Platform:
The Board of Education has fallen woefully short in its
ability to serve
the people, hampered drastically by bureaucracy and
politics. It is time for
the community to have a real say in what goes on in the
education of our
youth. If elected to the Board of Education I will strive to
be the voice of
the teachers and students. There has been a serious
breakdown in
communication between the Board and those it has been
elected to serve, and
this is unacceptable.
I have no interest in political gain or using the Board of
Education
as a stepping-stone. Instead, I wish only to work for
positive change on a
community level, where it is needed most. The basics of my
platform are as
follows:
1. Refocus the board on the fact that we have one driving
purpose above all
others, and that is to provide the best education possible
for the children
of Stamford.
2. Immediately take action to extend the contract of the
current
superintendent, Anthony Mazzullo. The school community at
large has spoken
out on his behalf and it is clear that his dismissal is not
the will of the
people, but rather a political power play.
3. Work to create a constant and open dialogue between the
students,
teachers, and administrators through frequent visits to all
schools in the
district by Board members; the formation of a student
advisory board; a
“suggestion” box in every school; an open door policy for
parents to express
their concerns to the Board members directly, who should not
only listen,
but act upon these concerns.
4. Work to develop a strong parent outreach program that
includes new
mothers because a good education starts at home and parental
involvement
directly affects every child’s success in education.
5. Expand the citywide pre-K program to allow enrollment of
all eligible
children.
6. Strongly support the retention and/or reinstitution of
arts and music
programs at every level of the school system. There is much
more to an
education than just the “three R’s” and these programs have
been proven to
make for better students.
7. Continue and expand the schools' involvement with
community institutions
and businesses. We have a fantastic wealth of resources in
our city and we
should do everything possible to incorporate them into our
public schools
through programs such as an increased work/study
relationship with area
businesses, more widespread use of our public library
system, an increase in
support for programs such as Junior Achievement and placing
a greater
emphasis on community based education.
8. Provide better treatment of all faculty and staff in the
system. It is
time to put our faith back into the administrators and
teachers. Also, we
must continue to provide competitive salaries and benefits
to retain and
attract the highest caliber of teachers.
9. Work to refocus community attention on the importance of
education, with
the intention of securing more substantial funding from the
city to continue
not only to maintain but to expand and enhance our current
school system. We
have the potential to be a model school system for the
nation and a bold
investment in our mutual future would reap great benefits
for all city
residents.
10. Put an end to the current micromanagement of financial
issues. We need
to stop trying to make a short-term crisis solution a
long-term policy that
takes responsibility away from administrators.
11. Incorporate a school safety program that is based on
trust and
self-sufficiency. The criminalization of our students only
works to
reinforce negative stereotypes and encourage students to
“play their roles”
while offering no real defense from any serious issues of
safety. The idea
of “us vs. them” is not only ridiculous, but
counterproductive. Students and
faculty need to work together as equals to realize their
greatest potential.
12. Refine our current drug education curriculum to move
away from scare
tactics and threats and onto truthful, reliable information
about the real
dangers of drug abuse. Exaggeration and fear mongering only
serve to
undermine the perceived truthfulness of the entire program.
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