Candidate Profile: Sharon Hays, Medford School Committee

MEDFORD, MA — Sharon Hays is one of 14 candidates running for School Committee in the Sept. 14 preliminary election, which will whittle down the field of candidates ahead of the municipal election in November. There will also be a preliminary election for the mayor's race.

Medford Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles over the coming weeks.

Hays has 16 years of experience as a special education teacher and special education team chairperson in the Boston area. She lives in Medford with her husband Peter, two sons, Ben and Owen, and rescue puppy Mocha.

Are you running for office in Medford? Contact Alex Newman at alex.newman@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate profile and submitting campaign announcements to Medford Patch.

Age (as of Election Day)

54

Position Sought

School Committee

Party Affiliation

Democrat

Family

My family includes my husband Peter, my sons Ben (9 years old) and Owen (7 years old), and our rescue puppy Mocha (10 months old).

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

BA Psychology, UMass/Boston
MS Elementary and Moderate Special Needs N-9, Simmons College
Certificate of Advanced Study in Reading, MGH Institute of Health Professions

Occupation

16 years of experience teaching in the Boston area - as a Special Education Teacher, A Special Education Team Chairperson, and a Reading Specialist.

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

None

Campaign website

vote4sharonhays.com

Why are you seeking elective office?

My experience as an anxious child led me to choose a career in helping people. I loved being a teacher, especially the opportunities I had to help children who struggled with some aspect of school. When my eldest son, Ben, was born I started to focus on the bigger picture. I became actively engaged in the Medford Public Schools when Ben entered kindergarten. For the past 4 years I’ve attended the majority of school committee meetings and volunteered with the PTO at the Roberts Elementary, the school my sons attend. My involvement has taught me so much about the amazing things our students, teachers and administrators are doing across the district. This past Spring I witnessed School Committee and City Council meetings erupt with anger, bigotry and racism over the changing of the Columbus School name to the Missituk School. I realized that I wanted to stand up for a more just Medford. I’m seeking election to the school committee so I can support and build on the great work towards more equitable schools happening across our growing and changing district.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

The school committee must continue to address the issue of diversity, equity, and inclusion at MPS. The school committee and school administration have made this a priority in their work over the past few years with initiatives addressing equitable access to the middle schools, equitable distribution of kindergarten assistants, and efforts to eliminate food insecurity, among others. However, there is still much work to be done. As a school committee member, I will support the work of the newly formed Racial Equity Task Force as they research and make recommendations to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion at MPS, as it has become clear that there are Medford citizens who do not share these values, and are unafraid to assert their views. The pandemic has intensified our understanding that schools have become not only a place where children learn, but also a place where children can access the basic supports and services they need to learn and thrive. Mental health experts have said that we are facing a childhood mental health crisis due to the pandemic, the impacts of which will reverberate for years. According to MassGeneral Hospital for Children, “Underserved communities, such as communities of color or those of a lower socioeconomic status, are disproportionately affected” by the mental health effects of the pandemic. As a school committee member, I will advocate for significantly increasing the number of mental health service providers at all schools, as well as providing ongoing professional development for teachers, because they are the “first responders” in the schools.

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

I am a parent with two children currently in MPS, and I have an education background with 16 years of teaching experience. I can bring both of these perspectives to the role of school committee member.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)?

I have a lot of respect for how our current school committee has moved through what must have been the most difficult term in the last 50 years, if not ever. In the past few years the new voices on the committee have made a lot of progress in promoting policy around equity and realistic approaches to problems presented by our changing world. When I’m elected I will join these voices. I will bring my perspective as a teacher and a mother to meet the current needs of our students and build a vision for the future.

How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?

The school committee and school administration had a complicated job navigating through the completely unforeseen and unprecedented worldwide pandemic. In the chaos of those first several months, with little to no guidance from state and federal agencies, our local officials established a way for students to access free meals, worked to distribute chromebooks to students in order to begin virtual learning, and started the process of investigating the repairs and upgrades necessary to insure each school had proper ventilation. While there certainly were challenges,

Superintendent Edouard-Vincent provided consistent communication with parents about the administration’s efforts through her weekly Friday emails. I noted that the communication often focused disproportionately on the efforts to get students back for in-person learning (hybrid and full-time), leaving parents of fully remote students with relatively few updates about the remote learning academy. At the building level, communication from principals to parents varied across the district, leading to some disparities in access to information. Parents of students who receive special education services expressed frustration about a similar disparity in the communication regarding ongoing and compensatory services for their children. With the realization that hindsight is 20/20, especially in a situation like the pandemic, I would have worked as a school committee member to ensure communication is clear, consistent, and equitable across the district.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

In addition to the issues described above, I will:

1. propose that the School Committee discuss the creation of a task force to investigate issues facing our LGBTQIA students and school community
2. advocate for reading programs that focus on foundational reading skills in K-3 and are based on the science of reading
3. advocate for expanding program options at MVTHS, expanding options for World Language classes at the Middle Schools and High School, and increasing the number of advanced math classes at the middle and high schools.

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

In my roles as a Special Education Teacher, Special Education Team Chairperson, and a Reading Specialist, I worked as a team member, and as a team leader. I analyzed data (special education testing results, teacher reports, state testing data, demographic information) to help make decisions for individual students, grade levels, and schools. Through these experiences, I gained valuable insights about how to identify the needs of students, parents, and teachers and how to support and advocate for each of these groups. I’m ready to take this knowledge to the school committee and advocate for students, parents and teachers across the district.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

This is not exactly advice, but advice-by-example. My dad and I have always had different political views, and sometimes very heated political discussions. However, he has always supported my tendency toward political activism, including driving my sister and me from our home in Lexington to New York City for my first protest rally when I was in middle school.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I am excited by the possibility of serving the Medford community as a school committee member!