Cranford School Board Election 2022: Susan Shaw

CRANFORD, NJ — Eight candidates are running for four open seats on Cranford's Board of Education this November.

There are three open seats on Cranford's board for three-year terms and one open seat for a two-year unexpired term. This seat is vacant due to the recent resignation of Maria Loikith from the board.

Incumbents Brett Dreyer and Patrick Lynch are running again to maintain their current seats on the board. Nicole Sherrin Kessler, whose term is also up this year, did not file to run again.

Candidates Brian Lopez, Susan Shaw, Thomas Grasso, Francis N. Riccio III, Christine Bradley and Jessica Soltys are also running for seats this year.

Brian McCarthy, who previously filed to run, withdrew from the race.

Patch asked all the candidates a series of questions ahead of the November election. (All of the candidates were given the same questions).

Here are candidate Susan Shaw's answers below:

Susan Shaw

Campaign website:

susanshaw.org

What office are you seeking?

I am seeking a three year position on the Board of Education

Educational Background?

• B.A. in Psychology from Rutgers University
• Master’s of Science in Education and Special Education from Touro College
• Training as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (includes Educational Advocacy Training)

Occupation?

I spent close to a decade in the field of Advertising as a Media Negotiator. I loved the negotiations but knew this was not the correct field for me. In my late twenties I followed my love for education, and without any prior education or experience, became a first grade teacher in the New York City Public School System. Through the experience of working at an inner city school, I realized that I have both the passion and skill for advocating for children.

As a Stay at Home Mom, I have found two roles that have afforded me the opportunity to put my passion for education and advocating on behalf of children to good use. I have become involved in the PTA, including the roles of PTA President and the Parent Teacher Council President (6+ years), as well as becoming a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for Foster Children.

As a CASA, I am the constant person in a child’s life when they are living through a situation out of their control that can be very traumatizing and overwhelming. During this time I have sought to learn everything there is to know about the children and their current situation and then advocate for the child’s best interest both in and out of the courtroom. This role often requires that I act as an educational advocate for children within the system to ensure that all of their needs are met.

Do you have a family? Tell us about them.

My husband and I left Hoboken almost twenty years ago to start and raise a family in Cranford. Since then we have created a family of five. Our oldest daughter is now a Senior at CHS, our oldest son is a Junior, and our youngest son is entering middle school at OAS.

My husband and I feel very fortunate to have raised our three children in such a wonderful community. Over the years we have had the opportunity to be involved in our children's lives while volunteering for a variety of organizations - including the schools, our church, Girls Scouts and the Cranford Soccer Club. We have spent much of our time cheering our children on while playing soccer, baseball, basketball and track as well as supporting our children at school run events. As a family we love to travel and enjoy a multitude of outdoor activities including tennis, golf and kayaking. We feel very fortunate to call Cranford our home!

One of my children has an IEP. Over the last thirteen years I have had to be diligent at making certain that every available educational tool was afforded to my child in order to meet this child’s academic needs. This at times has felt overwhelming and a bit lonely. It is through my own experiences that I have come to understand that a parent must feel empowered to make a difference in their child’s academic career. This is not a feeling that only a parent with special needs has … it is one that every parent experiences. The dynamics of my family situation has contributed to my interest and continued involvement in advocating for the students in Cranford.

Why did you decide to run for the Board of Ed this year?

In using my background in Education and my passion for advocating for children I have actively become very involved in the School District. I was the Orange Avenue School PTA President and then the President of the Cranford Parent Teacher Council (PTC). As the PTC President I have helped facilitate and coordinate PTA initiatives with the Superintendent, Principals, PTA Presidents, the Guidance Counselors, Teachers and Nurses across the District. One such initiative that I helped coordinate was the Committee to get the Vaccines for the Teachers in the District who made the decision to get the Vaccine. This initiative was picked up and highlighted in four different news segments on NBC. Our committee received a Proclamation for this initiative from the Board of Education.

As the PTC President, I have also had the opportunity to act as the Parent Representative within the Cranford Public School District and broader Community Committees. Specifically, I have played a role on the CPSD Strategic Planning Council (Purpose to Create the Vision for the District), the CPSD Referendum Exploration Steering Committee (Purpose to create the public request for additional funds for the District, including Full Day Kindergarten), The Cranford Police Department Community Advisory Board,The Joint Action Committee on Underage Substance Abuse,Two CPSD Pandemic Response Committees, and The Equity and Inclusivity Initiative. In addition to these committees, I have had the opportunity to serve as the Parent Representative on the CPSD hiring committees for multiple roles across our district (Principals, Vice Principals, Director of Special Education, and several department heads). In each of these roles, the District gave me the opportunity to provide input and feedback as to the decisions that were being made that had had an impact on the lives of our children.

I believe my experience in Education, my passion for advocating, and my active involvement in the School District has helped me come to the decision to run for the Board of Education. I would like to take the experiences that I have and the knowledge I have of the District to continue to make a difference for the students in Cranford.

Have you previously run for Board of Ed or served on the board before?
I have not run for a Board of Education position in the past.

What do you hope to accomplish if you are elected to serve on the Cranford Board of Education?

The list is long of what I would like to accomplish as a Board of Education Member…If elected to the Board of Education I would like to have the opportunity to help promote the items addressed in the referendum that would provide upgrades to our schools, contribute to the collaborative effort of establishing curriculum, advocating resources for those with Special Education needs, continue to support those in our guidance departments looking to meet the social and emotional needs of our children, collaborate with District and the Police Department to keep our children safe, and empower the parents to have a voice for what they believe is in the best interest of their children.

As previously noted, I realize that this list is long, but over the years I have had the opportunity to be a part of several collaborative groups that have tried to address these issues. Specifically, one of the most exciting groups that I got to be a part of is seeking to provide upgrades to the District. The CPSD Referendum Exploration Committee is asking the public for funds to add additions to accommodate full day kindergarten in currently zoned neighborhood schools, air conditioning installation to a variety of all-purpose rooms, electrical service upgrades across all eight schools, provide Science classroom upgrades at CHS and updated Media Centers and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) rooms and Foods rooms in HAS, OAS and CHS.

Over the last several years I have also had the opportunity to be involved in discussions regarding the District's approach to meeting the academic, social and emotional needs of our children. I have worked with the Guidance Counselors in the District on helping coordinate support for different initiatives such as the Parent Academies, the Full Value Initiative, Assemblies, and programs that seek to include and educate the parents and meet the social and emotional needs of the children. If elected I will continue to work tirelessly to bring initiatives such as these to fruition.

What do you think is the most pressing issue for the Cranford School District?

Over the last several years, we all have lived through unprecedented times including, but not limited to - the Pandemic, Active Shooters in Schools, and Societal Discourse. As a parent there are many concerns that I have had in recent years about how these events have impacted my children’s education, the overall well being of my children, and the safety of my children. As such I believe the most pressing issue for the Cranford School District is tasked with having the correct mechanisms in place to assess the real impact of these events. The District must have a plan to identify, understand and formulate an action plan to best address these situations.

As it relates to Academics, the District must continue to assess the areas where the children have experienced learning loss and continue to implement programs and initiatives to fill the gap. In regards to the social emotional piece the District must continue to put in place initiatives that seek to address the well being of a child and to put in place activities that encourage active social engagement in the schools so a student can feel that they belong and are cared for. The Guidance Department must continue to address the concerns of bullying in the school through initiatives that seek to prevent the action before it happens and if need be have consequences when it does. Lastly, and possibly most importantly the District must be equipped to respond to an active shooter.

The task of meeting the needs of our children is paramount to the success that they will experience now and in their future. These decisions cannot be made in isolation. For the sake of our children, there must be mechanisms in place to empower the parents to feel that they have influence in creating the strategies that the District puts into place in navigating these difficult circumstances. If elected, I will seek to empower every stakeholder to have a voice that is heard.

What will you do to ensure that students feel safe at school?

There are three core elements to ensuring that students feel safe at school. These elements include the District meeting the social and emotional needs of each student; the collaborative partnership between the Police Department and the School District and their ability to assess, prevent and respond to the potential of danger; and the Parents feeling actively involved in the process that seeks to keep their children safe.

I have been fortunate to witness how our District and specifically our Guidance Department has sought to meet the emotional needs of every student. Through the District investing in the staffing of the counseling departments and initiative set up by the District (Full Value Initiative, Parent Academies, Middle School Peer, CHS PRIDE) the District has sought to address the well being of every student and has acted to coordinate an effort that facilitates a community where the students feel that there is a place for them to feel valued in the school. This atmosphere provides a safe and nurturing environment for our children to learn and grow. In addition, the presence of a School Resource Officer adds to the feeling of safety in our schools. I have witnessed that these interactions have created an opportunity for a bond to develop between the officers and the students. These officers provide the students with the knowledge that Detective “Nazarro” (now Lieutenant) cares about us and is keeping us safe!

It is of paramount importance that there is a collaborative partnership between the Police Department and the School District as the two identify their ability to assess, prevent and respond to the potential of danger. As such, the Police Department and the District have, and must continue to facilitate a coordinated effort in acquiring knowledge about the best practices of keeping schools safe. In addition the two must continue to collaboratively strategize about how to implement these practices in our particular District.

What is your stance on the new sex education curriculum that has been introduced by the state?

It is important for me to note that as we navigate this topic that we make certain that at the center of all of these discussions is the student. Every child in Cranford must feel safe and secure as they enter every school building in our town. As such, the safety and wellbeing of every student must be at the forefront of each of our minds as we collaboratively move forward to meet the expectations of any state mandate.

The State adopted the Comprehensive Health and Physical Education Standards in 2020. The standards provide guidelines for the District to follow but do not provide any specific lessons that the District must teach in order to meet the Standards. It must be noted that the school districts were given two years to implement the new standards. Our District collaboratively worked with the administrations and teachers and proactively assessed and implemented these standards two years ago. As such, our children were being taught these standards while in our living room during virtual learning.

As the District continues to navigate this difficult topic it is my belief that it is imperative that the Board be mindful of continuing to incorporate the views of three stakeholders - the District (administrators and teachers), the parents, and the students all must be heard as concerns arise. As the teachers and the administrators seek to follow a common sense approach to meet the standards it is my belief that they must continue to do it with complete transparency. The parents must be made fully aware of the new material that will be covered in order to meet the new standards. Once aware, the parents must have a forum for their concerns to be heard and addressed. If the process continues and a parent does not believe it is in the best interest of their child to learn any specific material the parent must continue to be provided the opportunity to opt out their child from the subject matter. It is important that as we navigate this topic we are mindful and respectful that this is personal to how each of us seeks to raise our children and as such each view should be heard and respected.

What is something new that you will bring to the Board in the coming year?

A well informed perspective…my academic background, my work as a media negotiator, my work within the foster system, my work across many district initiatives and proactively reaching out to so many parents in our community to gain their insights on key issues/topics are why I have a well informed perspective.

Specifically within CPSD, I have established the ability to collaborate with the stakeholders in the community about the challenges that are presently impacting our children. I have had the opportunity to take part in analyzing the data correlated with these issues through direct feedback from our community and school reports. I have visited a neighboring District of similar sizes to learn best practices. I have been a part of the District reaching out to experts for their guidance and have worked as a member of the “team” to use this knowledge to work collaboratively towards the goal of providing a safe place for our children to grow academically, socially and emotionally- is what I bring to the position.

It is this perspective that has already proven invaluable as I have negotiated and navigated difficult topics that have related to the wellbeing of our children. As indicated, I have a proven track record of being able to collaborate on complex issues impacting our children. This involvement has provided an insight into the operations of the mechanism of the school district. As such, I would be able to hit the ground running on day one!

Anything else voters should know about you?

It is my belief that you can see what a person values by where they spend their time. Over the years, I have spent much of my time volunteering in my children’s schools or at the district offices as part of committee and task force meetings. As part of my journey with the CPSD I have been involved in so many different initiatives and one of the biggest things that I noticed is a common strand that everyone wants the best for their child and a frustration when they do not believe that their voice is being heard. I believe that this problem has most likely existed throughout history, but under recent circumstances it has been daunting as a parent as we have navigated a pandemic, school shootings, and other matters impacting our social climate.

It is my belief that parents must feel empowered to make a difference in their child’s life and that empowerment comes from feeling heard. Over the last several years, I have had the opportunity to reach out to the Principals, Teachers and Parents to see what their concerns were with the District. I have also had the opportunity to collaborate with members of the School Board and the Superintendent to help address these concerns. It is my promise that if elected, I will listen to each and every concern you may have. There are many issues and most of the time there is no one right answer for an issue. It is my belief that the more collaborative the approach the better the outcome.

To recap, if elected I will use my experience in Education, my passion for advocating, and my knowledge of the School District to ensure that the District provides a learning environment where every child feels safe, secure and is given every opportunity to succeed.