We reached out to both the Killingworth Republican Town Committee and the Killingworth Democratic Town Committee and asked candidates to respond to a set of questions. Updates from all candidates are welcome, and are being published as Letters to the Editor. Niralee Patel-Lye is a petitioning candidate for the Board of Education for Killingworth. The answers from the other candidates can be found HERE.
The views stated here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors of this newspaper.
(Sept. 24, 2019) — My name is Niralee Patel-Lye and I live in Killingworth with my husband, Chris, and our two young daughters, Tara and Elisa. One of our daughters attends Killingworth Elementary School and the other will begin attending Killingworth Elementary School in the next academic year so I have a deep, personal commitment to ensuring that what happens in our district is in the best interests of our children.
I have a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University at Albany, a bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Central Connecticut State University, and a doctorate in educational leadership and policy, with a concentration in school administration, from Southern Connecticut State University. In addition to attending public universities, I am the product of a public K-12 education and I believe that our public schools can be places of high engagement and incredible opportunity for all students, just as they were for me. As a first-generation American of color from a working class family, statistically, I should not have earned a terminal degree. The reason I was able to beat the statistics and to be more than a number is due in part to the high-quality public education I received and in part to the fiscal practices of my parents. But I believe that every child in our district should have the opportunity to be more than just a number.
I have experience working in public education and educating teachers and administrators. While we have great teachers and administrators, I believe that my expertise would be valuable on the Board to support important programs such as the budget, school climate, building relationships through transparency and kindness, and communicating well with the public and families especially during difficult times or times of great change.
I spent over 10 years working in public education in Connecticut, the bulk of which were spent as a French teacher in high school, with the remainder in middle school. I also spent some of those years a department chair. During that time as department chair, I made curricular changes to both the regional high school and to the feeder schools in multiple districts. In addition, the budget was tight and enrollment was dropping during that time. I had to make choices about who to lay off. At the time, we had a full-time French teacher and I taught 2-3 classes a year; it did not make sense to lay off the full-time teacher and to keep me simply because I had seniority. So I put the students and the budget first before my personal interests and chose to lay myself off.
I currently have the pleasure and honor of working in the Education Department at Connecticut College as the Teacher Certification Officer and Assessment Coordinator, a role that is part teaching and part service. I spend time working with the public schools to support cooperating teachers and aspiring public school teachers. I also spend time discussing with students the ways in which they can embed culturally responsive practices, mindfulness, and social emotional learning to make their classrooms welcoming spaces for all students and parents.
I have many years of experience teaching aspiring and current administrators in a master’s degree program at Post University, the Sixth Year program at SCSU for aspiring school administrators, and the Ed.D. program at the University of Bridgeport. The majority of courses I have taught have focused on curricula planning, assessment, measurement and metrics, education law, research methods, program development, leadership development, and education finance. I know how to support teachers and administrators to help them be the best professionals they can be, and ones that children deserve.
I am not a politician but I am learning. I chose to run over the summer because I feel it is time for us to move forward as one district and focus on healing the rifts within our district over school budgets and closing HES. I believe that school boards have an obligation and a moral imperative to advocate for programs and policies to meet the changing needs of our students and our educators. This is exactly why I am running: I want to be a voice at the table that can bring creative ideas and expertise to problem solving to better meet the needs of all students, teachers, and administrators in our district.
As a mom and an educator, I am passionate, and I know how to get the job done. We deserve leadership that advocates for children and teachers and what they truly need while being fiscally responsible. There are ways to balance these needs. Done purposefully and with feedback and buy-in from various members of the community, I know we can do this. It won’t be easy or quick. It’s a long slog with many small efforts over time creating one big and positive change. It will translate into even more excellent schools and a more outstanding learning and teaching environment. Excellent schools are good for parents, teachers, and students but they’re also great for maintaining property values and the desirability of our district.
I love living in Killingworth because I am able to know my neighbors. We moved here because the excellent school system was part of a small-town community. It is amazing to go to a local business or event (or the library) and to bump into people you know, not just in passing but to actually have a real conversation with them while you’re there. I like the opportunities available to be involved too. I serve on the board of HKYFS, a position I applied for in the spring, before I considered running for BOE. I also enjoy being involved with the PTO at KES as room mom, book fair volunteer, and other activities. I love interacting with other parents and teachers and building a family-school connection.
I want to continually improve great leadership in our school district. To do this, I believe our board must model community, collaboration, transparency, and accountability. I want our board to send a message to our educators, our students, our community that these values are necessary to have a great school climate, heal rifts in our district, and support our whole community.
I believe my experience and energy is exactly what our district needs in these challenging times. We need to unite and be strong, to support each other, to have open conversations with each other, and I truly believe that we can do this.
People matter. Relationships matter. Transparency matters. Communication matters. Kindness matters.
Niralee Patel-Lye
Killingworth, CT
