVID environment. To reach my goals I strongly believe in such concepts as two-way communications with students and parents community, consideration of cultural diversity and inclusion within Shrewsbury school system

Is there anything else you want voters to know about you as a candidate?

I really like to be a part of the knowledge transferring environment. Most recently I had a great opportunity to gain a practical teaching experience in the private school system when I successfully worked on weekends during a year as a teacher in the Russian School of Mathematics with the advanced students of the third and fourth grades.

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