The last 2 years I have been privileged to serve on the Vernon Board of Education as a Democratic representative. It’s been an incredible learning experience and one I will always treasure. I came on to the Board thinking I understood what I was getting myself in to. What I found was a wealth of information, process and terminology and that honestly took a good year to understand. There are still plenty of things that I have to ask for clarification on simply because I’m not a teacher by trade. And I’ve enjoyed almost every minute of it.
I’m running again, this time for a 4 year term. I’m proud of what I was a part of accomplishing in my term. With a lot of help from the unions we have negotiated contracts that are good for both the town and staff. We have made good strides in terms of technology in the classrooms and have begun an audit of our entire Information Technology infrastructure. We want to make sure our schools are up to date and our students are learning 21st century skills. We’ve completed major renovations at our schools thanks to the bond packaged passed several years ago under Mayor Marmer and tried to equip our maintainers with equipment to keep the schools clean and safe for the students. We have maintained all programs at our schools and updated our text books and curriculum. Perhaps most importantly we’ve brought in a permanent Superintendent who knows and loves Vernon schools and is doing a fantastic job. And we’ve done it all with a realistic view of the economy and the impact of any budget increases.
Yes, there are some challenges. Test scores continue to suffer in some of our schools. Everyone from the Board down is concerned and looking for ideas to help improve them. Dozens of kids still choose to go out of district for Magnet schools, or transfer within district to other elementary schools. We want to find out the reasons why. What isn’t Vernon providing that maybe we should be? Where can we make improvements to keep kids in their local public school? What can we do to bring the school/parent/community partnership closer together and working towards a common goal? These are issues that I will continue to address as a Board member.
Perhaps the best thing I’ve experienced however is an up-close view of how hard our staff works. As a parent of younger students I know you are often focused on one teacher or one school. I’ve gotten to go into all of our schools and watch so many of the staff teaching and interacting with the kids in ways that you never see otherwise. I know how hard they work and how dedicated they are. Teachers have an incredibly difficult job and often literally have our children’s future in their hands. It is gratifying as a parent and a Board member to watch them. And I know that regardless of my status, my children would be getting the same care and attention they receive today.
This November you will have choices. I’m asking you to send me back to the Board of Education for 4 more years to keep working for all our children. I promise to continue to bring passion and a parent’s point of view to everything we do. Thank you for your time and your vote.