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Date: 3/7/2022
LUDLOW – With two seats open for the School Committee and current Chair Michael Kelliher and committee member Charles Mullin both not seeking reelection, the candidates for the seats answered a set of questions around issues facing the committee.
In the race are community members Angela Anselmo, Michelle Mayou, Karen Mowry, Ronald Saloio, Jeffrey Stratton and Laura Ann Tuck.
Reminder Publishing (RP): What made you want to run for School Committee?
Angela Anselmo: As a parent, an educator, a taxpayer, and a community member of 48 years, I ran to support the families by allowing them a voice in the School Committee and in return to give parents rights back to their children’s education. I believe in academic transparency (under Freedom Of Information Act) and having parents know what curriculum is being taught to their children in the school system, as well as knowing where their tax dollars are being spent for the best possible outcome for our students’ education. Trust and relationship building start with academic transparency and being heard and sitting at the table to work together.
Michelle Mayou: I see opportunity for positive changes.
Karen Mowry: I have advocated for children for 15-plus years, and I am invested in ensuring that we are educating our children so they can have a bright and productive future. Ludlow Public Schools offers a quality education, with passionate and experienced teachers and administration; I want to uphold and sustain the many positive qualities of our district. After watching School Committee meetings, it is clear that there are rich conversations happening about education and about the role of School Committee members. I am motivated to step in because I care, and with my knowledge and experience with public policy in education, I believe that I can make a valuable, informed contribution to these conversations.
Ronald Saloio: My family has been very involved in town for three generations. My wife Lisa and I raised our six children who all attended Ludlow high school after eight years of private schooling, in fact for 17 consecutive years we had at least one in Ludlow High. While raising our family we have been heavily involved with youth-related volunteering and continued to for over 30 years. During this volunteer work we have noticed some real changes mainly in the past five to 10 years; I helped form a parent group to let parents voice their concerns and try to find ways to solve these concerns. We approached the School Committee and found no support whatsoever and in fact, the committee and previous superintendent did everything they could to silence the parents and sweep the issues under the rug. The previous superintendent went so far as to do a press release to make these parents look bad. I am getting involved to put my years of experience as a parent coordinator and president of our football association and other youth-related volunteering, having the privilege of working with hundreds of kids, their families and problem-solving to work to make sure these issues never happen again.
Jeffrey Stratton: Our School Committee has been the target of a group of parents who are concerned about what children are being taught at school, especially sex education and the books available in the school libraries. They believe that access to certain books should be restricted by default, rather than parents having to request that items be restricted for their child. Several members of this group are among the candidates for School Committee this March. These candidates do not speak for my family nor many other families I know, and so I decided to run for School Committee.
Laura Ann Tuck: I wanted to run for the Ludlow School Committee to ensure all our students and parents have a voice. We are living in some scary times right now and our children need a place where they feel safe, supported and free of judgment. I firmly believe that our schools should be a place where students can go to talk to their peers but also talk to school staff and know they will not be judged for their thoughts and opinions. I currently have one child still in the Ludlow school system and she is loving the new Harris Brook Elementary School. It’s important to me that every child can have the same joy as my Gracie-Ann has about school. When I attend the School Committee meeting it breaks my heart to hear some people who are so angry with our current School Committee members. I know they believe that there are many issues that people don’t agree with and running for the School Committee is one way to get your voice heard. In the end I decided to join the race and make sure all our students voices would be heard.
RP: What do you see as the biggest issues in the district that need to be addressed and how would you address them?
Anselmo: We must transition the COVID-19 pandemic into a virus that is manageable and return to normalcy by following the science. I believe in providing support through programs to students and families whose wellbeing and mental health have declined over the last few years due to the pandemic, and maintaining a formal academic education to reduce achievement gaps as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mayou: Academic performance/achievement gaps. Remote learning during COVID-19 was a new experience for all but we are experiencing performance gaps now as a result. While our district meets/exceeds expectations, the overall math and reading proficiency is below state average for public schools. Our district is also experiencing an increase in the number of those home schooled or opting for private school resulting in a declining enrollment. I think it is important for us to look at ways to improve our district goals to help all students be successful and to help retain students within the district. The current School Committee is plagued with communication and transparency issues as well. Parents and community members should be encouraged to have a voice. For this to happen there needs to be more access and open participation at School Committee meetings than presently exists and communication needs to be with the parents and community, not at them as has been done in recent years.
Mowry: While many issues faced by our district are not unique to our community, we must preserve the rights of all children to be educated in line with both public policy and our own policies and procedures. There is some understandable confusion about whether our local district can act independently from state requirements, and whether School Committee members can make policies that are not in line with state and federal regulations. I see this as a communication challenge. How can the School Committee clarify its obligations under current guidelines? I think that the community would appreciate a comprehensive understanding of what the School Committee can and cannot do, and I would work hard to improve communication so our conversations can be as productive as possible.
Saloio: The administration should be open, honest and transparent with all curricula and parents should have the ultimate say in the content their child is equipped to handle. The school needs to stop believing they know what is best for the child over the child’s parents and stop creating walls between them. In a perfect scenario sexual education should be taught primarily in the home and what is taught in school should, in the younger grades, be kept to the basics.
One issue not mentioned below was the unnecessary and unlawful mask and vax mandates that were finally dropped starting March, many parents brought data and research from respected medical professionals before the board proving that the masks were doing more harm than good. These facts were ignored, and the committee caved to the teacher’s unions over the majority of the community and our kids, this should’ve been left for the parent and student to decide if they wanted to wear them.
For the school, to take the role of a medical professional to actively market and coerce parents into vaccinating their children should never have happened.
Stratton: I think the biggest issue that needs to be addressed is getting students back up to speed. I think this is under way already with some of the testing that my kids have gone through. There may be gaps that need to be filled, and we need to support that. I think teacher burnout is a real issue as well. They’ve been under intense pressure over the past two years, switching gears to remote, then hybrid, then in-class teaching. They’ve also been called on to give up their prep periods to fill in as substitutes due to shortages. That is exhausting. I am still learning how much the School Committee can support this.
Tuck: I think there are multiple issues concerning the district. First, we need to find a way to leave politics and political views out of our schools. Allowing our students to grow and decide things for themselves is the rite of passage in school. We must try to keep political agendas out of our schools to ensure our students can make their own non bias choices. Second, it is important that we find a way to fill the empty positions as less staff equals over worked teachers and paraprofessionals that are spread too thin. It also wreaks havoc on the budget because hiring temps creates problems within the fiscal budget. We also need to be concerned about the learning loss the pandemic has caused our children and what the district is going to do to ensure all students have the ability to recoup some of what they lost. If elected I would work cooperatively with the superintendent to help formulate a plan to address all these situations, as I would work as a team and not an individual.
RP: How would you address the concerns of parents who are worried about the content being taught to their children or content available in the library, specifically with concerns raised about Critical Race Theory, sexual content and LGBTQ+ content?
Anselmo: I will be a strong advocate for the students, families, and the community in town, while working with the superintendent to provide teachers with materials that support a formal academic education and let parents decide how to talk to their children about various sensitive social issues, not schools.
Mayou: Communication is key. Concerns should be addressed, and the School Committee along with school administrators should work together with all stakeholders listening to the concerns and working together to find areas of common ground. Parents do have some rights regarding specific curriculum under General Laws Chapter 71, Section 32A (parental notification law). Parents have the right to reasonable access concerning inspection and review of instructional materials. They may exempt their children from any portion of the curriculum that primarily involves human sexual education or human sexuality issues, through written notification to the school principal. No specific form letter is required. The parent should specify the course, class or school assembly from which the child is to be exempted. As long as the course or school program primarily involves human sexual education or human sexuality issues, the exemption should be granted upon request. Regarding library reading materials, I myself am an avid reader with a love for books. I don’t believe in banning books, but I do believe we can find solutions or areas of compromise that would be respectful to all stakeholders while not infringing on anyone’s rights, values or belief structures.
Mowry: I have heard and understand that parents have raised concerns about content, both in the classroom and in the library, specifically about Critical Race Theory, sexual content, and LGBTQ+ content. Regarding the library, it is important to know that the district has policies in place that address how books are selected for placement in the library. There also exists a protocol for parents to follow when they have concerns regarding their individual student’s access to such materials. Of course, the district must follow the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks as it develops curriculum, as well as follow federal and state laws regarding not only education but equal access for all students.
Saloio: All questionable content in the school libraries should be reviewed immediately by a diverse committee of town residents including elected officials, administrators, parents, elders and senior students to judge content appropriate for the school library they will be located in. If a parent still believes a particular book is inappropriate it should be flagged for their child needing parental consent.
Critical race theory shouldn’t have any place in the schools, but it is already sneaking in disguised as a legitimate curriculum.
Promoting LGBT and gender ideology to minors without parental consent is wrong, allowing a minor child to make these important, potentially permanent irreversible decisions will lead to major legal issues in the future and already has in Ludlow that sadly the taxpayers will ultimately end up paying for. If this once impressionable child becomes an adult realizes that they made a huge mistake? Who’s liable? They will be on their own or will rely on their family to heal them physically and psychologically. I’ve seen this scenario happen to friends and family. The gender ideology agenda should not be pushed on these impressionable kids and definitely should not be prioritized over basic academics.
Stratton: I appreciate that parents are concerned about school content. Ludlow schools do a great job of allowing for parental desires in that regard, and I would point out the policies and channels already available. There is an existing policy for addressing content in the library, and parents are notified of sexual content related to the health class curriculum. Parents can also go to the Massachusetts Department of Education website to look at the curriculum for our schools. As for Critical Race Theory (CRT) and LGBTQ+ content, I believe education has the responsibility to teach subjects like history and health without leaving out conversations about race and sexual orientation. This doesn’t mean that the schools are teaching Critical Race Theory (CRT) or encouraging students to change their sexual orientation. Our kids will be better able to navigate the world if they have good facts about these matters.
Tuck: Parent concerns are always important in a child’s education. I do not agree with banning books from schools. I do, however, think books should be in their appropriate school library. Our children are able to look up just about anything on Google, YouTube or the internet. Most parents by middle school have provided their child a cell phone or some type of electronic device and unless we are sitting next to them 24/7, we can’t always control what they are viewing. To my understanding there are currently some steps in place where parents can control what their child checks out of the school library. They can complete a form, or they can ask for the librarian to call them and a conversation can be had. I believe with a new School Committee we should review this process and see if a better process could make more parents agreeable to our system. It is my belief that all students should be able to walk into the library and check out a book and that includes the LGBTQ+ community in the middle school and high school. To my knowledge CRT is not being taught in our schools. This is a college level subject and not intended for grade school. It is my understanding that some believe that the Social Emotional Learning class is CRT in disguise. However, from having children in school that is not my experience.
RP: If elected, how are you hoping to work with the new superintendent?
Anselmo: As an elected official, I will collaborate with the Superintendent to appropriate ESSER funds and align the budget to design a curriculum and programs that educate our youth in formal academics to help our students catch up in their academic learning due to COVID to reduce achievement gaps. With my 22 years of experience in education and my Masters degrees in Education, Leadership and Negotiation, I will work with the Superintendent in making sure the school system has an academic plan and support for teachers and academic transparency for parents and the community and have an open communication policy to ensure that we are all investors in our students’ learning.
Mayou: I would work towards a productive relationship that would lend itself to School Committee responsibilities in setting the direction for our schools and establishing criteria to determine if our goals and policies are being met.
Mowry: My goal is to develop a working relationship that benefits the students of the district, the teachers and staff of the district and all stakeholders. I would work with the superintendent to ensure that we continue to grow the educational opportunities for our students, attract young families, maintain the current personnel as well as attract quality staff to fill open positions. This can be done by fostering a diverse working environment that encompasses a wide range of talents and visions.
Saloio: The School Committee has the ultimate responsibility to hire and, if necessary, fire the superintendent if he or she is not taking the school system down the path that is best for the Ludlow families. We as a committee should improve community involvement. All residents should want our schools and our students to thrive. I will do whatever is in my power to hold the superintendent accountable to the residents of Ludlow. And make sure we do not repeat the mistakes of the recent past.
Stratton: Both the new superintendent and I will be new to the Ludlow School Committee. I would try to work together to learn the ins-and-outs of our school system and procedures so that things run as smoothly as they can. I’m interested in hearing about the vision of the new superintendent.
Tuck: If elected, and a new superintendent is hired my intention is to work as a team alongside my fellow School Committee members to ensure they feel welcomed to our beautiful town and our amazing schools. I look forward to working together on projects for all our schools. Since I am recently retired, I can spend more time during the day on school projects than others might be able to. I am available to volunteer for School Committee projects or assisting our current or new superintendent as needed. I also have my Bachelor of Arts in marketing and my Master of Business Association (MBA), with that I hope to help bring my knowledge to the current Ludlow School Committee. The schools all need to continue to be a safe space for our children. It is important that the School Committee works alongside the superintendent, each of our Ludlow Schools are unique and require different attention yet still have amazing parents and students. Our parents want a School Committee who will listen to them and a superintendent who will fight for their children. I am hoping to be part of that team. Please vote for me, Laura Ann Tuck.