Why are we so focused on the achievement gap in high school, when it actually should be addressed so much earlier?.What are we actually doing to improve the curriculum?.Why are some District goals so vague, with little to no way to measure effectiveness?.Why has there been so much faculty turnover in the past few years, some that weren’t even employed with SOMSD for a year?.How is it that providing transportation to those 1+ miles away wasn’t considered to be an important factor in the Intentional Integration Initiative’s success?.Why were we told that air ventilation was fixed only to find out it wasn’t?.Does community input ever have any weight in decisions?.I had (and still have) so many questions: The infighting, the silencing of other Board members, the lack of collaboration, the disorganization. I became an active Board watcher and could see that something wasn’t right. I started to tune into BOE meetings to get a better sense of how all of this worked – the Board, the Superintendent, how policies were set and decisions were made. There was still so much unknown about the pandemic and the safety of our students, teachers and staff was top priority. My daughter started her Kindergarten year – her first experience in elementary school- behind a computer screen. Starting my journey as a parent in this district during a global pandemic was a big wake-up call for me. I know we can do better than this and I am ready to do the work. Additionally, the recent decisions around transportation and transfers have made it clear that the Board continues to set forth policies without any thought to the impact on our community. The majority of our current Board has failed to focus on the key problems our District and schools face, and as a result our children’s education is suffering. I am running for the Board of Education because I believe that for the good of our students, teachers, and families, our district requires fundamental change in order to have the schools that our children deserve. The following candidate statement is from Eckert, who is running on a ticket with Wilson and Gifford, “Students Come First.” Village Green invites all candidates to submit statements for posting. Five community members are vying for three seats on the 9-member South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education: Regina Eckert, Nubia Wilson, Bill Gifford, Will Meyer and Ritu Pancholy.
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