schools

My Turn: Residents support Ryan and Morton for L-S School Committee

March 27, 2025

We write in full support of Charles Morton and Jack Ryan, both candidates in a contested race for two vacant at-large seats on the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional School Committee (LSSC). Please make an effort to get to know them both and meet Jack and Charles before Lincoln Town Meeting on Saturday, March 29, and to vote for both of them at the polls on Monday, March 31 in the Reed Gym.

How Lincoln turns out to vote on March 31 will critically impact the final outcome for our shared high school. In past elections, Lincoln has been the deciding block of votes in the election for LSSC members.

Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School is one of three things for most Lincolnites: it’s a full-on enigma to families with children younger than eighth grade; it’s the most frequently taken seven-to-25-minute daily driving route for families with high school-aged children; or it’s a wistful glimpse in the rear-view mirror for those who have LSRHS graduates who are “grown and flown.” Much of this has to do with LSRHS not being right here in Lincoln, where daily life is focused on much that is more local. It also has to do with most teens being given more freedom to grow, flourish, and learn a great deal from personal success and occasional failure.

When election time rolls around, reminders are needed of (1) the critical and special value LSRHS has in preparing our high schoolers for life after graduation, and (2) the impact of our vote for School Committee members who will serve the LSRHS students and broader communities’ best interests.

We support Charles Morton (CharlesMorton.com) because:

He comes with a strong academic background and is an academic by profession, and he has a deep understanding of the wide array of learners and continued need for a wide array of programs at LSRHS to educate and support those learners.
He understands that LSRHS is not a cookie-cutter high school; it is incredibly innovative in its curriculum and encourages teachers to be their best selves in crafting and implementing curriculum.
Charles is in it for the long haul, with four children who will attend LSRHS between 2026 and 2036. He chose to live in Sudbury because of LSRHS.
He grasps the value and perspective of all communities who are part of LSRHS, Lincoln, Sudbury, and Boston.

We support Jack Ryan (RyanforLS.com) because:

Jack’s institutional memory of LSRHS from his prior tenure on the L-S School Committee will serve all of us well, particularly since all the remaining members on the LSSC have served for two years or less. He has remained connected and has two grandchildren preparing to attend LSRHS.
Jack has a 360-degree lens on so much of Sudbury, our vital partner at LSRHS. A retired lawyer, he has an ongoing list of almost four decades of volunteer service in Sudbury, serving on the Sudbury Finance Committee, on the LSSC for four terms, and as chair of the L-S Building Committee for the now 20-year-old LSRHS, as well as myriad other civic organizations.
Jack knows and respects Lincoln’s partnership in our shared high school. He will work collaboratively with both towns to solve problems, craft policy, and report out to constituents.
Jack is also committed to serving Lincoln, Sudbury, and Boston in his work on the LSSC.

Both Jack and Charles are committed to putting in the time and hard work of being a School Committee member. Their skill sets and perspectives are distinct from each other but complementary. Particularly in these days of uncertainty around funding for public education, these candidates both want to hold steady what is valued and critical for our high school children, in line with LSRHS’s four core values:

Fostering caring and cooperative relationships
Respecting human differences
Pursuing academic excellence
Cultivating community

Please remember to vote for Charles and Jack next Monday and reach out to friends and neighbors and encourage them to do the same. Thank you!

This letter reflects the personal views of those named below. Any below-named person who also holds elected or appointed office in Lincoln is expressing their personal view, not the view of the committee(s)/board(s) on which they participate.

Abigail Adams
Murat Arslan
Alex Benik
Becky Bermont
Hans Bitter
Rebecca Blanchfield
John Bordiuk
Brian Burns
Ted Chan
Nancy Donaldson
Michelle Doyle
Joe Doyle
Carolyn Dwyer
Jonathan Dwyer
Kristen Ferris
John Ferris
Nancy Finke
Jim Fleming
Nancy Fleming
Trintje Gnazzo
Andy Gnazzo
Laura Cuozzo Guarnotta

Brian Jalet
Kim Jalet
Joan Kimball
John Kimball
Jonathan Light
Sara Lupkas
Feyza Marouf
Nancy Marshall
Peyton Marshall
Sally Maulsby
Libby Maynard
Nick Maynard
John Mendelson
DJ Mitchell
Kenny Mitchell
Matt Mitchell
Tara Mitchell
Staci Montori
Brooks Mostue
Tris Oakley
Patty Mostue
Joe O’Connor

Tony O’Connor
Kara Prince
Ginger Reiner
Kurt Reiner
Cathy Rogers
Aldis Russell
Barbara Slayter
Vicky Slingerland
Anne Sobol
Jonathan Soo
Kara Soo
Rob Stringer
Chris Taylor
Gary Taylor
Laura Taylor
Susan Taylor
Peter Van Winkle
Prudy Van Winkle
Krystal Wood
Jen Zeis
Louis Zipes
Tanya Zipes

“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their letters to the editor or views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Students get a taste of financial realities at educational fair

March 26, 2025

State Rep. Carmine Gentile visited the Reality Fair. Left to right: teachers Kathleen Thompson and Kate Grant, Ravi Simon (Gentile’s aide, also an L-S alum and L-S School Committee member), Gentile, and Superintendent/Principal Andrew Stephens. See more photos below.

High school seniors have a lot to think about as they prepare for post-graduation life, not the least of which is money. Thanks to the annual Reality Fair, L-S seniors can get a head start on managing their personal finances.

At the interactive simulation (held this year on March 14), students start by choosing an occupation they hope to have by the age of 25. Based on that information, the Credit for Life software on a laptop they carry around automatically fills in their expected gross and net annual and monthly pay. From there, they visit booths with information on things like housing, education and training, food and nutrition, transportation, vacations, and pet ownership. They make “purchases” using cash, credit, or savings as they learn about what things cost, how much credit card companies charge, and how much they can accrue for retirement given their monthly contributions. The software keeps the students updated on their overall expenses and credit score so they can see the long-term results of their spending decisions.

For several months before it takes place, math teachers Kate Grant and Kathleen Thompson (with help from the LSPO and community sponsors) plan the fair, which includes doing everything from recruiting volunteers to fundraising for gift cards and food. This is the fourth year they’ve done it as an adjunct to the Financial Literacy course they teach. Thompson organized Reality Fairs at her previous post in Wayland. Students tend to enjoy the event; “they say it was way more fun than they thought it would be,” she said.

Many other schools (usually with the help of sponsors from banks and other businesses) state the fairs, “but we kind of put our own spin on it,” Thompson said. New this year, students also have to practice networking by talking with an adult at each booth about their career plans — dozens of volunteers from the community who man the booths and share information about their profession.

“The kids are really into it — they ask some really great questions,” said Diahanne Lucas, who works full time for WGBH but shared her experiences working part-time for extra money at Gillette Stadium.

Also unique to L-S was “Wheel of Reality,” probably the most popular booth, where participants spun a wheel and answered questions in hopes of winning gift cards. For example, they might have to locate a piece of information on a credit card statement or identify which of several text messages is actually from a scammer.

Many of the students were surprised at how much they’d need to shell out every month for things like food, rent, and streaming services, as well as how they expected to pay for them. “I thought I’d be using savings or a credit card more, but [I learned] I don’t need to go into debt,” said Annika Zurn, a Sudbury resident who plans to become a physical therapist.

“It surprised me how much you’ll get in interest if you start saving early for retirement — there’s so much more money in the end,” said Bella Chidziva of Sudbury, an aspiring nurse.

“Kate and I feel it’s our favorite day of the year,” Thompson said. “I’m fortunate to work in a place that supports this type of event and education.”

Click on photos below for larger versions and captions:

Planning Board, LSSC candidates take questions at PTO forum

March 25, 2025

(Editor’s note: After this story was published, a video of the forum was uploaded to the Lincoln TV website and can be viewed here.)

Five candidates for local office took questions at a March 24 PTO forum about the issues likely to confront the Planning Board and Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee (LSSC).

The forum featured candidates from the two contested races on the ballot for Lincoln’s March 31 election. Incumbent Chair Margaret Olson, Rob Ahlert, and Susan Hall Mygatt are vying for two open seats on the Planning Board. Jack Ryan and Charles Morton of Sudbury are in a race for two openings on the LSSC along with fellow Subury resident Eric Poch, who did not appear at the forum.

Neither Mygatt nor Ahlert were in favor of the Housing Choice Act (HCA) rezoning measure that was approved at Town Meeting in March 2024. It was the most controversial and hard-fought issue in Lincoln since the extended debate on the school project.

“Town leaders with best intentions rushed the HCA through and caused some damage that was unfortunate,” Mygatt said. “We should have had more time… there were people who didn’t feel listened to.” However, she added, “I personally would not lead a charge to make any changes” at this point.

“I was wanting us to take a little more time and be a little more careful about the choice of parcels [included in the rezoning] but I always wanted us to be compliant,” Ahlert said. “Now I want to focus on if and when these developers start making proposals, I have a seat at the table.”

“Last year was a painful year shepherding that through our town process. There was a great deal of disagreement, but I think we wound up in a good place” with a measure that’s “in the spirit of the [state] law and as narrow as we can make it,” Olson said.

A major future issue, of course, is what the town will do when a developer inevitably submits a plan for a major project involving the mall and additional housing. Although the revised zoning bylaw includes mandatory design guidelines, “there’s a lot of loose language” there, Ahlert said. “What can we do if a majority of people don’t like [the appearance of a proposed development]? I think the answer is going to be ‘not a lot’.”

It’s probable that those design guidelines will be amended after the Planning Board deals with the first project to which they apply. When writing them, “we did our best in the absence of specific examples and knowledge,” Olson said.

Another issue on the more distant horizon is more zoning mandates from the state to alleviate the housing crisis. Last month, the state Commission on Unlocking Housing Production issued a report with dozens of recommendations including a proposal to abolish rules allowing only single-family housing in certain neighborhoods and allow two-family homes by right on all residential lots in Massachusetts. The City of Cambridge recently abolished its single-family residential zoning requirement, as have several states.

Olson estimated that actual mandates for cities and towns are probably five to 10 years off, “but it does indicate a direction… as a town we need to start thinking and start forming opinions.”

“It’s the HCA on steroids,” Ahlert said, but “I think we should wait and see what happens and not try to solve the problem ahead of time, but we should start talking about it.”

“I have a much more proactive attitude on this,” Mygatt said. Ending single-family zoning would have a huge impact on traffic, schools, town budgets and more. Although the state legislature moves slowly, “once the HCA came down, it came down without regulations and we weren’t ready.”

Asked how rules could be improved to protect trees and natural habitat, Olson answered, “development of any kind is not where the problem is. The problem is climate change and how do we adjust to that.” Compared to towns like Concord and Wellesley, Lincoln’s regulations are “much less protective of trees,” said Mygatt, who chairs the Tree Preservation Study Group. However, concrete proposals are probably several years away, she added.

To better inform the public about upcoming zoning issues, Mygatt and Ahlert recommended coffees or educational forums to offer background on topics such as accessory dwelling units or nonconforming lots. But rather than have more forums and meetings, Olson urged residents to “come to the ones we have.” A consistent problem for the Planning Board and other groups is that “the town wakes up to the fact there’s an issue two to three months before Town Meeting [so] there’s a limited amount we can do” if the issue is especially complicated except postpone a vote until the following year, but that’s not always possible.

Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee

Ryan brings experience, having served on the LSSC from 1998–2010, as chair of the L-S Building Committee, and as a member of Sudbury’s Finance Committee member. “My drive to return is because of my concern about what is going on in Washington and what impact that may have on education here — not just in the Commonwealth but at L-S and in Lincoln and Sudbury,” he said.

Morton, a professor of chemistry at Brown University, has four children in the Sudbury schools. Lincoln-Sudbury “has aspects of a college that we want to preserve; it’s not a cookie cutter place,” he said. “It’s a magic place where I can make sure the committee is enabling the superintendent and principal and teachers to keep delivering a product we’re all very proud of.”

Both candidates agreed that the specter of budget cuts due to federal measures as well as declining local enrollment is the biggest challenge facing the high school. Some parents have pushed for more AP classes; “that could be done, but at the expense of electives that don’t exist at other schools,” Morton said. The L-S staff and administration are already preparing for reductions that may threaten electives, services and activities

“I don’t know what’s going to happen… but we have to make sure we account for every single student and make sure not a single student is left behind,” Ryan said.

My Turn: Lepage asks for votes for School Committee

February 25, 2025

By Ken Lepage

My name is Ken Lepage and I am a candidate for the open position on the Lincoln K-8 School Committee. Our family moved to Lincoln in 2021 and we have developed a deep attachment to this town that has made me desire to make a more significant contribution to our community. We have a son, Ian, who will be starting kindergarten in the Lincoln Public Schools next year, and having a role in helping to shape the goals and policies of the schools in order to continue to provide excellent and equitable education for Lincoln’s students is of great interest to me.

I am a lawyer and currently serve as general counsel, chief compliance officer, and chief sustainability officer for Watts Water Technologies, Inc. based in North Andover. I have worked at Watts for over 21 years; during that time, I have also twice served as chief human resources officer in addition to my other roles. Watts is a global manufacturer of plumbing, heating, and water quality products. Prior to joining Watts, I was with the law firm of Hale and Dorr LLP (now known as WilmerHale) in Boston, where I practiced corporate and securities law.

At Watts, I regularly provide guidance to and interact with our board of directors, and I am familiar with the distinctions between the role of management, such as a school superintendent, and the role of a governing board, such as the School Committee, and I respect that distinction. I have reviewed the recently adopted School Committee goals for 2024-2025 and am supportive of those goals, and I appreciate that they are clear, achievable, and trackable. I am collegial and a team player, and I believe that to be most effective and do our best work, that the members of the School Committee should support each other and work together for the common good of Lincoln’s students and families. I am respectful of the opinions of others and do not believe that differences of opinion should be taken personally.

Finally, as a Lincoln resident, I am mindful that the school budget takes up a significant portion of the taxes we all pay, and that it is important to balance maintaining an excellent educational curriculum with the costs we ask our taxpayers to bear.

I hope this has helped you get a sense of my potential contributions to the School Committee. I ask for your support in the upcoming town election.

Ken Lepage lives at 148 Sandy Pond Road in Lincoln.

My Turn: L-S School Committee leaders introduce themselves

September 2, 2024

By Ravi Simon and Cathie Bitter

As the recently elected chair and vice chair of the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional School Committee, we would like to take a minute to introduce ourselves. We both appreciate the opportunity to serve in these roles and look forward to advocating on behalf of students, family members, and residents to ensure Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School provides an excellent, welcoming, and engaging learning environment for all students. Here’s some background about us:

Committee chair Ravi Simon is in his second year on the committee. Ravi is an LSRHS alumnus (Class of 2015), and a legislative staffer in the Massachusetts State House. He grew up in Sudbury and attended Sudbury’s public schools. He currently works for state Rep. Carmine Gentile, who represents Sudbury, half of Lincoln and Wayland, and parts of Concord and Marlborough. Ravi has a passion for public service and is honored to be working to advocate for and help members of his community every day. He ran for a position on the L-S School Committee in 2023 to bring his perspective as a former student to the committee’s discussions and to ensure that today’s students receive an education as good as the one he received at L-S.

Vice chair Cathie Bitter is just starting her second year on the committee. She is a resident of Lincoln with two children who attended Lincoln Public Schools and who will be attending L-S in the fall. A former high school chemistry teacher, she has worked as an education researcher for more than 20 years, leading research and evaluation projects in the areas of K-12 school improvement, innovative instructional approaches, and postsecondary preparation. Cathie has also been an active volunteer in Lincoln schools, having served on the boards of the Lincoln School Foundation, the Lincoln PTO, and Magic Garden Preschool.

We both look forward to leading the committee through the 2024-25 school year. The committee will meet in an upcoming retreat to brainstorm, discuss, and select goals for the year. Our priorities will be set during the retreat, but we do know that several important items will be on our plate this year, including negotiating a fair contract with the teachers; taking a look at the new advisory program that kicked off last school year; and our annual responsibilities, which include approving a budget and evaluating our superintendent/principal, who was new to L-S last school year.

We are both committed to ensuring the committee is transparent, accessible, and open to good faith feedback. Last year, we worked to ensure that our agendas linked to the documents the committee discussed in meetings, held listening sessions to get input from the community, and posted regular newsletters. We look forward to sharing our work and maintaining opportunities for community input this upcoming school year.

You can sign up for the school committee’s email list and find all of our meeting agendas, minutes, and presentations at our website: www.lsrhs.net/about/school_committee. We are excited for the school year ahead and continued opportunities to collaboratively support L-S’s students, teachers, and community.

Lewis hired as assistant superintendent for Lincoln schools

July 9, 2023

Torrance Lewis

Torrance Lewis, who has been principal of the Baker (K-8) School in Brookline since 2019, will become Assistant Superintendent of the Lincoln Public School District beginning July 15 after the School Committee approved the appointment recommended by incoming Superintendent Parry Graham on June 29.

Lewis has more than 23 years of experience in middle-level learning, elementary education, K-8 schools, and educational leadership. He was an assistant principal in both Belmont and Nantucket public schools, and he has been a teacher and program coordinator in multiple schools in Massachusetts, Georgia, and Brazil (where he had the opportunity to work directly with military families).

“Torrance’s references described him over and over as a strategic and creative thinker; as someone who builds relationships with students, staff, and families; as someone who is visible both in schools and in the community; and as someone who is committed to AIDE work,” Graham said in a July 5 communication.

Lewis was one of three finalists for the job (the others were Laryssa Doherty, Assistant Superintendent of Diversity, Equity, and Engagement in the Malden Public Schools, and Sara Hosmer, a K-5 principal in the Randolph Public Schools). He will succeed Assistant Superintendent Jessica Rose, who left for a role as education senior program officer at the Barr Foundation.

Lincoln schools pay tribute to retiring Superintendent Becky McFall

June 14, 2023

Members of the Lincoln Public Schools Step Team put on a show to show their appreciation for Dr. McFall.

Over 200 people came to a July 8 gathering to express their gratitude for outgoing Superintendent of Schools Becky McFall’s leadership of the school district through multiple building projects and Covid. Past teachers, administrators, and community members joined current staff and friends to celebrate Dr. McFall’s tenure at the Lincoln Public Schools.

The event started off with a performance by the LPS Step Team of students from Hanscom and Lincoln led by METCO Director Marika Hamilton. The steppers displayed their art form of making a capella-style beats with their body to create an experience that brings together dance, music, and community. They entered the Learning Commons wearing gray wigs and chanting “Will the real Dr. McFall please stand up, please stand up, please stand up!” They performed several dances including “Joyful” and were encouraged by loud audience applause.

The plaque noting that the Learning Commons have been named after McFall.

Those who paid tribute to McFall with heartfelt words, smiles and tears included Matt Reed and Blake Siskavich (co-presidents of the Lincoln Educators Association), Hanscom Middle School Principal Erich Ledebuhr, Director of Educational Operations and Technology Rob Ford, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Jess Rose, Col. Taona Enriquez and Chief Master Sgt. Alan Weary of Hanscom Air Force Base, and past School Committee chairs Jennifer Glass, Tim Christenfeld, and Tara Mitchell.

The current School Committee capped off the evening by presenting Becky with a pillow quilted by Lincoln resident Dilla Tingley and surprised Becky by informing her that the Learning Commons will be named after her. John MacLachlan, Chair of the School Committee unveiled a brass plaque that commemorates the McFall Learning Commons.

Dr. McFall is retiring this summer and Dr. Parry Graham will become the new superintendent as of July 1.

L-S hires Stephens as new superintendent/principal

April 6, 2023

Dr. Andrew Stephens

The Lincoln-Sudbury Regional District has appointed Dr. Andrew Stephens as the new Superintendent/Principal of Schools. Stephens had been prinicpal of Lexington high School since 2017.

Prior to that he spent 10 years as Principal of Duxbury High School and four years heading Hull High School. He began his career as a history teacher in Vermont before returning to Massachusetts, where he taught for three years at Newton North High School spent another three as an assistant housemaster. Stephens is a graduate of Colgate University ,where he obtained a B.A. in history, and Johnson State College in Vermont, where he got his master’s degree in education. He also holds a Certificate of Advanced Educational Studies from Boston College and an Ed.D. from Northeastern.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Stephens to the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional District,” Heather Cowap, chair of the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional School Committee, said in a statement. “His extensive experience and impressive educational background make him an excellent choice to lead our district.”

“I am honored to have been selected as the next superintendent/principal of the Lincoln Sudbury Regional District,” Dr. Stephens said in the statement. “I am looking forward to working with the dedicated educators, staff, students and families to build upon the foundation of excellence which departing Superintendent/Principal Bella Wong leaves behind.”

Stephens will start work at L-S on July 1. The other finalists were Jamie Chisum, principal of Wellesley High School, and Allyson Mizoguchi, principal of Wayland High School.

New school superintendent Parry Graham officially hired

March 14, 2023

The following is a statement from the Lincoln School Committee:

Dr. Frank “Parry” Graham

The Lincoln School Committee announced a three-year contract with Dr. Frank “Parry” Graham to serve as district superintendent beginning July 1, 2023. Graham, who is currently the acting superintendent of Wayland Public Schools, has served there as assistant superintendent since 2018.

Dr. Graham will succeed Dr. Becky McFall, who retires this summer after 11 years leading the district. The Lincoln Public School district serves students grades preK–8 on both the Lincoln and Hanscom Air Force Base campuses and is a long-time participant in the state’s METCO program promoting racially and ethnically diverse educational settings.

“We are confident that Dr. Graham will provide the high qualities of leadership, scholarship, and community engagement that Lincoln Public Schools have come to depend on,” said John MacLachlan, chair of the School Committee. “He is known as a thoughtful, collaborative leader able to make tough decisions.”

The School Committee voted unanimously on February 7 to enter contract negotiations with Dr. Graham after a four-month search and selection process that included feedback from hundreds of members of the district’s faculty, staff, families and community members.

“I am both excited and humbled by the opportunity to serve as Lincoln’s next superintendent,” said Dr. Graham. “The time I spent during the interview process convinced me that Lincoln is a unique place where exciting things are happening.

“In particular, I was struck by the emphasis on AIDE (equity) work and the recent development of the Portrait of a Learner; they reflect the district’s willingness to engage in deep, complex, and challenging initiatives that will benefit all students.”

Dr. Graham comes to Lincoln with administrative experience at the district, high school, middle school and elementary school levels. Prior to serving in Wayland, Dr. Graham was principal of Nashoba Regional High School in Bolton, and he served as a middle school principal and elementary school assistant principal in Wake County, N.C. He also taught German at North Andover High School. He earned a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a master of arts in teaching from Tufts University, and a bachelor of arts from Williams College. He lives with his family in Concord and enjoys family travel, a competitive game of tennis, and exploring local spots for fly fishing.

Town election candidates: School Committee

March 14, 2023

The Lincoln Squirrel will be introducing readers to candidates on the March 27 town election ballot, starting with the two contested races, and the PTO is hosting a candidate forum as well. Today we focus on the School Committee, which has four candidates competing for two seats. Following are their lightly edited responses to questions posed via email in alphabetical order by last name:

Peter Buchthal
Adam Hogue (incumbent)
Jacob Lehrhoff
Matina Madrick

Peter Buchthal

What made you decide to run for a seat on the School Committee at this time?

I grew up in Scarsdale, N.Y., which has a great public school. During the pandemic from September 2020 onward, I have been very grateful that our Lincoln School has been great and open for business with in-person schooling. My wife and I are parents to three wonderful children who are in kindergarten, second, and third grades.

Now that my children have gotten older and are all in the Lincoln School, I have become increasingly concerned with certain aspects of their education. I understand that all children learn at different speeds. We are lucky in that all three of our children enjoy math. However, the math curriculum appears to be focused on meeting and not exceeding the Common Core standards. If a student is ahead of the rest of the class, math can become really boring for that student as the class spends time on math skills that they may have already mastered. I am also not really sure what the math curriculum is, as none of my children have math textbooks or a published curriculum. Why are we not buying a textbook when it is so much cheaper than to do custom course development? Do we really think our curriculum will be better than vetted and tested than a curriculum from professional publishers?

Last spring’s student survey showed a high degree of lack of engagement and belonging that increased as the students progressed up through the higher grades. The administration hasn’t come up with causal reasons for these sentiments. Without identifying the reasons, no solution will likely be successful. On our most recent i-Ready testing, 38% of our children are one grade or more behind in their studies. So, whatever we are doing for all of our students isn’t working that well. I listened to the School Committee’s March 9 meeting where they went over the recent i-Ready scores. At no time did the administration present a defined action plan on what they were going to do to improve the scores of our students.

I believe the School Committee needs fresh eyes to help the school administration chart a better path forward as too many students are behind where they should be and not satisfied with their educational experience. I have befriended one of the parent coaches of our IMLEM [Intermediate Math League of Eastern Massachusetts] after-school math team for grades 4-8. He told me that Lincoln is unique compared with all of the other school districts they compete against. Our team is 100% coached by dedicated parents and all other competing math teams have coaches who are professional math teachers in their respective schools. I learned that early in the fall, he asked our superintendent to assign a math teacher to help the students. She queried our community of Lincoln and Hanscom teachers and reported back that no teacher wrote back who wished to coach (for money) the math team. Forty years ago in Scarsdale, I remember new teachers were expected to work extra jobs after school to help students outside the classroom and supervised activities like the yearbook, bridge club, chess club and math teams. I was dismayed that our school and school administration had a culture that didn’t encourage extra work from the staff to help the stronger kids.

I have talked to many parents of kids in grades 1–5 and it seems that a high percentage of them send their children to extra outside academic courses like Russian Math, Beast Academy, and Kumon. Since we spend more than 25% more per student than our neighboring towns, why shouldn’t we ask the school to provide a more challenging curriculum either during or after school, so that all families don’t have to waste their after-school time and gas driving to these programs? Shouldn’t the School Committee be focused on meeting the needs of all of the Lincoln students including the academically motivated ones?

Additionally, I have been troubled that the current school administration and School Committee seems intent on hiring a new middle school principal without giving our new superintendent Parry Graham time (he won’t be on the payroll until July 1, 2023) to figure out what skills are most needed in the position. Our new superintendent just wrote to Wayland parents last week: “Because we have a number of different positions open, and because I know I will not be in Wayland after June 30, I am very reluctant to make long-term leadership decisions for several of our central office positions. For that reason, several of these positions will be hired as interim, one-year positions.”

Our new middle school principal is exactly the kind of long-term hire that Graham should be allowed to take his time selecting. Graham is currently exceedingly busy in Wayland and we are asking him to make at best a rushed decision. The current principal search was also flawed as the initial search committee included only a Boston-based Lincoln parent and not a single non-affiliated Lincoln taxpayer parent. Lincoln taxpayer parents deserve a seat at the table and if I were elected to the School Committee, I would demand it.

Last year, I was made aware of one second-grade class that had a student who misbehaved and got violent from time to time. All of the students were taught the safe word “milkshake” so that when the teacher yelled “milkshake,” they all exited the classroom to go to a safe area. Students who misbehave and distract the learning of others should not be allowed in the classroom. Teachers spend a large amount of time on discipline/behavior issues instead of teaching. I understand that there have been at least four full school days of professional development specifically about classroom management and behavior issues. During those days, substitute teachers were left to try and teach the classrooms, which is most often not effective. As a School Committee member, I would ask for a public committee to publicize and enforce consistent behavior standards across the student body so that teachers get more time to teach and less time dealing with behavior issues. This public committee should publish metrics to show the effectiveness of the new enforced policies. We all should want students who want to learn in the classroom.

Parent surveys that were collected about 30 years ago were recently shared on LincolnTalk. The surveys showed Lincoln students were not well prepared for Lincoln-Sudbury high school. I believe we need to have an outside firm collect surveys to really understand what parents and taxpayers think on a variety of topics. Town meetings are not a great way to share sentiments, especially as voters can at times feel intimidated to not express themselves against the grain. Vocal groups can drown out other valued members of our community. Asking the School Committee or school administration to run a survey is like asking to the fox to guard the henhouse, so I would recommend using an outside firm or service to collect the survey data.

Why am I running for School Committee? Change happens from within, and I look forward to working with our new superintendent, other School Committee members and parents to identify our problems and come up with solutions to improve everyone’s satisfaction. I want a great public education for my children and I hope to help many others get one as well. I pledge to listen to everyone and am confident I will be successful.

What would you bring to the table in terms of specific professional and/or personal experiences?

As an engineer and entrepreneur, I feel qualified to dig in and ask hard questions to our administration to ensure all students excel in our school. I have experience in board meetings, finance, and solving complex hard problems. I have founded two successful software companies that involved creating solutions to meet specific customer needs. If elected, I feel I can help focus the administration on helping all of the students reach their potential.

Since this is a contested seat, why should Lincolnites vote for you in particular? What past history or personal/political positions make you better qualified than one or more of the other candidates?

I am good at researching complex items. Along with another parent, we have discovered that contrary to all written and oral communication from the school administration and town, we the Lincoln taxpayers subsidize the Hanscom school system at around $1,000,000 per year. Either through mismanagement or poor contract management, the Defense Department does not pay all of the expenses of the Hanscom school as advertised. We believe these extra expenses as are disguised as increased pension and benefit expenses for all Lincoln town employees. Hanscom teachers and support staff are actually all Lincoln town employees. For every personal dollar paid to a town employee, approximately 50 cents of that cost is paid by the town as additional pension and benefit expenses. Our peer towns (Weston, Wayland, Sudbury, Carlisle, Dover, Sherborn and Concord) have pension and benefits expenses of around 20 to 35 cents per dollar of salaries. No one in the school administration or town administration has answered the question of why are our pension and benefits so much more expensive than our peer towns, and I believe our benefits are no better than our peer towns to justify the increased costs. Unless I am elected to the School Committee, this costly issue will get buried as the administration denies our requests for detailed records and contracts required to understand our accounting treatment. I pledge to be open and transparent with this information.

What do you think is the biggest issue facing the School Committee over the next three years, and if elected, how do you plan to address it?

It is a toss-up between declining enrollment of Lincoln resident students and discipline/bullying problems. Unless we address our declining enrollment as parents choose to leave our school in greater numbers than our peer towns, our school may continue to shrink and become at a certain point unviable as an independent school. I would recommend that the School Committee survey parents to learn their areas of dissatisfaction so that we may address them.

As far as discipline/bullying problems, I would ask the School Committee to implement standards to ensure that discipline and misbehaving does not adversely impact the education of other students and publish metrics to show that our teachers are spending their time teaching and not being consumed with discipline problems.

Who are your three biggest heroes in American history and why?

Ed Koch — former mayor of New York City. He continually asked the public, “How am I doing?” He was always optimistic and frank. He served as mayor for 12 years. Imagine — in 1981 he was re-elected mayor of New York City under both the Democratic and Republican lines on the ballot. He had tremendous wit. One example was his no-parking sign that said, “Don’t even think of parking here.”

Steve Jobs — he was perhaps the best industrial designer of all time. The combined software and hardware products that he created are simply beautiful, elegant and easy to use by billions of people every day.

Chesley Sullenberger — pilot of Miracle on the Hudson aircraft ditching. When he lost both jet engines at a low altitude, his training and judgement allowed him to land his plane on the Hudson River. He never lost his cool and everyone survived.

Adam Hogue

What made you decide to run again for a seat on the School Committee at this time?

I am a candidate for reelection and I decided to run again to work with the new superintendent we just hired and continuing my work with the teacher contract negotiations. I also want to continue to fight for a focus on data-driven decisions to help close our achievement gaps.

What would you bring to the table in terms of specific professional and/or personal experiences?

I bring my experience of having served on the Lincoln School Committee for the last five years, successfully negotiating several contracts with our unions and preparing budgets, as well as learning how our town government works. I also previously served on the board of the Lowell Community Charter School for four years.

Since this is a contested seat, why should Lincolnites vote for you in particular? What past history or personal/political positions make you better qualified than one or more of the other candidates?

During the pandemic, I stood up for students and fought to keep the schools open, successfully convincing my fellow members to vote to open the schools. I have the experience to navigate tough budget decisions and have built relationships in town that will help the schools over the next three years.

What do you think is the biggest issue facing the School Committee over the next three years, and if elected, how do you plan to address it?

One of our biggest issues is going to be our budget. I plan to be creative and use my knowledge of the town budget to keep our schools well funded while avoiding an override.

Who are your three biggest heroes in American history and why?

Abraham Lincoln, because of the leadership he showed during one of the greatest crises this nation has ever faced. Gen. Dwight D Eisenhower, for his steadfast leadership during WWII and during his presidency. Fredrick Douglass, for being a leader in the abolition of slavery, women’s suffrage and civil rights.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about you?

As an officer in the Army National Guard, public service is a priority for me, and it would be a great honor to serve another term on the Lincoln School Committee.

Jacob Lehrhoff

What made you decide to run for a seat on the School Committee at this time?

After a first career as an educator, I believed I had closed that chapter of my life and moved on. I maintained a passion for education but understood that it wasn’t the only career I wanted to pursue. When I taught, I had a palpable sense that I was giving back, that I was serving. Now working in tech, I love what I do, but I can’t claim to be serving or giving back in some tangible way. I came to realize that there are other ways to participate in and influence the schools, and that I can give back to my own community. Sitting with this realization, I considered running for School Committee last year, but my wife and I were expecting our second child and knew the coming months would be wild. Now that sleep is stable and life is functional, I’d like to step up and give back.

What would you bring to the table in terms of specific professional and/or personal experiences?

As a former educator, I’ve seen first-hand the transformative effect that a well-designed education can have on students and the coordinated effort required to ensure that education meets students’ needs. I taught English/language arts at the Gifford School in Weston for six years, three of them as department chair. That on-the-ground experience — designing curriculum, scaffolding lessons for students, hearing parents’ wishes and concerns — imbues me with empathy for every layer across the system. I know that Gifford is not a typical setting and many of the needs I supported are outside the expectations of a public school, but the learning remains: every student is unique, every family has their own perspective, and everyone deserves compassion and curiosity. Lincoln’s school budget may read as a series of line items, but there are stories behind those investments, and the decisions we make with our budget affects lives.

My career has changed dramatically since my years in education. I currently lead the data science and user research organization at Spotify, developing personalized listening experiences. In my seven years at Spotify, I’ve honed both my research and collaborative skills. I teach my team that the goal isn’t only to create knowledge, it’s to drive action. We simultaneously hone our craft — drafting research questions and methodology, executing research — and hone our storytelling, collaborative, and influencing skills. We form the narrative of our insights around our understanding of stakeholders’ interests and perspectives to influence decision-making. It’s these skills that will help me support thoughtful policy decisions.

Since this is a contested seat, why should Lincolnites vote for you in particular? What past history or personal/political positions make you better qualified than one or more of the other candidates?

What I want voters to know is that the most critical tool I would bring to and employ on the School Committee isn’t any particular facility with data: it’s empathy. Progress requires collaboration; collaboration depends on relationships, and relationships take time and curiosity to build. When facing challenges, different perspectives are valid, problems have multiple sides, and solutions aren’t singular. Through listening, I hope to influence positive decisions.

I hear many topics of interest: bullying, student engagement, challenging high achievers. I hope to match that interest from the town with an understanding of what decisions the administration and School Committee have made to date, why, what’s next in the plan, and what we aren’t focusing on if we further prioritize these topics.

What do you think is the biggest issue facing the School Committee over the next three years, and if elected, how do you plan to address it?

The Lincoln Public Schools are embarking on a lot of change. We are about to have a new superintendent and a new principal. While not something that will take three years, the most important issue is building relationships with the changing administration, ensuring the administration is building relationships within the schools to diagnose opportunities and drive positive change, and ensuring Lincoln is connected to all of it. Yes there are many topics that deserve attention — continuing our investment in antiracism, inclusion, diversity, and equity; further realizing the “portrait of a learner” in our schools; ensuring student engagement is high; identifying opportunities to minimize bullying, etc. — but no progress will be made on any of these topics without investment in those new relationships. One opportunity to create those connections would be to bring back regularly scheduled coffee events with School Committee members to ensure that people feel heard and connections can be made.

Who are your three biggest heroes in American history and why?

After sitting with this question for some time, I’ve found that my most authentic answer is to celebrate groups that deserve attention rather than elevate specific individuals. I thought about the working poor, fighting to provide for their families in a system that isn’t necessarily designed for their success. I thought about union organizers, so quickly demonized by organizations with deep pockets. I thought about people who manage to speak out against wrongs committed upon them by people of power and the many more who have no platform or agency to speak out. And then I realized I am most moved by the perseverance against inequity and the will to cause change for the good.

I feel fortunate to have received a good public school education just two towns away in Natick, to have had many opportunities in front of me throughout my life — to have never felt that I wouldn’t be given a fair shot. And I deeply admire those who see that many don’t have those same luxuries and choose to fight for equity.

Matina Madrick

What made you decide to run for a seat on the School Committee at this time?

We moved to Lincoln in the summer of 2020 with our three children, who attended the Lincoln Public and Lincoln-Sudbury at that time. We have been very happy in Lincoln and I am excited to be able to serve the community.

I have had a longstanding interest in education policy as I earned my master’s degree in public policy and economics from Princeton University. I have professional experience in education finance and education consulting. I have also been a volunteer in many different schools and extracurricular activities. I strongly believe in the mission of public schools and I have a vested interest in maintaining and improving education in Lincoln. My children are at ages where I am able to make a more substantial commitment to volunteer work outside of the home and I would be thrilled with the opportunity to serve the community on the School Committee.

What would you bring to the table in terms of specific professional and/or personal experiences?

Before having a family, I earned a master’s degree in policy and economics from Princeton University. After graduating, I worked at the New York Independent Budget Office analyzing the New York City education budget. This experience provided me with an introduction to education finance and introduced me to the importance of municipal budgets in the implementation of policy. I also worked on other education issues such as class size, graduation rates, and outcomes. Once I started a family, I had a number of opportunities to work part-time in education consulting, grant writing, analyzing compensation plans, and helping to build recruiting plans for education administrators.

Personally, my children have attended schools in three different public school districts and I have volunteered in all of these districts. I have seen many different programs and services that work both better and worse than in Lincoln and I am eager to share that perspective.

Since this is a contested seat, why should Lincolnites vote for you in particular? What past history or personal/political positions make you better qualified than one or more of the other candidates?

My professional experience in education finance and policy as well as my experience as a parent in several different school districts have provided me with some excellent and different perspectives on the Lincoln Public Schools. Additionally, two of my children are now high schoolers and I can speak to the experience of their preparedness for high school and what worked and did not work in their elementary and middle school experiences.

My commitment to my kids’ education through volunteering in the schools and extracurricular activities for my kids is also a strong factor in my candidacy. I have been an active volunteer for the schools as a class parent, classroom assistant, and volunteer for special programs, and here in Lincoln I am a member of SEPAC [Special Education Parent Advisory Council] and the PTO enrichment rep for my youngest son’s grade. I have also been a board member for the parent organization of my daughter’s gymnastics team for five years (a position I resigned from as of this coming June).

What do you think is the biggest issue facing the School Committee over the next three years, and if elected, how do you plan to address it?

As the pandemic slows, there are increased pressures on teachers due to social/emotional issues and increased learning gaps, and many educators are leaving the profession due to burnout. Teachers are the most important factor driving student learning and success, and we need to address teacher retention and morale. We also must ensure we are attracting talented teachers and focus on ways to recruit and retain diversity in our workforce that mirrors our student body. There is no simple fix to these issues, but the School Committee can ensure that teacher salaries are in line with inflation while remaining aware of our budget constraints. Additionally, the School Committee can support the schools’ ability to provide professional development for all educators.

Who are your three biggest heroes in American history and why?

Recently, because of his declining health, Jimmy Carter has been in the news a lot, and it has reminded me how much I admire his work ethic and devotion to peace, housing, and other issues post his presidency. While he could have participated in more self-aggrandizing pursuits, he chose service and was extremely effective in those causes.

I grew up dancing in New York City and some of my biggest personal heroes reflect this background. In my early teenage years, I began to attend my first Martha Graham and Alvin Ailey performances and take classes at these companies. Both are two lions of the modern dance world and I admired the genius in creating immortal, beautiful choreography and techniques outside of the accepted and institutionalized forms of dance. Furthermore, Martha Graham, at a time when women were not accepted as leaders in dance, broke boundaries by founding her own dance company and choreographing outside the mainstream. Similarly, Alvin Ailey as a gay Black man broke boundaries by not only establishing a dance company but establishing a school of dance that welcomed urban, mostly Black children to learn classical and other dance techniques while other dance schools remained both traditional and segregated.

As I am running for School Committee, I feel compelled to mention an educator I admire, Diane Ravitch. Ravitch is a prolific author and tireless supporter of public schools. I was first introduced to her when I read her book The Great School Wars: A History of the New York City Public Schools while working in education finance for the City of New York. Her dedication to her cause and interests and overwhelming wealth of knowledge and energy are more than admirable.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about you?

When I started my family, I made the decision to make my children my priority, but I have always tried to maintain professional presence outside the home either through work or volunteering. Professionally, I have taken part-time jobs working for several education consulting firms, and I also worked part-time at Harvard Business School as a researcher. I also worked part-time in finance for a biotech startup which my husband founded.

Currently, I teach fitness in Waltham at Btone Fitness two mornings a week. I have volunteered in my children’s schools in many different roles in different districts since my oldest entered kindergarten. One of my most rewarding volunteer experiences has been as a board member for the parent organization attached to my daughter’s gymnastics team. This position in particular has taken many hours. I have learned a lot about gymnastics competition, made a lot of friends and it has been extremely rewarding.