Patch Candidate Profile: Nick Adams, Board of Education

EAST HAVEN, CT —The 2023 municipal election is heating up in East Haven and there are plenty of local races with candidates eager to serve in elected office.

East Haven Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as Election Day draws near.

Republican Nick Adams, 35, of East Haven, is seeking to be elected to serve on the Board of Education.

Education.

B.S. Criminal Justice, A.S. Business Management

What is your occupation?

Police Detective, 9 years law enforcement experience.

Do you have a family? If so, please tell us about them.

Not married, no children.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Have you ever held a public office, whether appointive or elective?

No

Now we'd like to ask a few questions about your reasons for running and your general views on politics and government. First, why are you seeking this office?

I love the Town of East Haven, especially the neighborhood I live in. My girlfriend and I are planning on having children, and I would love to raise them where we currently live. I grew up in upstate New York, where I had a great public school experience. The East Haven Public School System is overwhelmingly failing the children of the town, which is proven by the terrible annual test scores. We MUST do better for them. If my future children, and the future children of this town, are to have any chance at having an experience like the one I had, there needs to be some changes. I am looking to bring a fresh perspective to the Board of Education, encourage administrators to think outside the box, empower our teaching staff to be successful in their classrooms, and help our children become the future leaders they have the potential to be.

Please complete this statement: The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is ____, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Failing test scores. I plan to work with school administration to highlight what our current teaching staff does well, and amplify that. I want our teachers to know they are supported in their efforts and provide them with necessary tools to be effective in the classroom. I want to increase the morale and quality of life of the teaching staff, so we don't lose any talented educators to other schools, and are more attractive to educators seeking employment. A major area we are lacking in is providing adequate services for students who can't read, write, or speak English, and we need to find new ways to help them succeed alongside their peers. I firmly believe in the effectiveness of experiential education methods, which is why I fully support the expansion of the explorer program with Avelo Airlines.

What are the major differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I have only been a resident of East Haven for six years, and of Connecticut for seventeen years. With an outside perspective and a positive educational experience from outside the state, I believe I can bring fresh ideas to the table. I have no close friends, no children or family members, and no close personal connection to any staff or student in the school system. I am therefore completely impartial and solely interested in the overall success of the entire system. I plan on focusing on the real issues in our schools the board is designed to address, and doing so in the best interests of the town as a whole.

If you are challenging an incumbent, in what way has the current officeholder failed the community?

Our board has focused for too long on insignificant agenda items, and passes over the critical issues. They seem to be unwilling to ask challenging questions of the administration when presented with unacceptable grades and test scores, and have not held anyone accountable for the continued lack of overall success of the students. With our schools rated as low as they are, and the school budget as high as it is, the taxpayers are not getting a good return on their investment. Poorly rated schools not only harm our future generations, but they also drive down home values and cause families seeking a good education for their children to relocate to a different school district.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?

I would like to explore the possibility of decreasing the overall staff of our schools through attrition (absolutely NO layoffs), and use the salary savings to increase the wages of our teachers, and provide them with all of the supplies they need to be effective educators.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I am a graduate of the University of New Haven, where I was exposed to so many hands-on experiences during my education. I went on to my career in Law Enforcement, where I helped run our internship program and have become a certified instructor. I have a never ending desire to learn, and to help educate others. Through that desire, I have explored different learning styles and how people learn differently, and the need to present information in a way everyone can learn from it.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

My parents told me they would give me every opportunity to succeed, but it was up to me to take those opportunities and make the best of them. I could either work hard and become successful, or waste the opportunities and regret it later in life. Through this, I learned about responsibility and accountability for my own actions, and never look to blame others for my shortcomings.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I have grown to love this town in just a few short years. We have a lot to offer, being a shoreline town along Interstate 95 and neighboring the City of New Haven. We have so much culture and history in our neighborhoods and in our neighboring cities and towns. I want to see East Haven thrive in every metric, especially our schools, and for our successes to bring prosperity and quality of life to every single resident.