I understand excellence in education
I bring deep experience as a public school teacher and administrator, having been the 6-12 Social Studies Director in Weston, the K-12 Social Studies Director in Everett, and Assistant Curriculum Director in Weymouth. In each system, I was responsible for teacher evaluation, budgets, scheduling, professional development, and curriculum. Throughout my career I have taken on positions that advanced both student and educator success and well-being. I've worked for the College Board as an Advanced Placement exam reader and curriculum guide consultant, taught in summer programs for first-generation college bound students such as Upward Bound and the Crimson Summer Academy, coached nationally competitive debate teams at Hampshire Regional and Weston high schools, served as part of Hampshire Regional Middle/High School's Safe Schools Task Force, and more. I understand what it means to foster excellence, and I know that excellence comes in many forms.
2011 Presidential Scholars Awards ceremony
I believe that strong public schools are fundamental to strong communities
I am committed to public education as the core of democratic self-rule and the primary means by which children understand themselves as part of a larger community. I believe successful schools are places where students acquire the knowledge, skills, and desire to become the best version of themselves, and turn those attributes to the betterment of our society. Here in Newton, that success means working in cooperation with educators to provide all students with a sense of challenge and belonging.
My commitment to human dignity, fair treatment, and democratic inclusion has always been at the core of my work
- At Little House Alternative School in Dorchester, I worked with at-risk students with a range of academic and social-emotional needs. I introduced the Facing History and Ourselves (FHAO) "Holocaust and Human Behavior" curriculum to the school, and founded a chapter of Amnesty International. Working under a grant from Amnesty, I had students "translate" the Universal Declaration of Human Rights into plain English and record it as the soundtrack for an animated short-film that was eventually introduced at a UNESCO conference and disseminated worldwide.
- I set up a dropout prevention program at the Brattleboro Area Middle School (BAMS) in Vermont - again, working with at-risk students - and was among the first teachers there to bring desktop computers into the classroom. During that period, I began a four-year involvement with North Shore Community College's Upward Bound program, working with a diverse group of students from Lynn, many of whom were English Learners.
- At Hampshire Regional Middle/High School in Westhampton, MA, I taught Ancient History, Civics, and Advanced Placement European History, I started a debate program that eventually became nationally competitive. I expanded the history curriculum to include more women, people of color, and LGBTQ people, and instituted Hampshire's first community service requirement. I helped form Hampshire's Safe Schools Task Force to support its LGBTQ students. Its success resulted in the Task Force being the recipient of the New England Conference of United Methodist Church's Excellence in Social Justice Award.
- At Weston High School, I again founded a competitive debate program, and was the grade 6-12 Social Studies Department Head for 15 years. I helped lead an initiative to get more METCO students to take on Honors and Advanced Placement classes, an effort recognized by the Massachusetts Council for the Social Studies. I introduced "Debating National and International Issues", "Contemporary Asia/Africa", "Contemporary Latin America/Middle East", "Advanced Placement United States Government", and "Race, Class, and Gender" to the curriculum, and taught some of them as well. I partnered with Facing History to offer a mini-course on its "Race and Membership" curriculum to students, staff, and community members; and partnered with Newton South High School to help launch the Prague Spring travel/learning experience in Weston. Additionally, I was an early adopter and proponent of Social Emotional Learning (SEL), through a program called "Capturing Kids' Hearts".
- As the Everett Public Schools' K-12 Social Studies Director, I brought in professional development training on Facing History's programs, and arranged to bring Holocaust survivor George Elbaum to speak to World History classes at Everett High School. I also supported the development of a debate program at EHS in partnership with the Boston Debate League, and laid the groundwork for the institution of service learning projects in all of the district's middle schools.
- Since my (semi) retirement, I have taught courses at Fisher College and in the University of Massachusetts' Honors program that include African American History, Latin American History, Youth Engagement, and Student Activism. I supervise prospective teachers at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development at Boston College, have completed Ph. D. coursework in the School for Global Inclusion and Social Development at UMass Boston, and have been published in the areas of disability and U. S. foreign policy, and human rights in education. My commitment to human rights and dignity, fair treatment and inclusion for all, continues, even in retirement.
George Elbaum, author of Neither Yesterdays Nor Tomorrows: Vignettes of a Holocaust Childhood, spoke to Everett High School World History classes (in partnership with Facing History and Ourselves) about his experiences.
Other Background
I grew up in Weymouth and have roots in the Boston area that go back well over a century. My mother taught kindergarten in the Weymouth Public Schools, while my father was a police officer in Canton. I have lived in Newton for almost eighteen years and am married to a Newton South graduate and lifelong Newtonian.
While primarily a high school and middle school Social Studies teacher and administrator, I have taught students from kindergarten to college in urban, suburban, and rural settings in Massachusetts. I was a Massachusetts Teacher of the Year nominee, a division-winning softball coach, a Massachusetts Speech and Debate League Hall of Fame inductee, and was honored with a Presidential Scholars Teacher Recognition Award in 2011. Still in contact with many of my former students, I even had the honor of officiating the wedding of two of them.