SUZANNE BARATTA
OWAYDA
SCHOOL COMMITTEE 2001
SUZANNE BARATTA OWAYDA
QUALIFICATIONS
I have demonstrated my commitment
to this town by serving as a Town Meeting member, working hard on the Rebuild
Campaign, serving on the Stratton school council, and am a classroom volunteer.
I show my commitment to children by working part-time as a legal advocate
for children, coaching soccer and teaching Sunday school. I have skills
and experience that differ yet complement the current School Committee.
I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Food Science and Technology and
12 years experience managing professional and union employees in a business
setting. With my legal training and work in mediation, I can bring
practical experience to educational issues this town will face. As
a parent whose children will be in this system for many years, I have a
vested interest to keep the forward momentum Arlington has made in bettering
its public schools. All of these experiences qualify me to be a very
effective School Committee member.
WHAT CHANGES NEED TO BE MADE
IN ARLINGTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO MEET THE DEMANDS MADE BY EDUCATION REFORM?
Education reform has forced
all school systems to carefully examine the scope and sequence of its K
- 12 curriculum. To be successful, the entire system must examine
what is being taught and the methods used to teach. Aligning our
curricula takes time and effort - much of it is done by principals and
the classroom teachers. Education reform demands more from our teachers
and principals. One change we should make is to improve our teacher
salaries to reflect those professional demands.
Teachers should be encouraged
to collaborate with their peers within Arlington and throughout the state,
and to continue professional development so the most effective methods
of teaching will be used. Finally, our school councils, which are
composed of administrators, teachers, parents, and community representatives,
should work together to use performance-based goals to improve student
learning and achievement.
HOW WILL YOU ENSURE EQUALITY
OF EDUCATION IN THE FUTURE FINANCING OF THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BUILDING
PROJECTS?
I worked hard on the Rebuild
campaign, and one of the promises of that campaign was seven neighborhood
schools of similar high standards. The town-wide support of last
year’s debt exclusion was overwhelming, and I want to see that promise
satisfied.
As a member of the Stratton school community, it is important that the standards for our school buildings remain high so that by the time Stratton is scheduled (currently 2004/05 school year) we will have maintained the high standards set by the Brackett and Bishop school projects.
Many communities are facing
the same problem Arlington is facing - increased construction costs because
of a booming economy. We must use that fact to our advantage and
collaborate with other towns to lobby the School Building Assistance Bureau
for a more equitable formula for reimbursement; and work together as advocates
to educate our state representatives on the burden placed on local governments.
There is not one answer to this vexing problem. We must examine
each project critically and find unique opportunities for funding that
may change as circumstances change. The economic landscape may be
completely different by the time final schools are ready for construction,
which makes it important to work on each project diligently and persistently.