My children are products of the Amity Regional School System. I have professionally worked 33 plus years in public schools. I have also worked on local and state initiatives.

My teaching and training experiences covers a range of ages from infants through graduate level college. My roles consisted of teaching, training, administration, curriculum and staff development.

Overall, I have a deep commitment to quality education for students of all ages and backgrounds.

I am truly an advocate for quality education for our students. I also know that there are a lot of “things” that get in the way of that and will endorse decisions that truly benefit our students.

Since my career has been devoted to providing a true learning environment for our students of all ages to prosper, it is my intent to advocate for and accomplish this in my role as a board member.

The superintendent is hired by the Board of Education, at least yearly or biyearly the superintendent should submit a comprehensive summative report inclusive of data, that reflects her progress as targeted and that it aligns with the district goals and initiatives.

Honestly, I cannot judge or justify an increase or decrease for the budget at this time. I am newly acquainting myself with the dynamics of the Amity Regional System. This issue depends on the diligent work done on the proposing party, who can justify it as an alignment to the current initiative agreed with the school community at large.

My belief places emphasis that schools which are teaching students to be creative thinkers, providing them with opportunities for skills development and instilling values for prosperity, should have all the supported and correct resources available to do so. However, choosing accurate and effective resources is key to efficient and effective budget spending. In addition, previous budget costs should be monitored for evaluation of their effectiveness.

Here are some questions I would ask for budget proposals:

• Does the spending have a direct correlation to the initiatives and goals of the district? The clarity and understanding of that alignment is key.

• How will the progress monitoring and follow through be orchestrated in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the cost?

• What data supports the needs of this expense as it relates directly to our students?

In the past, I have worked on regional and state initiatives with curriculum and standards. It is in the interpretation of them, as they trickle down to the local level, where the inconsistency happens. Also, there are often discrepancies between the state mandates and what the suggested guidelines are.

It is the state’s responsibility to provide standards to assure that all Connecticut students have an equal education. It is up to the superintendent / principals to see that those standards are uniformly truly understood and implemented. It is up to the district to decide on what curriculum / program and materials are needed that support those standards.

The Board of Education should be informed regularly by the superintendent / principal on the plans to implement these standards, the selection of programs / curriculum that bring the quality of state standard to fruition for our students. Both the teaching methods and curriculum selected should align with the intention of achieving those standards.

It is essential to realize that parents are our student’s primary teacher. Their partnership with our schools is crucial for the success of our students. Schools are community establishments that supports community values and beliefs. The Board of Education is elected to serve and support the values and beliefs of the community and assure the district mission statement and mandated state standards are at the backbone of our initiatives.

In general, my concern / interest would be the uniformity on the understanding of the curriculum, and consistency of the implementation.

My focus would be on its true alignment to the district goals and mandated standards.

Presently, I feel the more extracurricular opportunities for our students the better. As long as fair selection process and accurate accountability for outcome that aligns with “Amity Portrait of a Graduate.”

Books and media are potential tools for instruction. They’re a wonderful vehicle for teaching diverse perspectives both fiction and nonfiction. They can enrich our students’ academic, social and emotional development. They can inspire critical thinking, creativity and expose our students to diverse ways of thinking and living, past present and future. It is key that their intention and usage aligns to the standards and expectations we as a community have for our youth.

The superintendent should have a knowledge base to determine the qualitative value of books / media chosen. When there is a controversy about books / media chosen, there should be a subcommittee to check the validity as it aligns to our overall standards for our students. In any controversy, the Board of Education involvement is crucial only to assist with the clarification needed to realign and communicate the intention as it pertains to the expectations and goals for our students.

It’s a very comprehensive guideline for our Board of Education, superintendents, administrators, teachers, students and parents to reference and follow.

It is very all-inclusive and addresses multiple aspects of a well-matriculated student. It is up to all parties above to unify our understanding and implement it into practice.

Feeling welcomed means having TRUST in your surroundings and that people around you have your best interest in mind. Generating a school environment that demonstrates this concept will automatically make it a welcoming and “want to be place.”

As I mentioned earlier, I believe parents are our students’ number one teacher and should be considered a partner in their child’s education regardless of race, cultural, religious, political views, or economic background. All students have a right to learn and prosper.

is my belief that when we genuinely have our students’ BEST interest in mind and make sure everything we orchestrate promotes that, then we will automatically win the respect and trust of the people in the community.

Students want to figure out who they are, where they fit in this world, and what their potential is. When students sense that the entire school has their best interest ind mind and the “Amity Portrait of The Graduate” is thriving, school will be welcoming and will promote a “want to be place” for our students.

We all want to be successful. The Board of Education, superintendent, principals, teachers, parents and students. The question and mission is to understand and agree on what it means to be successful. The Amity Portrait of The Graduate is clearly a benchmark that the community uses to guide toward a successful outcome for our students. It is the responsibility of all members of the educational system to make sure the benchmarks set and agreed by the community come to fruition.

Overall, it’s about establishing a learning culture of commitment, accountability, trust and caring for all parties involved. To be honest about our weaknesses in order to fully conquer them and celebrate our accomplishments with all.