transparency, collaboration, community
Why Me, why now?
I am a CPS parent, an educator, and a vocal advocate for more collaborative leadership, better oversight, and greater transparency in tackling the three defining priorities we face as a district:
The “achievement gap”: our students need more engagement and challenge in order to succeed;
Stronger communication and collaboration with our educators to guide the district’s decision-making;
Rebuilding our community’s faith and trust in the district to provide equitable and academically rigorous opportunities for all students of all backgrounds.
I believe that excellence follows where equity leads. But to achieve excellence through equity, we need to improve teaching and learning conditions to be more collaborative, community-engaged, and transparent with families of all backgrounds. With our democracy in crisis, deepening income inequality, and the rise of generative AI, it is more urgent now than ever that we rethink our public schools to be more engaging, joyful, and rigorous places to work, learn, and be in community.
And I have the expertise and experience to guide our district to become a leader in the future of public education for the public good.
My proposals for funding a student-centered school district include:
Start the budget process from scratch (zero-based budgeting) and prioritize student-facing staffing needs across our 17 schools, per the Thrive! Year 1 Equity Audit recommendations to the School Committee in December, 2023.
Raise the starting paraprofessional salary to $50K/yr--if Somerville can afford it, Cambridge can too.
Redirect funds from expensive consulting contracts to co-create professional learning communities that empower educators to design community-engaged and project-based learning experiences that promote deeper teaching and learning practices.
Pause additional spending on expensive for-profit general education curricula and invest directly in individualized support systems for students with disabilities, multilingual learners, advanced learners, and students falling behind.
Spend down school discretionary funds by empowering democratically-elected School Councils to establish Budget Subcommittees to ensure transparent and responsible use of funds to support student needs.
Swiftly conduct a feasibility study on creating in-house school bus transportation network.
As a valued member of Cambridge’s community, several local groups have endorsed my candidacy
Read this recent article for the Harvard Crimson to learn more about the CEA’s endorsement of six school committee candidates.
I want to hear from you!
Interested in supporting my campaign? Questions about my priorities? I’m ready to talk.