My Vision for Pelham’s Schools: A Plan for Accountability and Results

As I run for the School Board, my focus is simple, we need to ensure every dollar and every minute of classroom time is delivering measurable value for our students. When elected, I won’t just be a voice at the table—I’ll be an advocate for data-driven decisions that lead to academic improvements. Here are four of the key items I intend to drive:

1. Connecting Goals to Results

We have set goals. Building off the progress we’ve made on the “belonging” and “retention” goals, we need to know if they are actually, a) sustainable and b) driving change toward the other two goals. I will work directly with the board and administration to establish clear, measurable performance indicators for our district’s top four goals. We need to see the data to know what is working.

2. Putting Stakeholders First

Curriculum changes shouldn't happen in a vacuum. I plan to gather direct feedback from the people who know our classrooms best, our teachers and parents. By identifying what is currently effective and what isn’t we can build a curriculum strategy that actually serves our students’ needs.

3. Implement Research-Backed Pilots

Once we have that data, we won't jump into costly, unproven trends. Instead, I will champion the introduction of research-backed curricula through opt-in pilot programs. This allows us to test effectiveness on a smaller scale before making district-wide commitments.

4. Maximizing Our Budget

Every dollar wasted on an under-used subscription is a dollar taken away from the classroom. I will conduct a thorough review of our current subscription services to cut out expensive, under-utilized tools. My goal is to pivot toward high-quality, cost-effective alternatives, such as Open Educational Resources (OERs), to free up funds for the classroom. I will also push to make sure all requested funds are used for that which they were allocated.