I will use my voice on the School Committee to advocate for priorities such as:

Strengthening our Curriculum

• Adopting up-to-date, research-based math and literacy curriculum coupled with teacher training and support for ongoing implementation so that instruction is both high-quality and aligned across classrooms.

• Re-committing to a world language program at the Chenery Upper Elementary that benefits students at a younger age when children can learn languages fastest.

Supporting Our Students

• Developing a comprehensive school transitions plan to help Belmont students navigate major changes, moving from lower elementary schools to the Chenery Upper Elementary school and then to the middle and high school.

• Thinking strategically about the design of our school calendar so that 1) students come to school well rested and ready to learn, and 2) students have sufficient time for lunch, recess, and regular enrichment classes that play a central role in supporting physical and mental health, developing social skills, and fostering positive attachment to school.

• Integrating tutoring and mentoring programs into the school system by leveraging partnerships with local universities and community organizations to recruit volunteers.

Enabling Educators

• Attracting and retaining excellent and diverse school leaders and teachers by improving district hiring practices and operational systems to allow educators to focus on core instructional priorities.

Prioritizing Special Education

• Expanding the special education services Belmont offers to provide more families the opportunity to remain in-district, while enhancing the quality of these service through data-driven instruction and reducing out-of-district placement costs.

Fostering Innovation

• Becoming a leader in climate science education and efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of our schools by pursuing grants and expanding experiential learning opportunities.

• Partnering with local researchers to evaluate current practices and pilot test new initiatives before wholesale adoption.

Partnering with Parents

• Providing parents with timely access to their students’ detailed score reports from literacy screening diagnostics (e.g. DIBELS), formative assessments (e.g. iReady), and state tests (e.g. MCAS) via a user-friendly parent portal.

These will be multi-year efforts given our existing resource constraints. But now is the time to lay the foundations for initiatives that will ensure the sustained excellence of Belmont Public Schools well into the future.