The views stated here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors of this newspaper. We welcome supporting or opposing views on any published item. Received August 7, 2021.
It has been just north of a year (July 27, 2020) since I got elected to the Board of Education to finish off a term of a BOE member that resigned. Thanks to several members of the community who signed my petition (and additionally thank you to those who offered to sign), I am happy to announce that I was able to get my candidacy approved by the State of Connecticut. I’m officially on the ballot running for re-election for Regional School District #17 as an unaffiliated, petitioning candidate.
To Haddam voters (and by extension Killingworth residents who have monitored my performance), the good news is that you’ve essentially given me a “trial period” and I’m a known commodity. I have been at every regular Board of Education meeting, I serve on the Finance Subcommittee, and I am the Chair of the newly created Strategic Planning Subcommittee, which was created in Sept 2020, a month after I began my term. The Board provides me a new area to grow, learn, analyze, and improve, which I have done on the health insurance side with my professional work. To put it succinctly, I deeply care about this work and it brings me joy to serve our community and students. While we recently have appointed a Superintendent, he and we will have much to do in terms of creating our future strategic vision as a district, and some continuity and expertise in the strategic planning process will be critical so that the goal of all students growing and embodying our new Vision of the Graduate is achieved.
What are my goals for the next four years if I were re-elected?
- Complete a long-term strategic plan by the end of the 2021-22 school year that creates a mission, vision, goals with milestones, and monitors the performance of the district vs. the plan for years to come.
- Continue to assist in creating a fiscally responsible budget that is centered towards the needs of our students & teachers who provide the instruction, while ensuring that long-term budget needs are planned for and accomplished. Especially after the challenges of the pandemic, promote athletics & extracurricular activities, which help students learn teamwork, balance, and social skills.
- Implement and better communicate the purpose of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives. There are numerous misconceptions floating around in regard to DEI, much of which are focused around talking point phrases like ‘critical race theory’ (we do not teach this in K-12). Educating the community on the purpose of DEI initiatives is a work in progress and we need to do a better job of explaining “the why.” For example:
1. With equity, we are talking about removing obstacles for underserved, disadvantaged students so that they can achieve the same level of academic fairness as their peers. By doing so, we are not hindering the education of the other subsets of students. Growth is important for all students.
2. Academic studies have shown that diversity (different viewpoints, cultures, backgrounds) improves student critical thinking & communication and helps them challenge stereotypes. The demographics at RSD17 are different than other parts of the country. We must continue to expose our students to different cultures, perspectives, etc. so that they are truly ready to thrive when they leave the RSD17 nest.
- Continue to foster the current level of decorum and professionalism that our Board exhibits (especially in these turbulent times) even when we disagree on certain issues. That’s how it always should be.
You will hear more from me over the next few months before November 2nd, but I wanted to let you know that I’m here, I’m continuing to work, and would like to continue working for you for the next 4 years. As a parent of an incoming 4th grader at HKIS & the husband of a BES kindergarten teacher, the direction of RSD17 is very important to me. If you are still unsure what I stand for, reach out to me, reach out to my fellow Board members, members of the District who have worked with me, or Haddam community members and get their feedback on my performance and most importantly, my character. Thanks for the opportunity and I hope you consider re-electing me for the next four years!
Prem Aithal
Higganum, CT
