Letter: Downs is 'Extraordinary,' the Right Choice for School Committee

Editor's Note: For a full collection of support letters for this candidate, click on her hyperlinked name at the bottom of this letter under "Related Topics."

Dear Editor, 

While checking out recently at the Wayland Stop and Shop, Jeanne Downs encountered a cashier who was convinced that she was someone famous. Jeanne, somewhat amused, repeatedly assured the cashier that she was just an ordinary person.

Jeanne Downs, however, is far from ordinary. I have known her as PTO president at my children's schools, as coach of my children on the Wayland Junior Warriors (WJW) swim team, and as a fellow Masters swimmer at the Wayland Town Pool. She is, in fact, extraordinary, when you consider the amount of time and energy that she devotes to giving back to our town.  Her generosity extends outside of Wayland as well.  About 10 years ago, Jeanne, her husband Ben and their four children moved to a small village called Kijabe in Kenya, Africa. For two years, they worked at a missionary school, helped out in the business office and served as dorm parents to adolescent girls. Her decision to relocate her family to Kenya for two years embodies the spirit of Jeanne Downs. She gives back, not only to the students and parents in our public schools, not only to the WJW swimmers, but her reach extends to school girls in Kenya as well. 

Jeanne is the helm of the Wayland Junior Warriors, a team this past season with 153 swimmers ranging from kindergarten to 8th grade. I have seen her literally do it all: she helps the girls put their caps on, she runs the meets, she coordinates parent volunteers, she mentors the high school coaches, she teaches stroke technique and she retrieves the suits and goggles that are all too often left behind on the locker room floor.  Jeanne sets the tone and the expectations of the team: come to practice, work hard, and support and encourage your teammates. She emphasizes individual swimmer goals and being a team player. Jeanne makes the pool a place where each and every kid in the water can succeed in their own way.  

These are precisely the traits desirable in a school committee member: someone who knows the school system well as both a parent and PTO leader, someone with a long and dedicated history of service, someone who works hard to help others succeed, and someone who values hard work and dedication over speed and short-term gratification. For these reasons, I hope you'll join me in voting for not-so-ordinary Jeanne Downs for school committee.

Sohie Lee
84 Lake Road Terrace

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