Belmont's Newest School Committee Member Focus on the Whole Student

The celebration at Comella's Restaurant on Leonard Street on Tuesday night, April 2 included pizza, beer and a winning smile on Elyse Shuster's face.

The first-time town-wide candidate not only won a seat on the Belmont School Committee but received the exact number of votes as incumbent Laurie Slap, 1,539, in the annual Belmont Town Election. 

"It's a funny coincidence that our numbers were the same since Laurie [Slap's] numbers were really close in each precinct," said Shuster, who will take the seat occupied by Dan Scharfman who died in January.

The 17-year Belmont resident and mother of three daughters, all who have or are attending Belmont public schools, Shuster said she feels very proud to equal Slap's vote count because "she's an incumbent and so well-loved on the committee and she's so good at what she does." 

Once she is sworn in by Town Clerk Ellen Cushman, Shuster said she will seek to make her mark early on the School Committee in working on the Superintendent search. 

"I am interested in getting someone really good into the schools so I want to spend a lot of time on that," said Shuster, who currently volunteers in the early literacy program at the Tobin Montessori, a Cambridge public school.

In addition, Shuster wants to work on the curriculum subcommittee to insure that the district-wide learning meets state standards "and offering our kids the best that can be offered." 

But the overarching issue that impacts all aspects of the School Committee's agenda is the budget.

"It's not my favorite issue but it determines how we teach our students and it requires us to make tough choices and establish priorities," said Shuster, who served on the Foundation for Belmont Education's board of directors for more than six years.

Shuster said beside budgetary challenges, she hopes to promote a broad, holistic view of the educational process while on the committee.

"I'm concerned about the experience students have [in district schools], that the learning and experience they have will be stimulating, exciting and challenging as well as well rounded," said Shuster, who has degrees from Hobart and William Smith Colleges (BA in history), the University of Rochester (MA in History) and Lesley University (teaching certificate).

"By the time they leave high school, in addition to being prepared to go out into the world, I want students to feel that they haven't been burnt out by their experience," Shuster said, as campaigners and friends vied for her time to congratulate the newest member of Belmont town government.