Please Join Me in Supporting Ellen Joachim and Rich Robison For SPS School Committee

I have started this letter in support of Ellen Joachim and Rich Robison numerous times over the past month and each time I stop because there are simply too many reasons I will be voting for them to list in a letter here. What strikes me about both Ellen and Rich as most important in earning my vote, is their history of critical thinking and evaluation and their demonstrated commitment to the town of Sudbury.

As a parent active in the community and in the schools, I have crossed paths with Ellen and Rich on numerous occasions. Before she was a school committee member, Ellen was a PTO chair at Nixon and an active CPO member, committee chair and volunteer at Curtis. Over that same period of time, Rich was actively involved as a school committee member, asking provocative and thought provoking questions during presentations, always questioning topics with a balanced perspective between fiscal sensibility and growing the excellence and creativity in our schools. Both Ellen and Rich, in conversation and demonstration in their various community roles, share my value that education cannot be fully measured by a test score. The best educators connect in meaningful relationship with their students, can teach to a variety of learning styles, and see MCAS as one, distinct evaluation tool. Further, when Ellen and Rich speak of MCAS and its impact on the District, they speak of it from a viewpoint that is child- centered, not from one of profit gained from a home sale. While there is no doubt that there is likely unintended impact of any standardized testing on property values, I cannot vote for candidates who do not create dialogue around and evaluation of this testing from a child-centered perspective.

In my three years as a Co-Chair of the Curtis CPO, Ellen attended virtually every meeting, wanting to fully understand the workings of the school and volunteered regularly. She participates on our school committee with demonstrated knowledge of the the elementary, middle and high schools in Sudbury as well as the parent organizations, boards, committees and interview teams within each one. I have not chosen to attend meetings as rigorously as she so I confidently place my trust and energy behind both her and Rich to navigate the Sudbury Public School District on my behalf. I need to have people representing me who share my values and become involved for the sake of students and an interest in our community in a genuine way, not as a means to an election or home sale.

As we near March 31st, I will continue to read about all the candidates for school committee however I will vote for the two candidates who understand that education is about so much more than MCAS ~ it is also about creating relationships, building integrity, finding one’s own creative genius and instilling the confidence to take that out into the world as our little people grow into adults. Ellen Joachim and Rich Robison are the candidates who best reflect those values in the job they are already doing as members of the School Committee for the Sudbury Public Schools.

Respectfully submitted,

Christina Granahan