Democrat

Master's Degree in Education. Over 50 years in public education as a teacher and administrator in Boston, Brookline and Quincy.

Vice Chair Quincy School Committee, Chairman of Board of Directors for Quincy Asian Resources Inc., Board of Governors for Quincy College, Quincy Art Association.

My experience in public education for over 50 years as a teacher and administrator has given me the knowledge needed to make the appropriate decisions as a school committee member. I am a life-long resident of the city that attended Quincy Public Schools kindergarten through high school. My children and grandchildren have also attended QPS throughout their educational experience. I am invested in the Quincy community and have the knowledge to make the appropriate decisions required to lead the school system to be the best that it can. My board affiliations also promote additional partnerships with the Quincy Public Schools.

We have just completed a most difficult time in history these past four years confronting the hardships of a pandemic. Making the appropriate decisions to keep our students and staff safe and learning during this period required a great deal of time, deliberations and knowledge. I was happy to be a part of that decision making and look forward to serving on the committee another four years as a parent, educator and taxpayer.

The purpose of public education is to provide an equitable educational opportunity that is available to all and achieves the development of individuals as citizens and productive members of society.

Funding for the safety of our students and staff is of most importance. The school system needs to practice the most up to date strategies in accomplishing this goal. We need to provide the most updated, state of the art technology and hardware to keep everyone safe.

Currently, we are assessing an outside safety audit that identifies and makes recommendations to keep our buildings up to date with the most recent practices as well as purchasing the newest equipment that will enhance our current practices and safety protocols.

Hiring the appropriate levels of staffing is also a priority. The budget is devoted to more than 80% for staffing. Keeping to the committee's guidelines for class sizes is important and hiring a staff that accommodates the needs of the students is a priority. The current state of student social, emotional and behavioral needs requires additional staffing.

A third priority is to make sure there is funding to provide the necessary resources and materials for our students and staff. The most recent curriculum resources, materials and technology devices must be available to our staff and students.

Hardships between the school committee and the unions of our school system have always stemmed from the negotiations process. Resolution between nonmonetary issues is not the problem. However, salary or topics that involve costs to the budget remain sticking points during the negotiations and result in delays.

The give and take practices always cause conflict and ill feelings. One of the main reasons is that we as negotiators are limited in what we can provide as resolutions as we must adhere to a bottom, affordable figure.

There needs to be a better relationship between the parties. I think the superintendent and the school committee do a fine job recognizing and appreciating the talents and hard work of our teaching force. There are other things we can do. Having a recognized seat on the school committee during meetings, working together in subcommittees to accomplish policies like a Sick Leave Bank and other partnerships in creating policy are all avenues towards a better relationship between the two entities.

Throughout history, Quincy has taken a leadership role in educational practices. The new DeCristofaro Center will, once again, create a program that other cities and towns will envy. The new center will create Special Education programs and services that our students currently must leave our city to receive at great expense. Disabilities that require out of school placements will be offered in the new center. Children who have learning disabilities will no longer have to travel great distances to receive their education.

It is essential that our Special Education administrators and staff stay on top of the most recent practices in serving our children who need services. It is also essential that our core curriculum meets the needs of these children. Guaranteeing that students receive extra instructional time, intervention by additional staff, and by providing support for social, emotional and behavioral needs will also improve what we offer to all our students.

Currently, I sit as chairman for the EDI Subcommittee Meetings. One of the most important decisions made by the committee was the hiring of an EDI Coordinator that sits on the Superintendent's Leadership Team. One of her main tasks is to actively seek and retain staff that is more reflective of our student population.

Other ideas in combating hate and promoting EDI within our schools include:

Professional development for our staff on the topic.

Making sure harassment and discrimination complaints are handled according to policy.

Making sure restorative justice is practiced.

Reviewing all policies to make sure we are in compliance with EDI protocols.

Celebrate different cultures within the curriculum and with special activities.

Today's teachers are faced with growing demands of servicing students with social, emotional and behavioral needs with limited support. Teachers must now accept in their classrooms students who have an abundance of needs like never before. Low student to teacher ratios and a specially trained staff must be available to assist the regular education teacher with these students during the day. Beyond special education staff, personnel for students who need mental health assistance as well as social, emotional and behavioral needs are needed at all levels more than ever.

Many schools have now included flexible scheduling to allow specialists, in an alternative setting, the ability to assist in getting students classroom ready so they can eventually be mainstreamed. Quincy Public Schools must adopt new measures to handle this need. The hiring of a trained staff with new strategies must be made available to the classroom teacher.

Elections and the right to vote results in many opportunities to teach students about civics, the electoral process, current events, politics and how the government works. It is the goal of the Quincy Public Schools to produce responsible citizens and for them to become active participants in their community.

It is for these reasons we must make sure that Civics becomes a familiar topic during our school day. It also necessitates the need for debate as to whether or not it should be a graduation requirement.

Schools should promote the importance of being civic minded to families by encouraging activities like mock voting during election times, taking children to the polls with them, volunteering to stress the importance of community service, and encouraging children to join student government.

Each school should have an active student council where students feel as though they have input into the school's operation. A strong student government where students debate school policies and learn the process on how to change those policies is an important lesson in life.

I was the committee member who proposed the change in the calendar and will continue to make that motion if re-elected. The majority of our students are Asian. It is important that they celebrate with their families and that the rest of us learn the customs of their culture.

Placements should also be made based on other criteria as well.