Please provide a brief biographical background on yourself. What should voters know about you?
My family moved to Northborough in 2019 and our two children attend Proctor and Finn schools respectively. We didn’t have much time before the pandemic to grow our network, but despite all of the constraints we have found this community to be welcoming, engaged and dedicated to continuous improvement. We couldn’t be happier to be residents of Northborough. I myself have been in kitchens and food spaces since I was a young and that has allowed me to travel, listen to great music and make amazing friends. I find that keeping an open mind and staying humble allows for an approachable and continuously fascinating life and I thank you for your consideration.
Why are you running?
I am running to be your next school committee member because I see the transformational power that creative, inclusive and dynamic schools can have on children and want to be a part of making Northborough’s K-8 programs as robust and accessible to all students as possible. I look to do this by supporting and continuing the amazing work that the current and past school committee members have engaged in and push for tools for our educators that can reach all learning styles and levels of acumen. Educating minds is a difficult task, one our incredible educators take very seriously and are always looking to improve upon. It has always been important to me to participate in the processes and systems that I or my family have found ourselves in. I believe that in order to better, or change a system one must be willing to contribute and sacrifice for those futures one wishes to see.
What specific skills/experience/expertise would you bring to your role?
For the last three years I have led and developed a food and nutrition program at K-12 schools in Concord & Carlisle Massachusetts. I have been directly responsible for reporting to governing bodies, engaging staff and students in order to increase participation and build the financial surpluses necessary to eliminate year over year back funding from the district’s budget. Prior to that I have held positions directly responsible for budget development, P&L management and personnel leadership in the food & beverage industry for 15 years. Personally, having been challenged by school modes of education and not fitting those molds, I bring a lens that sees that not all instructional modes meet all learners where they are and that we have room to grow in the development of more inclusive learning spaces.
What do you see as the three issues facing Northborough schools?
I see the continued need to address the stress our kids encounter in the face of a pandemic, global uncertainties and the mounting stress of performance in schools. I think we need to approach these challenges with empathy and compassion and draw from our experienced professionals ways in which we can help heal, grow and build resilience to future adversity for our children.
Northborough will need to review the age, maintenance and enrollment factors as we continuously evaluate the future of our school buildings. Expanding through that process parent choice in classroom and teacher assignments, along with facilities that are free of environmental hazards and clean, safe learning environments.
Northborough is not unique in this sense, but I think we really need to evaluate, and continue to advocate for diverse learning experiences and nurture the acumen and interest differences in our students to foster confidence and positive life outcomes.
How do you plan to address the issues identified facing Northborough schools?
I would like to see our younger students learn more through play. Allowing children to have experiential learning opportunities that will develop critical thinking minds, allowing for space to explore and grow within the learning dynamics each student possesses. This means increasing our outdoor, music, arts and language curriculums. I know we are always looking to the current world markets to guide our education, but we also want our children to grow into civically minded and open, contributing community members. At the middle schools I would like to see a continuation of the open learning spaces, and hone the critical thinking mind through learning opportunities in logical argumentation and deduction, financial competency and a developed sense of history seen through multiple lenses. Our ability to create these spaces will set our children up for success at the next levels and engage each child to feel agency and direction in their learning journey’s.
How do you think schools should address potential learning loss from the COVID-19 pandemic?
I think our educators are doing an amazing job at quickly trying to raise all ships to the community and state standards through group and individual lesson plans. A special shoutout to those educators working with students who were already behind before the pandemic shook the ground beneath our feet. Efforts will not just be needed over the short term, but we will need to continue to push for equity in the access to learning opportunities, challenging ourselves in the process and a mindset to bring all students to our expected levels of excellence for the remainder of their educational experiences.
Schools have identified mental health as a topic of concern especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. How should the Northborough schools address this issue?
Teachers have already begun screening students and will complete the SAEBRS forms over the next few weeks. I am looking forward to seeing actionable items come out of that data that will address the varied mental health concerns our children are facing. I believe it is important to involve students where applicable and appropriate once the data comes back, and give them the agency to solve the problems facing them. I see this as an opportunity to heal, create resiliency, build meaningful social networks and advocate for additional services for those in need.
