schools

(Editor’s note: Brown is a member of the Sudbury Board of Selectmen).

To the editor:

I am writing to support Siobhan Hullinger for a seat on the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional District School School Committee in this year’s election.

Siobhan has a long record of volunteering for community service and a notable record of service at the high school. This not only demonstrates her commitment to the school and the L-S community, but also provides her with an understanding of the specific strengths, weaknesses, and unique culture at L-S. She understands the need for collaboration among L-S, Sudbury, Lincoln and METCO to create a seamless academic experience for our students, to address school start time recommendations, and to create an effective administrative structure for our schools.

Further, Siobhan is thorough and meticulous in her research and in deriving her conclusions and recommendations. This requires time, effort and analysis upon her part, and she undertakes this work with an open mind. I have learned to consider her statements carefully, even when we might disagree. Her willingness to argue passionately on the issues while maintaining a courteous and civil manner to her colleagues is one of her great strengths.

I urge you to write in Siobhan Hullinger for L-S School Committee on March 26.

Sincerely,

Pat (Patricia) Brown
34 Whispering Pine Rd., Sudbury

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Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

To the editor:

I write to encourage my fellow Lincoln voters to get to the polls on Monday, March 26 and to cast their votes for Carole Kasper of Lincoln and Ellen Joachim of Sudbury for the two open seats on the L-S School Committee.

Carole is well known to many in town, having served in a variety of volunteer capacities. As everyone who has worked with her will attest, she is smart, hardworking, a natural leader, and an excellent listener. She is the only candidate whose name will actually appear on the ballot this year, so casting a vote for her will be a straightforward civic exercise!

As most know, Lincoln is not guaranteed any seats at all on the L-S School Committee. In order to make sure our voice is heard, it is imperative that a candidate like Carole, who is a strong and effective advocate for high-quality public education, joins the committee with a powerful signal of support from the community.

OK, you might ask, then who is Ellen Joachim and why should I support her for a seat as well?  To all who generally believe (as I typically do) that political races in Lincoln are dull, predictable affairs, this year is a clear exception. L-S School Committee incumbent Gerald Quirk unexpectedly withdrew from the race a few weeks ago. Ellen came forward and, after several weeks of campaigning, has demonstrated that she is by far the best choice for Lincoln voters and Sudbury voters who are committed to the high academic standards and all-around excellence L-S is known for.

Ellen served for many years on the Sudbury K-8 School Committee and is very familiar with the political landscape in Sudbury. She values the terrific faculty and rich programming L-S is rightly proud of, and she is eager to include Lincoln in any and all conversations about how to improve the experience for the wide range of students at L-S.

Like Carole, Ellen is serious about collaboration and process and is committed to the joint project that Lincoln and Sudbury began in 1954 of running a first-tier regional high school. As with any relationship, there are from time to time important issues that arise which potentially divide the two towns. These include, for example: finances, governance, and potential curriculum changes.

With Carole and Ellen on the School Committee, we increase the likelihood of intelligent and practical solutions to these questions. What do you get for your vote? That’s simple: more in the way of sensible solutions and less divisive rhetoric—a good bargain for voters under any circumstances.

On March 26, vote for Carole Kasper and write in Ellen Joachim’s name on the ballot!

Sincerely,

Maria O’Brien Hylton
5 Oakdale Lane, Lincoln

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Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

To the editor:

I am writing to strongly urge all of you to vote in the election on Monday, March 26. I am enthusiastically in support of Carole Kasper, whose extraordinary qualifications and competence to serve I will leave others to describe. The issue I would like to emphasize is the importance to Lincoln and to Lincoln-Sudbury of retaining two Lincoln seats on the Lincoln Sudbury school committee. With no major issues on the ballot, I worry that residents might be tempted to avoid coming to the polls. 

I served for seven years on the committee. During that time, Lincoln had two representatives. However, the year before I was appointed, Renel Fredriksen was the only Lincoln representative and if she were still a town resident, she would make clear how difficult that was. There is too much information and work involved in governance for one person to master and having only one member makes it very difficult to adequately debate important issues where the interests of the two towns may be in conflict. There are structural differences between the towns that make for complicated political and fiscal dynamics.

One such controversial issue is currently on the agenda. A number of Sudbury leaders have proposed that there be a combined superintendency for the Sudbury K-8 system and Lincoln-Sudbury. In my opinion, this is not a good idea. It would reduce the independence of the L-S School Committee and would dilute and diminish Lincoln’s influence in the governance of the school.

There are a group of Sudbury residents who have strong negative feelings about Lincoln. This group, of indeterminate size, has called for voters to not vote for Carole and to write in two Sudbury candidates on a listserve that is only available to Sudbury residents. A group of them shamelessly harassed Carole when she presented at a Sudbury forum.

Carole is working in cooperation with Ellen Joachim from Sudbury and suggests that if you are motivated to write in a candidate, you should write in her name. Doing this will insure a more student centric governance structure and continued dialogue with and inclusion of Lincoln.

But the most important message is get yourself to the polls on Monday, March 26 and support our representation at our high school.

Sincerely,

Eric Harris
138 Bedford Rd., Lincoln

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Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

To the editor,

My name is Siobhan Hullinger and I am pleased to announce my candidacy for the write-in candidate opening for the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional District School Committee (LSSC) in the upcoming election on Monday, March 26.

I respectfully ask for your vote because as a 27-year resident with three children who have attended and are attending L-S, I am grateful for and understand the importance to our children and town of L-S’s national reputation among colleges and universities, and the diversity of its academic and extracurricular offerings.

I have spent 27 years in Sudbury devoted to efforts to support our community and schools.   My volunteer efforts include board memberships with HOPEsudbury, the Lincoln-Sudbury Scholarship Fund, and the LSPO as well as L-S School Council member, Sudbury eown election officer, CERT volunteer, parent coordinator for the Kicks for Cancer Soccer Tournament, youth sports age group coordinator, and a participant in the Sudbury Listening Project.

My civic involvement is at the core of who I am and aligns with L-S’s core values of “fostering caring and cooperating relationships, respecting human differences, pursuing academic excellence and cultivating community.” As a longtime participant in local town issues, I understand the essential importance to continually take a fresh look at how we operate our local town organizations, including L-S. Among the key issues I would pursue are:

• Build a stronger collaboration between L-S, Sudbury, Lincoln, and the METCO program to facilitate open, collaborative, and thoughtful discussions that will improve coordination of academic and social transitions into our high school, identify areas of operating redundancies and inefficiencies, and support reasonable class sizes.
• Review safety measures to ensure they align with current trends and research while preserving the benefits of an open campus.
• Enact a policy of periodic reviews of the Regional Agreement, originally enacted in 1954, to ensure it provides an effective and equitable framework reflecting the current and future public education conditions and needs for L-S to thrive.
• Pursue the start time recommendations of the separate L-S/Sudbury Public Schools (SPS) subcommittees. We must put in the hard work to see whether adjusting our schedule is feasible and tackle obstacles that hinder student growth. Unlike past efforts, we must tackle this task collaboratively with L-S, SPS, and the METCO program.
• Our music and arts programs currently find themselves under threat of elimination or reduction. We should instead see a growing commitment to these programs which have been proven to boost academic and social/emotional outcomes.

LSSC needs to proactively consider whether the current leadership structure of separate superintendents and administrations from SPS is the most desirable for attracting top-tier leadership at both L-S and SPS for the long term.

I will work tirelessly to represent the interests of taxpayers, families, students, faculty, staff and administration to enhance, support and foster open and constructive dialogue among our partners in education. Please contact me with any thoughts and/or questions at sioforls@gmail.com. I humbly ask for your support by writing in “Siobhan Hullinger” under L-S School Committee on March 26. 

Sincerely,

Siobhan Hullinger
55 Washington Drive, Sudbury

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Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

(Editor’s note: L-S School Committee Gerald Quirk of Sudbury had planned to run for reelection but subsequently withdrew his name after the deadline for others to get on the ballot had passed.)

To the editor:

I am happy to announce that I am running as a write-in candidate for Lincoln-Sudbury Regional District Committee. I welcome your support on Monday, March 26.

I know first-hand the unique qualities of L-S as I myself am an L-S graduate. I have had children enrolled at L-S since 2010. Two have graduated, and my youngest is currently a junior. I understand L-S: its breadth of classes, its emphasis on learning, and its focus on building student independence.

After L-S, I went to Columbia College and Harvard Law School. I served on the Sudbury School Committee for six years, including one year as chair and two as vice chair. I will bring my knowledge of L-S, my legal training, and my School Committee experience to the L-S School Committee.

If elected, I will put students first. I will listen to and consider all perspectives before making decisions. I will collaborate with staff, parents from Boston, Lincoln, and Sudbury, and students to ensure that L-S is providing the best education possible to all students. We must ensure that students feel safe and welcome at L-S, that they are offered a broad array of classes in core subjects and the arts, and are challenged to learn and grow in each of these classes, and that they are well-prepared for their chosen path upon graduation.

I believe we need to explore options for further collaboration and sharing between L-S and the Lincoln and Sudbury public schools. Such work can only be done with interest and participation from members of both the Lincoln and Sudbury communities. We have a shared goal of ensuring that L-S provides an excellent learning experience for our students in a supportive environment, and we must partner to move forward. My six years on the Sudbury School Committee will be valuable in these discussions.

I believe that we need to continue exploring school start times for our teens. There are logistical challenges to implementing a later start time, but given the overwhelming evidence of improvements to student health, well-being, and academic performance, we must continue to focus on this issue. Finally, L-S must review its safety protocols to ensure that they address the current environment and follow best practices.

I look forward to meeting you and discussing L-S in the coming weeks and ask you to write my name on the Lincoln and Sudbury ballots on Monday, March 26.

Sincerely,

Ellen Winer Joachim
6 Craig Lane, Sudbury

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Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

To the editor,

I write in support of Carole Kasper, who is running for a three-year term on the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School (L-S) School Committee. Carole has significant experience serving our community, she is a listener and a facilitator, and she is committed to our schools and our families. Please join me and vote for Carole at the polls on Monday, March 26.

I first got to know Carole other through her leadership of the Lincoln PTO. Carole worked with her team to revamp the organizational structure of the PTO and to reach out more broadly to families, residents, and community businesses for their support. After her tenure on the PTO, she worked with Middle School Principal Sharon Hobbs to strengthen the support for students and families as children transition from the middle school to the high school. To that end, she co-hosted a second annual gathering of “veteran” parents and current middle school parents to talk about the social transition from Lincoln to L-S. She is skilled at identifying a need and doing what it takes to organize a response and create a solution.

In 2015, Carole raised her hand to be part of the Campus Master Planning Committee for the Lincoln School campus, and served as its chair. The work of that committee was foundational for the current school and community center projects, and it further connected her to the community. Carole will draw on her strong connections with current, past, and future L-S families to inform her decision making as a member of the L-S School Committee.

Carole values the independent and innovative spirit of L-S, and will bring both enthusiastic support and a keen analytical eye to the work of the School Committee. She will listen, problem solve, and work hard on behalf of the Lincoln, Sudbury, and Boston communities who together make L-S a unique place.

On her behalf, thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Glass
11 Stonehedge Road

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Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.