Hands-On!

The East Aurora School district is one of the premier school districts in the area; however, I believe that there are still many opportunities for improvement.  The primary areas that I would like to improve upon are the areas of Science and Mathematics.  Programs to get the children involved and exposed in practical, hands-on applications of both math and science will improve their overall learning experience.  More partnerships with local organizations/corporations will help give our children the exposure to everyday use of these tools.  We are very blessed in Western New York to have such innovative and successful companies right in our own back yard to partner up with.

My Stance on Full Day Kindergarten

Last year I sat through a Board Meeting where a committee of parents and teachers presented their findings for a "Should we go to full day kindergarten?" study.  I was on the fence before I came to that meeting.  The group studying this question had an equal number of parents in it who were pro full day and pro half day.  They all ended up agreeing that full day was healthier for the students.  This was based on studies they read and many trips to different elementary schools where they observed full day Kindergarten programs.  This has really stuck with me, I was moved by their findings and I would agree that full day is desirable.

Why I Love East Aurora

There is a positive energy here that is contagious.  There are so many engaged and inspiring community members in this town.  As a School Board Trustee I will call upon all this talent in the community to come up with creative solutions to making East Aurora Union Free Schools a district of notable excellence within the confines of our dwindling budget.  It truly takes a village (and a town) to raise a child.

Working to give our children a world-class educational experience so that they will be able to compete globally.

My background in the Social Sciences allows me to research, analyze and understand what makes for a great education today.  I will examine how other countries achieve higher math, reading and science scores than the U.S. while spending less money per student than the U.S. does.  Then I will help apply those findings to the East Aurora Union Free School District.  See the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's website http://www.oecd.org/topic/0,3699,en_2649_37455_1_1_1_1_37455,00.html for global education statistics.

Creating a fiscally responsible model of excellence, actively seeking out creative, untapped funding for the district.

I led a group of volunteer community members and school faculty to design, build and maintain a large school vegetable garden.  This garden resides on the grounds of Parkdale Elementary School.  Through the successful attainment of grants, this project was realized without burdening the Town of Aurora taxpayers.  The teachers are now able to utilize the Garden to teach science, math, nutrition, language arts, and history in the Garden.  This gives children the practical, hands-on educational experience that is needed for them to compete globally.  We continually engage the community in maintaining the Garden.  The Parkdale Elementary lunch program will be offering vegetables and herbs from the garden this spring, enriching the selection of offerings for lunch.

Meet The Candidate

I am a mother of two elementary age children in the East Aurora Union Free School District.  I am an active member of the PTO.  I am the Development Director of the emerging non profit Educators Institute for Human Rights http://www.eihr.org/. I am the project coordinator of the Parkdale Community Garden at Parkdale Elementary, this is a volunteer position.  I run the Parkdale Garden Club.  I am the co founder of Kids to Kids in East Aurora, where we provide youth in our town with an understanding of what it is like to be a school age child in Kenya, Africa.  My children and I are active in S.M.I.L.E. in East Aurora, a service oriented youth program.  I have a degree in Cultural Anthropology from Miami University of Ohio.