The League of Women Voters of Newton and NewTV are cosponsoring more debates this Thursday at a new time: 5 p.m. for the Ward 1 Ward Alderman race and 8:30 pm for the Ward 2 School Committee race.
Submit your questions for the candidates in advance to [email protected] or during the debate at the same email address or NewTV’s Facebook page or Twitter address. You can watch the debates in the NewTV conference room or online at NewTV.org and Village 14. If you have any questions, feel free to email [email protected].
Margaret Albright won that debate by a mile. She was thoughtful, articulate, and most especially drew on her very deep knowledge of educational policy issues, and the issues that Newton is going to face in both the short term and the long term. The school committee is *supposed* to act like a Board of Directors, and she’s the first candidate I’ve seen since Geoff Epstein who actually understands and articulates vision and leadership.
Great comment Lisap. Now just watch what happens to the race. The SC which supports Steenstrup will mobilize its followers to get busy on the phones and through mailings and e-mails try to strengthen Steenstrup’s image and her campaign. I’m sure she is a reasonable person and candidate but her allegiance will be to the leaders of the SC. She will not have an independent agenda. Her policy stands will reflect what is dictated to her. This unfortunately is the negative underbelly of democracy. Good independent thinkers are discouraged from seeking public office. This is not a good service to the community .
I was encouraged that Albright can articulate a FORWARD vision for the Newton Schools- as opposed to her opponent who argues for more of the same. While other school systems are flourishing with innovate solutions and ever better results in educational quality, Newton has tried and possibly EVEN failed to keep up with the times.
I am dumbfounded that Steenstrup sees possibly her own math schooling and that of hard working and exceptional kids who seek extra tutoring in math as “too tough for teachers to teach” (I paraphrase).
Please join me in voting against mediocrity and FOR A BETTER VISION!
I invite you to join me in voting for Albright on Nov. 5- FOR ALL OUR KIDS!
I watched the debate last night, and it was a slam dunk for Margaret Albright. Margaret spoke intelligently and has shown that her experience has prepared her not only for managing the present issues of the Newton Public Schools, but that she has done her homework in relation to moving Newton into the future. Andrea was a poor speaker, and I know that she is a puppet of some of the current SC members who want her elected to continue their agenda and follow like a lamb on voting and not stirring up the pot. Her answers: ” I like the schools ” and “I’m good at Math, and we can’t eliminate $2million in fees because where else are we going to get it?” and “Full Day K is not a good option, because the teachers will lose the small group instruction that they get 2 afternoon a week with 1/2 of the class” were fluff and made me very sad. Newton Public Schools is already committed to small group instruction, and has added staff to help with breaking down the class into small groups to work on academics based on pace of learning and areas that need reinforcing by some, and advanced material given to some who are ready to move ahead. Also, I found it laughable that her experience with school construction projects was “living next door to Newton North and understanding what neighbors have to put up with from the noise” PLEASE VOTE FOR MARGARET ALBRIGHT on November 5!
Steenstrup’s answer regarding math tutoring was utterly frightening and backward. She sounded absolutely critical of the fact that some children are so advanced in math that in middle school they take classes at the high school. How on earth can anyone view excellence in math as a negative? Instead of being more supportive of improving all of our kids’ math skills, she suggested that the fact that some kids are advanced beyond the curriculum makes it too difficult for classroom teachers because some students are significantly ahead of their peers. HUH???
When I hit the link, I only see a jazz band playing.
That’s a live feed from NewTV. Once the station uploads it, we will share both here.
Lucia, they don’t seem to have the video up yet. I’m going to encourage everyone I know to watch the video if they didn’t get to see it live. People need to make their choice not based on endorsements but upon the views expressed by these two candidates, and the differences couldn’t be more stark.
Was the achievement gap mentioned? Last year 1 in 4 of Newton’s low-income, African-American and Hispanic 10th graders were in the needs improvement or failing categories on the math MCAS. Compared with 1 out of 20 White students.
I know the achievement gap is a big nut to crack, but some large high schools have done it – like the O’Bryant in Boston. And they are closing the gap using the methods Margaret is advocating for – expanding learning, Response to Intervention (catching struggling students before they fall far behind – cheaper and more effective).
Not only Margaret – but Deval Patrick, Steve Grossman, etc. advocate these methods – because they work and because they do not want to see public schools become a two tier system, with children of well-educated, wealthy parent receiving one education and everybody else getting another.
This is why school fees and expanding learning time matter. Not every parent can drive their kids back and forth to after school activities, like jazz band, science team, etc. Opportunities for excellence need to be built into the school day, so all students have access to them.
Lastly, I’m not opposed to school fees, but they need to be designed somehow to make sure they don’t become a barrier for low-income students. Which I realize is another hard nut to crack.
All of the above comments on Steenstrup’s position on math are accurate.
I am personally appalled at her position, which is totally inconsistent with school district mission to maximize each student’s potential.
This is such a big disconnect that everyone should look especially at that section.
Andrea virtually chastises parents for seeking math tutoring for their students as it she thinks it would disrupt classroom teaching – which was inadequate in the first place. Talk about a Catch 22!
Further, for her to disapprove of grade acceleration for our advanced students is to be in opposition to an established policy in our system.
How could anyone think of electing such a candidate, who would seek to hold out students back and prevent them getting the help they need.
Every parent in the city should vote for Margaret Albright on this issue alone.
There are lots of problems with Andrea’s position, but this so far is a chilling revelation of what Andrea wants for our kids – math mediocrity.
I will add further comments when the video is posted and when I return from a trip visiting friends out of state this weekend.