AMHERST – As the public schools continue to go through a period of change – including the potential reconfiguring of the elementary schools – and face concerns related to declining enrollment and providing equitable education to all students, two parents and a community activist are seeking seats on the Amherst School Committee.
Laura Kent, Vincent O’Connor and Anastasia Ordonez are the three candidates vying for two, three-year positions on the committee in Tuesday’s election.
Incumbents Rick Hood and Kathleen Traphagen are not seeking reelection.
Actively listening to parents, engaging in dialogue with the community and objectively participating with school leaders to improve Amherst schools are what Laura Kent says she can bring to the School Committee.
“I come from a really positive, collaborative place that tries to find objective balance,” said Kent, who serves on the school’s Special Education Advisory Council. “I believe firmly in the importance of family engagement and to support families in the school system.”
A full-time student at the University of Massachusetts pursuing a bachelor’s degree in public health, and a trained special education advocate, Kent, 30, of 50 Aubinwood Road, said she sees the potential Wildwood School expansion project as a positive opportunity for children and teachers.
“I do believe firmly in the developmental stages of children and am committed to maintaining a close eye on creating optimal environments for all learners,” Kent said.
She does not have a position on the possible K-12 regionalization, but wants to make sure she talks to school and town officials in all communities to understand both the positives and negatives of pursuing this.
“It will be important to think broadly with this opportunity we have, through postponing a decision right now, and educating ourselves thoroughly about the impacts on our kids and the sustainability of our educational values,” Kent said.
Kent said the School Committee needs to look at ways to enrich the experience of gifted learners, as well as those children who struggle and are part of marginalized populations.
“Amherst celebrates the strength of its diversity, and we need a framework that speaks to our investment in this value,” Kent said. “We have to be committed to a strong, dynamic and engaging school experience for every kid in this town.”
The School Committee can help to find more resources and create policies that have more programming choices within the schools, reducing the chances that parents and guardians will seek alternative education.
“We need to think about how to reinvigorate the programs that they deeply miss,” Kent said. “We also need to highlight the positive things that are going on in our schools and strengthen our communication so that it facilitates discussion and engagement with our families and community members.”
Kent is married to Michael J. “Skip” Kent Jr. and has two children, Ivy, 6, at Wildwood, and Conor, 5, who will attend the same school in the fall.
Vincent O’Connor said he was prompted to run a second time for the School Committee because a candidate is needed who will stand up to the superintendent.
“I’m especially concerned that we seem to have an attitude that you can’t disagree with the recommendations of the superintendent or our town manager without implying you’re disloyal or that you don’t trust their leadership,” said O’Connor, who ran unsuccessfully in 2010.
O’Connor, 74, of 175 Summer St. and a community organizer, said he is troubled that a large elementary school may be built at the Wildwood site, to replace both Wildwood and Fort River schools, rather than seeking to renovate each school.
“What I find from talking to people is there is a lot of disagreement with the School Committee’s decision regarding the Wildwood project, as to which project they chose,” O’Connor said. “My concern is the proposed Wildwood School project will operate to the disadvantage of kids with special needs.”
Regionalizing the K-12 system with neighboring towns would not be logical, O’Connor said, as there is no evidence that it will bring increased transportation and special education money to the district.
“I did not see a governance process that could emerge for regionalization that would be satisfactory on the one hand to the small towns and on the other hand to the large town,” O’Connor said.
He hopes to see schools have a more diverse teaching staff, and offers the idea of hiring bilingual teachers, even for teaching subjects such as math and science.
“Kids need more role models and mentors that look like them in the classroom,” O’Connor said.
O’Connor said he appreciates the competition Amherst schools face with charter schools and other public schools, but argues that it is not accurate that the school district is failing. But he said school officials need to acknowledge the mistake more than a decade ago when they rejected the chance to incorporate Chinese language immersion into the curriculum.
“That’s the fault of a process that turns away groups of parents and community members who have good ideas,” O’Connor said.
O’Connor said he has helped numerous families in a private capacity, including children with both special education needs and English language learners. “I do not have any biological children, but I have developed a deal of familiarity with aspects of the school system,” O’Connor said.
Knowledge about the need for early literacy and the health effects from adverse childhood experiences – as well as growing up as a Latina woman raised by a single, Spanish-speaking mother – motivated Anastasia Ordonez to run for elective office for the first time.
“I’d like to improve communication between the community and the school administration, and help make sure that our parents and town residents understand the vision for our public schools,” Ordonez said. “It is especially important for our diverse community to believe they are being engaged, and that their experiences matter.”
Ordonez, 40, of 1 Dwight Circle, who works as a communications consultant for nonprofit organizations and has extensive background in public relations and public education campaigns, said the decision to create a new school at the Wildwood School site is already made and it will be up to Town Meeting to approve money for what she sees as a necessity.
“As a parent, I have witnessed firsthand the severe state of disrepair of our school buildings, and believe that we can do better to ensure that all students have equal access to schools that are adequate for 21st-century learning,” Ordonez said.
She said she does not have an opinion yet on whether regionalizing the school system from K-12 would be a benefit or a detriment.
“I’m looking forward to hearing more from the community about their thoughts on regionalization, and to having access to the data currently under review by the ARPS (Amherst Regional Public Schools) administration and town officials,” Ordonez said.
The School Committee should strive to find ways to improve education for children of all socioeconomic, racial and ethnic classes, she said.
“We must also take a look at other issues relating to education, such as discipline and standardized testing, which may create a less than level playing field for children from diverse backgrounds,” Ordonez said.
Improving the learning environment and offering more selections for education can keep parents and guardians from opting to send their children to charter schools and school choice programs, she said.
“Families have different reasons for choosing alternatives to our public schools, but based on conversations I’ve had with parents here, decisions to leave have much to do with concern that children may not be getting a quality education in Amherst public schools,” Ordonez said.
Ordonez, who has a bachelor’s degree in English literature and political science and a master’s degree in women’s studies, all from Rutgers University, is married to Stefan Antonowicz and has two sons, ages 6 and 4. The older boy attends Fort River and the younger one will in the fall.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
