Parmelee and Mullin for School Committee

In Support of Dori Parmelee and Tony Mullin for School Committee

I am writing in support of Dori Parmelee and Tony Mullin for the two open School Committee positions. Over the past several weeks, I have followed all the campaigns closely. This includes watching the League of Women Voters candidate forum, attending candidate meet-and-greet events in person as well as live and reviewing recorded Zoom events, following the campaigns on web, social and print media, speaking with the candidates plus their supporters and endorsers, and scrutinizing public voting records and campaign finance reports. I believe it is important to spend time and energy on this because the School Committee plays such a vital role in shaping our kids’ education and the future of our town. I thank all three candidates for running and committing to this enormous responsibility. After closely considering all the information and facts, I firmly believe Dori and Tony are the best fit for this position.

Dori’s platform presents a comprehensive and ambitious vision for Westwood schools and students. While acknowledging the strength of our schools and the resources at our disposal, Dori stresses that we must have a growth-mindset, improving in all dimensions, all the time. A highlight of her platform is her focus on academic rigor and retaining our best educators. This certainly includes but is not limited to solid MCAS scores. She wants our schools to prepare our kids to be global citizens who "learn to question assumptions and make connections beyond the classroom." I have had wide-ranging conversations with Dori on the importance of academic excellence. I have spoken about introducing world languages in elementary schools, competencies that students need in college and beyond as well as the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion teaching our students to think critically. As a college Economics professor, these are the types of learners I want in my classroom. And these are the global-minded, problem-solving citizens I want my children to become.

I am also very impressed by Tony’s accomplishments on the School Committee over the last six year. He has regularly demonstrated knowledge of the most current studies related to youth and student mental health and has been a steadfast proponent of supporting the ”whole child”. He has advocated to expand student support by increasing counselors, as well as creating a new Dean of Students position within the middle school. If elected, I believe Tony will leverage the momentum he has gained, and will continue to be a proponent of important initiatives such as updating and improving the math curriculum and exploring the physical, academic and mental benefits of later start times for middle and high-school students.

Here are some crucial facts that you must consider as you weigh your choices for this position.

1. Dori and Tony are the only two candidates for the position who actually voted in last year’s key debt exclusion override elections to approve the new school building project. The School Committee has worked tirelessly on this project over the past several years, engaging hundreds of Westwood citizens who turned out to town meetings and the subsequent election. We expect candidates for public office to show up and vote in crucial elections.

• Comparison of campaign finance reports released this week reveal that Tony and Dori are the only two candidates whose campaigns are not supported by the town group that opposed the school building project and funded mailings to homes urging us to vote against the override.

1. Dori and Tony are the only two candidates for the position who signed the widely-circulated public statement in support of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in Westwood. This statement was signed by over 1000 Westwood citizens and clearly demonstrates the town’s deep support for this work. The School District and town administration, who have both reaffirmed their support for these initiatives, will find knowledgeable allies and advocates in only Tony and Dori.
   • The strongest evidence for this are the campaign finance reports. Tony and Dori are clearly not the candidate of choice or recipients of hundreds of dollars from active members of One Westwood, the divisive group responsible for the recent misinformation campaign about Westwood schools.
2. Tony and Dori are the only two candidates for the position with a history of working collaboratively with the School District to solve problems they identified themselves or learned about from others. Dori, in her capacity as the Hanlon PTO chair “has been a force of nature as PTO president at Hanlon during the pandemic…creating a sense of normalcy and joy for Hanlon students (and parents too),” as a friend aptly put it. Many of us would agree that our School District did an exemplary job over the pandemic, driven by science and best practices, and I thank Tony for being part of this data focused decision-making team. As the pandemic wanes and we look forward, Tony and Dori have demonstrated their ability to work constructively to support the schools in both the best and worst of times.

I strongly believe Dori and Tony’s platforms best match our vision of a thriving, academically rigorous and inclusive school system that prepares students for the future, empowers teachers and works constructively with parents to support our childrens’ learning and well-being. Please support Dori Parmelee and Tony Mullin on April 26th.

Respectfully submitted:

Ishani Tewari, 45 Far Reach Rd