My name is Tamika Olszewski and I am thrilled to announce my candidacy for the open Ward 4 School Committee seat in 2019.
I am the mother of twins in third grade at Burr Elementary and the wife of my college sweetheart, Al, for over 13 years. We moved to Newton in pursuit of an excellent education for our children and a welcoming community for our family.
An actively involved parent leader, I am a Burr PTO Board Member, Vice Chair of the Burr School Council, a Commissioner on the Human Rights Commission and a Board Member of FORJ, Families Organizing for Racial Justice. An attorney by profession, I feel I have a lot to offer as a member of the Newton School Committee where I would ensure that all students capitalize on Newton’s promise of both excellence and equity in their education.
I will welcome robust efforts to collaborate with members of the parent community and to support students in high level achievement through strong academic curriculum and a wide breadth of programming. In facing challenges such as launching later high school start time, I would ensure that we navigate and respect a tight financial budget. I understand that reasonable tradeoffs will be necessary. I would work to seek input from elementary and middle school parents and ensure that all members of our community are effectively seen as valued partners whenever we implement changes. I am also committed to helping our schools determine a pathway for funding the next elementary school renovations, and develop a targeted plan for closing the achievement gap. I have the passion, the drive, and the proven track record of commitment to our schools to serve Newton well as a member of the School Committee.
Over the course of the next year, I will continue to meet with, learn and seek advice from many of you. It has been a privilege to start that journey and I would be honored to have your support and assistance. Please visit my website tamika4schools.com for more information, to share with me your vision for the future of our schools and to learn how you can help.
Nice to have you running,
How do you feel about overcrowding in Newton schools and the potential for it to get much worse with the increase of high density housing?
Is this something the committee can push back on if you consider it a serious concern
As a fellow board member of Families Organizing for Racial Justice (FORJ), I have had the privilege of working alongside Tamika for the past two years. Tamika’s passion for educational excellence for all students, her knowledge of the issues facing our community and our schools, and her professional expertise make her an invaluable member of our organization and the many others in Newton she is part of. She is creative and dedicated to finding solutions whenever faced with a challenge. As a parent of two NPS elementary students, Tamika makes it a priority to support and understand the needs of her family’s school community, but also thinks and acts broadly for the benefit of all. I enthusiastically support Tamika’s candidacy for School Committee, and believe that her work will help our city prepare students to be global citizens and leaders advocating for a more just society.
With regard to the comment above: School Committee members (ideally) work collaboratively and think creatively. They of course need to address constant change within our school district. Tamika is well equipped to navigate all of the complex terrain she’d be facing. Her judgment is excellent and she is uniquely patient and insightful.
Congratulations, Tamika. I really look forward to supporting you as you move forward with this journey.
This is wonderful news for Newton. Tamika is smart, experienced, grounded in our community, cognizant of budgetary constraints, supportive of all Newton’s education professionals, and most importantly strongly committed to the best education for all of our children. Take a moment to “like” her on Facebook and stay connected to her campaign.
Karen,
Thanks for the “standard politican” response, would be great to know the school committee members actual thoughts on this
I stand by my comments. It’s impossible to predict what will unfold. So grateful to have a candidate with such excellent judgment running for School Committee.
Tamika has my support in her bid to become a School Committee member in Newton. Full disclosure, I know Tamika, her kiddos are friends with my youngest. I have gotten to know her well since those first crazy Kindergarten days.
I am beyond thrilled about her announcement to run. I knew it was coming, but to finally see the news is just exciting. I have a deep appreciation for people willing to put themselves out there for the greater good. That’s who she is.
Tamika is smart, kind, genuine, and committed. She cares about representation, equity, and fairness. She is an active listener who is open to dialogue, collaboration, and partnership. I hope that over the next year you all get to spend some time with her and chat. If you do, I know that you’ll feel the same way I do.
Tamika will work hard for Ward 4 and has my full support!
I am excited to have such a well-qualified and talented candidate running for the School Committee. I’ve talked extensively with Tamika Olszewski and I am so impressed by her intelligence, knowledge of our schools and commitment to our community. She will be a tremendous asset to the School Committee, and I am grateful that she has stepped up to run!
Karen
In regards to school overcrowding, your statement of “It’s impossible to predict what will unfold” is absolutely not true in this case.
We have several hundred units already approved and looking at enrollment data for the last several years for avalon and other large rentals shows 30% of unit have school age children
Search in google: avalon newton school enrollment
The pdf links have the avalon enrollment
There are several hundred more units planned to be built, this is all very predictable and will lead to even more overcrowding without another tax override
Now is the time to get handle on this and school committee stance is important here
Congratulations, Tamika! As a fellow parent in Newton, I am so happy to see such a caring and capable candidate running for School Committee. I have seen Tamika’s many contributions to the school and local community – from leading smaller group discussions to organizing large school-wide events. In all that she does, she has always had a listening ear, a genuine interest and care for the people around her, and an ability to draw together diverse groups of people to get things done. I am excited for Tamika’s candidacy and all that she would bring to the School Committee.
She sounds like she would be good. I’ve never been a big fan of Gomberg and I’ve been waiting for her term to end so I’m happy to see someone with like this run in that ward. It’s also good to see someone with elementary school students run.
As an aside: FORJ is such a great initiative but they need to work on their marketing and publicity. So often I find out that they’re having events the day of of and it’s too late for me to make arrangements to go.
I’m so happy to see Tamika running. I have no doubt about her commitment to our schools and the future because I have worked with her in FORJ and in the group that oversaw the issue of lead in the drinking water at Burr School. I’m so impressed with her genuine interest in improving so many facets of life here in Newton. She approaches topics thoughtfully and easily engages people in discussion.
I’m thrilled that Tamika has decided to run for the Ward 4 School Committee seat! I know she’ll bring her strong listening skills, her good judgement, and her work ethic, empathy, and understanding to the campaign and to the job. Newton kids, families, and schools are fortunate to have Tamika in this role, raising her voice and representing ours.
All well and good, she is a smart wonderful person.
Where does she stand on key school issues?
Thanks for the many encouraging words. This is a huge endeavor for me and your support and the support of citizens across Newton means the world to me!
On a couple of specifics–thanks for the feedback on FORJ and the thoughts about enrollment increases from new development. Regarding FORJ, we will definitely look into doing better with publicity. With respect to enrollment, the School Committee needs to carefully monitor enrollment changes associated with new developments to ensure that the system has sufficient capacity. I look forward to talking about these and other issues in the coming year. Happy Holidays to all!
Tamika,
Thanks for the clarification. I believe we are seeing big red flashing signs right now literally telling us we will have a serious overcrowding issue in 3-5 years.
Do you also believe this to be the case? If so, what proactive steps would you consider to mitigate it?
I’m concerned just monitoring the issue will be too late because the influx will happen in large swoops(100s of units coming online at one time) rather than a natural growth
I’m delighted to support Tamika’s candidacy for the School Committee. I have worked with Tamika on the Human Rights Commission and have found her to be a genuine servant leader, one deeply committed to the community, and to the seriousness of the role she takes on. Tamika’s insights reflect an informed awareness and an eagerness to put words into real action. I am particularly excited by the prospect of Tamika potentially serving as a liaison between the Human Rights Commission and the School Committee, particularly as issues of bias, racism, antisemitism, and other human rights violations intersect with the Newton school system.
Tamika, I have one small question and one big question.
Small: Olszewski is an uncommon name. Are you related to Mike and Roselyn Olszewski (Seattle Area)?
Big: There are two ways to think about the SC’s role. 1) to support the administration in communicating its mission to the community. 2) to communicate the community’s interest to the administration. Do you see yourself more in the 1) or 2) camp? How do you think your balance between 1) and 2) compares to the current SC?
Jeffrey – The powers and responsibilities of a School Committee were established by state law with the Ed. Reform Act of 1993 and are still in place. Before 1993, a school committee and its members hsd greater leeway in establishing its role. Article 4 (School Committee) of our current charter is, for all intents and purposes, obsolete as state law supersedes municipal charters so I wouldn’t look there for an answer to your question about the role of a SC or its members.
Tamika,
What is your position on the proposal under the new Equity Policy for all the PTOs to pool funds?
Bruce