Amanda Phillips Announces Candidacy for Re-election to Westwood's School Committee

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Thanks to Amanda Phillips for sharing this news with Westwood Minute.

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By Amanda Phillips

I’m thrilled to announce my candidacy for re-election to the Westwood School Committee! For those that don’t know me, I grew up in Needham and received my undergrad degree from the University of Rhode Island and my masters degree in Gerontology from UMASS. I have dedicated my career to helping seniors and their families, and have worked for Hebrew SeniorLife since 2018. My spouse and I settled in Westwood in 2008. We have two children at the Hanlon School and one at Westwood Nursery School. I feel so fortunate to live in a community that prioritizes high quality public schools. I have seen firsthand time and again just how amazing our district leadership, educators and staff truly are.

Although it’s been a challenging few years, I’m incredibly proud of our community and all that we’ve accomplished since I joined the school committee in 2020. Despite the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic we were still able to pass the largest debt exclusion in Westwood’s history to fund the new elementary school. We also expanded the METCO program to include grades K-5. With an eye towards improving adolescent mental and physical health, we pushed the Westwood High School start times back effective the 2023/2024 school year. These are just a few highlights of all that we accomplished. There’s so much more important work to be done in the coming years and months. Here are just a few of the priorities I hope to work on should I retain my seat:

• Provide guidance to ensure that new district leadership (Superintendent and Director of Student Services) is well supported to meet the strategic goals outlined in the district improvement plan. We need to keep the momentum going to achieve our core value of “academic excellence and commitment to improvement”.

• Collaborate with fellow committee members, district leadership and educators to ensure a smooth and successful opening of the new elementary school in 2024. Thoughtful integration of the two school communities must continue to be at the forefront of this colossal undertaking.

• Launch the action plan to address needs and areas for improvement identified in the WPS district-wide Equity Audit conducted in 2022. It is imperative that all students, staff and families feel safe and welcome in their school community. I look forward to amplifying the concerns and feedback provided by all that took the time to respond, with an emphasis on marginalized groups.

Thank you for taking the time to learn about me and my campaign. For additional information please refer to my website: amanda4westwood. Please be sure to get out to vote on April 25th.