The following remarks were made by Kaitlin Wittleder, former president of the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education, after she was honored at the December 19, 2024 BOE meeting. Wittleder will be leaving the 9-person Board in January when three newly elected members are sworn in. Wittleder did not seek election to a second three-year term on the BOE.
Good evening, everyone.
As I prepare to step away from my role on the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education, I am filled with both gratitude and hope. First, I want to thank my family. Greta, Nora, Thomas, and my husband, Eric—you’ve been on this journey with me through all of the highs and lows. Thank you for your patience, your big hugs, and your words of encouragement. I’m so happy that you’re here tonight and I love you guys so much.
To my fellow Board colleagues, past and present, it has been an honor to serve alongside you. Thank you for the hard work and dedication you’ve put towards making SOMSD better every day. Bill [Gifford], Regina [Eckert], and Nubia [DuVall Wilson], your leadership and friendship have meant the world to me, and I am so grateful for each of you. I also want to thank Noah [Morros], Vanessa [Previlon], Gwyneth [Brown], Asa [Glassman] and now Oliver [Nesin], our amazing Student Board Representatives that I had the privilege of serving with over the past three years, as conduits to the student body, your presentations and updates have helped to shape Board priorities and have helped make me a better Board Member.
Thank you to Liana [Cuadrado] and Cassandra [Bragg] who work in the Superintendent’s Office, and to Keith [Bonds] and his technology team, you help make our meetings run smoothly among so much more, I appreciate all of your hard work.
I also want to extend my heartfelt thanks to our students and teachers. I am admittedly biased but I truly believe that we have the most inspiring kids and teachers in this District, their voices have been essential to our Board work.
And last but not least, thank you to the community, I have enjoyed building bridges of connection and partnership with you as we have worked to make progress in this District together. I have met so many incredible people during my time on the Board, some of whom are here this evening and I am truly grateful to you all.
What has motivated me most over the past three years is the profound responsibility of ensuring that every child—whether in the classroom, in the cafeteria, on the soccer field, on stage performing or on their way to and from school—has the resources and supports they need to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. The weight of a child being underserved or not being seen, heard or cared for is something that has weighed heavily on me and I have worked hard to represent those needs throughout my term.
I’ll never forget one of my earliest Board meetings, where we heard a family’s testimony advocating for transportation for their child. The discussion centered around a disagreement on 0.1 miles. That vote was a pivotal moment for me. It was a stark reminder that every decision we make as Board members impacts a child’s life. Suddenly, I felt like I went from having three of my own children I was responsible for—to almost 7,000 children. That perspective guided me throughout my tenure, pushing me to advocate for every child as if they were my own.
During my time on the Board, we have accomplished many things I am proud of. We introduced a phonics-based curriculum in our elementary schools, provided transportation to support the Intentional Integration Initiative and to meet the needs of our District families, we followed through on some of the Rutgers recommendations to include the long outstanding introduction of I&RS at our elementary schools, we passed policies that improved the student experience and we have begun a period of rebuilding within our District.
Someone once told me that serving on the Board of Education is about passing the baton—you work hard to keep the District moving forward and to leave it better than when you started. I believe we have done just that. The District is on an upward trajectory, and I am optimistic about the progress still to come.
As we look to the future, my hope is that under new leadership, our District will establish clear and consistent operating procedures, foster open and transparent communication, build and engage in a thorough and transparent budget process and most importantly, always put the best interests of students first. I hope that teachers and students will receive the support services they need to excel, and that Board agendas will align with the collective goals of our District’s stakeholders. We have laid a foundation, but there is more to build.
To our community: thank you for trusting me with this role. Your stories, your advocacy, and your passion have been the heart of my work. As I step away, I do so with immense pride in our kids and optimism for the future of our schools.
Happy Holidays to all and cheers to new and exciting beginnings in 2025!
