Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.

'Mama Thorpe' makes bid for third term on School Committee

Date: 3/21/2011

March 21, 2011

By Chris Maza

Reminder Assistant Editor

Editor's note: This is the final installment in a series of four stories profiling the candidates for the East Longmeadow School Committee.

EAST LONGMEADOW — School Committee member Angela Thorpe says that while she has four children of her own, she feels as if she has 3,000 adopted children throughout the East Longmeadow School Department.

"Mama Thorpe," as she says many students call her, is running for her third term on the School Committee with the hopes of continuing her work for those "adoptees." In the April elections, she will face Vice-Chair Gregory Thompson, as well as challengers William Bednarzyk and Richard Freccero for two seats on the School Committee.

"I think I am one of the best candidates for the job. I have represented the town on the local level, the state level and the national level, but always with the mindset of putting the community first," she said. "It's all about the children. If it's not about the children, you're doing it for the wrong reasons."

Thorpe has been involved in school related matters on multiple levels, serving not only on the town's school committee, but on the statewide Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) as the chairperson for Division 5, which covers the Connecticut Valley.

She also was appointed on the national level to one of the caucus seats for the National School Board Association.

She has rallied on Beacon Hill and in Washington, D.C., for education, making connections along the way, and has served on various committees "just to get the experience."

"I have all of these really great connections and I'd really hate to see those disappear for the community," she said.

Thorpe said one of the things that makes her proud about the East Longmeadow school system is the kind of students it has been able to produce.

"We want to keep our children well-rounded and I think we've done a good job with that," she said. "We've kept sports, we've kept music, we've kept the gifted and talented program. We've been able to keep all of these programs in our schools in tough economic times without putting a major tax on the people in the community."

Thorpe indicated she believes that having a wide array of programs for students is important to ensure the success of the students.

"The biggest thing is making sure our children have options," Thorpe said. "When children have options, they are better prepared for what's next in life, whether they decide to go to college or pursue a profession, because they have not only the grades, but the knowledge needed to be ready for it."

The restoration of nearly all of the positions that were eliminated through past budget cuts is an encouraging sign for the district's ability to offer options.

"I'm very proud we've brought back almost all of the things that had to be cut," Thorpe said, adding that if the planned budget is passed, all of the positions will be restored.

Thorpe also plans to continue working to combat unfunded education initiatives and to encourage lawmakers to either rework or repeal the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act.

"I'd like to see No Child Left Behind reauthorized, which means they need to either fix it or throw it out," Thorps said. "I think that it was a good idea in theory, but I think now even people in Washington, D.C. are seeing the flaws in it. Right now, Massachusetts is ranked high nationally in education, but 85 percent of the schools will be in sanctions if NCLB isn't reauthorized."

Thorpe said the town's schools have been directly affected by NCLB through the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS).

"[East Longmeadow] has had some challenges with MCAS scores, not everywhere, but in some places. I think people need to remember that this cannot be the test that ends all tests," she said. "We need to have an alternative evaluation because this test just gives a snapshot of what a child can do and it doesn't give the true story of a child."

Having chaired the committee that recommended Superintendent Gordon Smith, Thorpe is very pleased with the direction the school department is headed as a whole and was especially happy the schools' dropout rate remains a very low 2 percent.

She also said the development of a full-day paid kindergarten, the merger of the school and town information technology departments and the merger with the Department of Public Works to have a regular maintenance schedule for the schools as major advances.

Physical changes have also been key, Thorpe said, noting the completion of the new Birchland Park School, as well as additions to the Meadow Brook, Mapleshade, and Mountain View schools.

Thorpe, who beat William Fonseca for a seat on the committee in 2005, then ran unopposed for re-election in 2008, is excited to once again be involved in a contested race, admitting she encouraged two of the candidates in the race to run.

"I think it's terrific that there are so many qualified candidates," she said. "Having competition is a good problem for myself and the town to have."



Bookmark and Share