To the Editor:
On Election Day, November 4, we will be casting our votes for Maureen Jones and Elizabeth Baker, candidates for the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education.
We urge you to do the same. Our two daughters, Lila and Serena, are recent graduates of Columbia High School and we both work in education, so we have a lot of personal and professional experience when it comes to judging whether board of education candidates are really aware of what goes on in our schools and what needs to be done to make them better.
Maureen Jones and Elizabeth Baker clearly know what they’re talking about and the determination to ensure that our next Superintendent helps move the district forward.
Elizabeth understands that schools are complex ecosystems that rely on the cooperation of many different people beyond the classroom as a key foundation for effective teaching. We are convinced that she might actually succeed in her determination to improve communication and make the school district easier for parents to navigate.
This has been an issue in every school board election we can remember, with little progress to show for it. She also understands the district budget and the fiscal constraints under which our district operates.
Maureen Jones is a speech-language pathologist with 20 years of experience working with special needs children. We are impressed with her as a keen observer of what makes children tick as well as the best practices that other districts use that lead to successful schools. She says that she “wants to bring a sense of reality” to Board discussions of how schools work and effective approaches to school improvement.
Together, Maureen Jones and Elizabeth Baker will have a powerful positive impact on the future of our school district. Please join us in electing them to the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education.
Sincerely,
Bill and Peg Tally
Maplewood
