Meeting the Moment
What's our vision?
What's our vision?
Imagine the class of 2050. They will begin kindergarten in 2037, when our current second graders graduate from high school. What world are they preparing for?
Climate change, artificial intelligence, global and domestic instability, and rising costs, are changing the world as we know it.
Things we used to be able to count on, like stability in federal funding, are no longer reliable.
Public education is facing an existential threat, both in our state and across the nation and world, and no one is coming to save us.
Despite the challenges of the current moment, I believe in public education. I believe public education is the best tool we have for ensuring equity for all people, no matter where they are from or who their parents are. I believe that public education is the best tool that we have for the world we envision.
Public education literally means education for the public- for all of us. In Easthampton, we often say that our schools are the heartbeat of our community, and I imagine that heart beating every day as our halls fill with students and teachers, buzzing with ideas, connection, and community.
Working together to save our schools is not partisan. It is not red versus blue. It is not a Democratic or a Republican issue.
In a time of growing hopelessness, raising children is an act of radical optimism and imagination. Children force us to imagine the future, every single day. When we imagine the future with our children in it, it begins to take shape in front of us.
All over our country, students of color, LGBTQIA students, English Language learners, and students with disabilities are facing significant barriers to bringing their whole selves to school. It is a priority of mine that every student in our district feels not only safe, but needed here, because they are. We are not the same without all of us. While I am happy to have policy discussions on a variety of topics, the essential humanity of any student, family, or staff member in our district is something I am never willing to compromise on.
As artificial intelligence evolves, we need to make sure that our policies are reflective both of the ideal world we would like our children to live in, and the world in which they are living right now. I have worked with district administrators on one of the first AI policies for any school district in the state, which should be passed before the end of the summer. Our policy will ensure that students and staff understand what AI is, how it may and may not be used, and how to deal with problems when they arise. Our policy can be updated as the technology and needs of our students and staff change.
Public schools are extremely sesitive to changes in funding. A tiny policy change in Boston or DC can have enormous ripple effects for a small district like ours. In my time on school comittee, I have partnered with members of other communities to ask that the state government more fairly fund small, non-rural districts like ours, by changing the Chapter 70 funding formula, and fully reimbursing charter tuition, transportation, and special education funding. Additionally, I worked with my colleagues on school committee and in the district to successfully sue the Trump Administration after it laid off most of the workforce of the Department of Education, depriving our district of funding and technical assistance. It is part of my responsibility as a school committee member to stay aware of and fight any threat to state and federal funding, and I will continue to do so.
Schools are so much more than just places to learn. Increasingly, public school districts are the front door to all of our anti-poverty programs. 38.9% of our students are considered low income (Source: DESE). My colleagues and I have worked and have continued to work to make sure that universal school meals are available to all, including during the summer, and I will continue to work to ensure that students and families have access to resources to help them stay healthy and secure in their homes, so that they can focus on learning at school.
All students are entitled to a free and appropriate public education, and should leave school ready to work or continue their education. On the policy subcommittee we passed a policy ensuring that students with significant needs would not be prematurely "graduated" before they had achieved that free and appropriate public education. Our community is stronger when all of our students receive the education that they are entitled to, and I will never allow your student to be seen as just a dollar sign in our district.