Attending a BOE Candidate Forum, and wanted to share my responses to the questions posed. Please reach out with any follow-up questions to my responses.
1) How will you address the bullying problems in our schools, especially in our middle school? What are the next steps with regard to school safety?
Unfortunately, bullying is a problem that takes place in every school district across the nation. As a Board Member, I will continue to support the work that is taking place in our schools and our community to promote a positive learning experience for all children. I believe that character education is one avenue to expand upon in disposing bullying from our schools. The most important step, however, is to continue to have an open and progressive dialog with all administrators, social workers, staff and community members.
Safety in our schools is a serious topic. Fundamentally I have always been a proponent of taking a proactive approach rather than a reactive one. I believe this topic should be looked at several times throughout a year as the CCSD community is dynamic and evolving. What may be suitable in September may need to evolve to be functioning in December. I would encourage outreach to the community to keep the lines of communication open and current. Personally, it’s reassuring to me to see Mr. Mike and Tony when I visit CES and CCMS and have confidence that they know our children and I appreciate the professionalism they bring to our schools. In looking at what’s next, I would support having additional members of law enforcement in our schools that would both be a uniformed officer as well as someone who could work with our security teams to serve as role models within the schools.
Safety in our schools is a serious topic. Fundamentally I have always been a proponent of taking a proactive approach rather than a reactive one. I believe this topic should be looked at several times throughout a year as the CCSD community is dynamic and evolving. What may be suitable in September may need to evolve to be functioning in December. I would encourage outreach to the community to keep the lines of communication open and current. Personally, it’s reassuring to me to see Mr. Mike and Tony when I visit CES and CCMS and have confidence that they know our children and I appreciate the professionalism they bring to our schools. In looking at what’s next, I would support having additional members of law enforcement in our schools that would both be a uniformed officer as well as someone who could work with our security teams to serve as role models within the schools.
2) What is your long-term plan for music and art education? How does this integrate with the current trend for STEAM and STEM programming?
Generally, the culture you create is the culture that follows. As in learning a language, the earlier you begin, the easier it is. I would support an earlier introduction to music and art education to our students. This effort may allow for the culture to continue through the middle and high school years, subsequently expanding our art and music programs and building the strength of our student musicians.
The Arts play a critical role in any child’s education. They open the door to creativity. We are learning that the job’s our children will perform in their future have not yet been developed and that our children will need to be able to think critically and creatively in order to be successful in these future careers. The STEAM platform integrates art within all areas of study, across grade levels. When teachers include the design and re-design phase of learning, they are including the arts. This is an important step for children to take part in so that they gain a deeper understanding of the lesson being taught. As a Board of Education Member, STEAM education in our schools, on all levels will be a priority for me.
The Arts play a critical role in any child’s education. They open the door to creativity. We are learning that the job’s our children will perform in their future have not yet been developed and that our children will need to be able to think critically and creatively in order to be successful in these future careers. The STEAM platform integrates art within all areas of study, across grade levels. When teachers include the design and re-design phase of learning, they are including the arts. This is an important step for children to take part in so that they gain a deeper understanding of the lesson being taught. As a Board of Education Member, STEAM education in our schools, on all levels will be a priority for me.
3) What are your 2 or 3 biggest areas of concern at CCSD, and what would you like to see changed to address these concerns?
Let me begin by addressing this question that we need to remember why we all moved to the Cornwall Schools and/or decided to stay here. The facts are that this is a high performing school district with a supportive community and opportunities for our children that exceed the majority in this area. We choose to raise our children here because Cornwall is truly a place that we are all proud to call home. So, I’m not necessarily answering this with 2 or 3 areas of concern, but rather one area of focus and one area of concern.
STEAM Education – I am a proponent of STEAM education. I believe our children can only benefit from a multi-cross discipline approach to education. I feel the STEAM initiative provides this. I would like to see a greater wide-reaching incorporation of STEAM in CCSD.
BOE - An army is only as good as the General that leads it, in this case, the General is the BOE coupled with the Superintendent of Schools. As I have attended most of the CCSD school board meeting for the better part of a year now, including bond meetings, I can't help but notice a lack of true cohesiveness. In any organized group out for the greater good of an entity, there will inevitably be disagreements. These disagreements are predicated on the fact that we all have our own opinions and community feedback, on any host of topics. Individuals of a cohesive group will realize that any one decision standing alone divides the group whereas a decision in solidarity makes the group stronger. This is not to be confused with an individual having their own opinion and voicing it vs. voicing it and not aligning with the group majority for a greater good. I will do my part of creating a cohesive and productive working environment.
BOE - An army is only as good as the General that leads it, in this case, the General is the BOE coupled with the Superintendent of Schools. As I have attended most of the CCSD school board meeting for the better part of a year now, including bond meetings, I can't help but notice a lack of true cohesiveness. In any organized group out for the greater good of an entity, there will inevitably be disagreements. These disagreements are predicated on the fact that we all have our own opinions and community feedback, on any host of topics. Individuals of a cohesive group will realize that any one decision standing alone divides the group whereas a decision in solidarity makes the group stronger. This is not to be confused with an individual having their own opinion and voicing it vs. voicing it and not aligning with the group majority for a greater good. I will do my part of creating a cohesive and productive working environment.
4) What is your approach to analyzing the annual school budget and how would you apply that approach in budgetary decisions?
I have attended all the public budget meetings available for our 2018-2019 budget. The budget I witnessed presented to the board members was thorough and extensive. To analyze the school budget is to have a comprehensive understanding of our district from a business perspective. It will be a new board members responsibility to learn the business at hand, to make competent, thorough, and timely decisions. Analyze the cause of any variances in the budget and respond accordingly to both favorable and unfavorable results. As a board member, the community and its tax burden will be in mind with any and all budgetary decisions made.
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