My 2022 Re-election Goals

 

1. Continued transparent collaboration with stakeholders on resolving k-12 educational challenges

2. Equitable access to resources for reading literacy

3. Improve student's college readiness

4. Early College initiative

5. Improve literacy and significant cost reduction by early K-3 detection & intervention for students with learning-based disability

6. Aligning the district goals with MA dyslexia guidelines 

7. Balancing educational excellence in light of budgetary constraints

8. Increase awareness of children's mental health in post-pandemic era

9. Keeping students with learning disabilities in the district by means of providing effective, inclusive, evidence-based programs and support. 

 

 

Past and future 

I have been a resident of this community for 15 years. For the past three years, you have trusted me to be a Carlisle School Committee member and to represent Carlisle in the Regional Concord-Carlisle School committee. I have enjoyed working with present and past committee members, school administration,  Carlisle Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC), and the citizens of Carlisle to improve educational opportunities for our children.

 

We all experienced an incredibly challenging two years in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, a major focus was on reopening schools and how to support our students, and deliver the education with safety and health in mind while paying special attention to the mental well-being of our students.  We had several hundred hours of meeting to devise a sustainable plan for both the Carlisle public school and CCHS.  As a school committee member and a parent of the Concord-Carlisle school system, I am so proud of our collaborative work in safely reopening schools during the pandemic and being the first district in MA to create a "summer bridge program" for some of our most vulnerable students.

 

In the post-pandemic era, we need to refocus on our district's educational goals including equitable education, improved literacy, and a successful transition to higher education for every student, all within our budgetary constraints.  We are well-positioned to achieve successful outcomes with a committed transparent and collaborative group we have in place, including our school committee,  superintendent, teachers, and parents. We have one common goal, to improve student education. 

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Education Equity &  Literacy

I strongly believe in educational equity. Such equity is essential to a child's growth and development. As the parent of three children who have gone through the Carlisle school system, I'm aware of the ways in which students are served well in some respect and less well-served in others. Equitable access to resources for reading literacy remains a challenge. Strong reading skills will open doors to better education, career opportunities, prosperity, and a fundamental sense of well-being. Students who do not receive the necessary support to become at least average readers, inevitably become disadvantaged adults and face academic, social and professional challenges.

 

Early K-3 detection & intervention for struggling readers

Some of our most vulnerable Carlisle students are individuals with a learning-based disability affecting some 15-20% of students (in varying degrees).  Dyslexia research shows that early detection by age 9, combined with multi-sensory fundamental phonics instruction, will result in a child's ability to achieve "average reading ability"  by the 3rd grade. 

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When it comes to maximizing every child's literacy, I remain committed to advocating for early intervention and monitoring progress in SPED and general education classrooms.  As a school committee member, I have been working closely with our superintendent on moving our district forward toward a preventative model.    Such early and systematic intervention eliminates the need for enormous Special Ed support throughout a dyslexic child's education and frees up needed school resources in other areas and keeps kids in our district.  Simply said, with a  stronger emphasis on preventative methods (early detection and early intervention), we can catch the problem in the early stages,  and save money and heartache in grades 3 and up. This will help with balancing educational excellence in light of budgetary constraints.  

 

A structured explicit literacy approach benefits:

• Students on IEP

• Students in Tier 2 support (General Education)

• Students with borderline MCAS results 

 

Aligning the district goals with MA dyslexia guidelines 

When I joined the school committee in 2019, our third special education director was hired. Over the past three years, based on the West Ed Special Education survey and MA Dyslexia guidelines, our largely "invisible" committee has worked alongside our superintendent, SPED director, and teachers' representative to move our district to evidence-based practices and a preventative approach, identifying students who need educational supports and enhancing best teaching practices.

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We have made a lot of progress, but much work remains to be done.  To date, some of our gains include the following.

• Increased student screening.

• Increase teacher training opportunities.

• Improved parent information.

• Integrative SPED, and GenEd work.

• We must seize the moment and continue this important work

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Thanks to parental and legislative advocacy, the state has recently issued MA Dyslexia Guidelines supporting an urgent need for early K-3 intervention. Although we have statewide guidelines, it is upon the district to adopt such guidelines with fidelity.  Our state guidelines highlight a need for:

• High-quality curriculum,evidence-based instruction

• Early K-3 screening and intervention 

 

As a school committee member, I fully support our districts' efforts in supplementing teachers' ongoing training, which directly impacts our students' literacy. It is worth noting that DESE reported in its 2021 meeting that, despite widely accepted research on the "science of reading",  our graduating teachers from Massachusetts colleges are deficient in the fundamentals methods of teaching structured literacy. 

 

Improve college readiness & Early College initiative  

Another area of my focus as Carlisle's representative at the Regional School Committee has been "students college readiness". I would like to remain Carlisle's regional representative and continue to expand the opportunities available to all students with various learning profiles and enhance college readiness by supporting the implementation of the "Massachusetts Early College initiative " and dual enrollment courses. Such programs enrich students' profiles, enhance the educational experience, improve our students' chances in competitive colleges, and simultaneously reduce the cost of college through transferable credits, shortened education, or higher merit scholarships.   This is a national initiative and our neighboring towns including Acton-Boxboro are actively exploring this for their students. 

 

Asking for your Support

Carlisle's community is amazing and has embraced me, this Polish American mom with an accent who has fresh ideas to improve our children's education and is committed to the job. I ask you to continue believing in me and allow me to build on the gains we have made without disruption, and help Carlisle schools continue to stand out among the other districts, this time with literacy success for all of our students.

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Our goal should be equitable education, improved literacy, and successful access to higher education for all of our students. Our school should be a safe place where students feel accepted, supported, and belonged, so they could develop the academic-social and emotional competence needed for a successful future. 

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