Julie K. Mesaros​: Tredyffrin/Easttown School Board Candidate Profile

TREDYFFRIN-EASTTOWN, PA — With the 2025 municipal election growing ever close, voters need to be informed of who will be on their ballots Tuesday, Nov. 4.

Below is a Tredyffrin/Easttown School Board Director candidate profile of Julie K. Mesaros, who is running for a seat in Region 3:

Name: Julie K. Mesaros
Age: 47
Gender: Female
Location/Town: Wayne
Position Sought: Tredyffrin/Easttown School Director (Region 3)
Party: Democratic
Campaign website/social media: www.JulieKMesaros.com; Dr. Mesaros for Tredyffrin / Easttown - T/E School Board (Facebook page)

What are some of the toughest challenges local teachers face in 2025?

As a former K-12 classroom teacher, I understand the challenges that public school teachers generally face. In my work, I accepted the challenges which often come with this extraordinary public service role – such as to consistently achieve high standards; make do with less-than-ideal resources; and uphold an ethical responsibility for children’s education and welfare every school day. For me, these challenges were also the most satisfying aspects. Those who’ve not undertaken daily classroom teaching responsibility may not realize how physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding the job can be.

I am the only first-time candidate from Region 3 of Tredyffrin/Easttown School District ever to receive endorsement by the Tredyffrin/Easttown Education Association. I pledge to keep lines of communication open and listen to what’s important and what’s happening for teachers day to day. Our students - and the teachers who reach them directly every day - should be at the basis of school board governance and decision-making.

If elected as School Director, one of my priorities will be to ask T/E School District teachers about the challenges they’re facing. I wouldn’t know what they experience without eliciting this qualitative information directly from the source. For my doctoral dissertation, of which one part was a qualitative study, I asked retired K-12 public school administrators what types of decisions they made in their daily work. This led to information-rich data and insights into how they operated within a public school system. Similarly, I would take a listener/researcher approach by gathering input from T/E teachers and bearing this in mind when making decisions and voting on policy.

Does the prevalence of smartphones in classrooms hinder students' ability to retain lessons taught in school?

When I was a classroom teacher, most of the schools permitted students to have smartphones in the classroom without empowering teachers to limit usage. This presented a distraction to the teaching and learning process. When I taught English to international students at West Chester University, we implemented a rule to mandate students to turn their phones off and place them in a bin when entering the classroom. Before that, it was difficult for teachers to control usage and maintain students’ attention. Lesson retention by students of any age would be hindered when smartphone usage isn’t limited. The work of a teacher is already demanding enough in terms of engaging with and responding to students on a second-by-second basis during the class period.

However, I could envision certain cases where smartphone usage would be of value, such as facilitating a quiz or interactive learning activity using a smartphone app. Teachers should make it clear to students when smartphone usage is permitted or not. If rules and routines are established – as with any other student expectations – teachers can facilitate the classroom learning process according to their own styles.

How do you plan to address school safety, as well as the rise in hoax threats toward schools?

One of my priorities is safe, welcoming schools for everyone. It’s very concerning that students anywhere need to worry about school safety threats. When I was a K-12 student, school shootings and bomb threats were almost unheard of. Now, these incidents are commonplace and easier to carry out such that preventative and reactive measures are built into school safety protocols and policies. As technology advances, we see opportunistic cyber crimes, identity concealment, and abuse of artificial intelligence. This creates a burden on K-12 school staff and administration to anticipate where and how perpetrators can harm students online and on school property.

If elected as School Director, I plan to investigate all current safety and security policies, and to find out directly from the administration, staff, and students whether they perceive current policies to be adequate. For hoaxes and actual threats, it’s critical to establish a close working relationship with local and higher-level law enforcement, and to provide adequate training for staff to handle these incidents with efficiency. We can also learn from previous incidents in T/E and from incidents occurring in other school districts.

In addition, potential for school employees and volunteers to violate the boundaries of students or fellow adults is a safety concern we should always take seriously. Such ethical violations - whether sexual, emotional, and/or physical - cannot be tolerated. Pennsylvania has shored up its child protection laws in recent years after egregious sexual abuse incidents came to light. School districts must establish clear, firm behavioral expectations and punish violators without delay. Students and staff should be advised of all channels through which they can or are mandated to report suspected or known violations.

Are teachers in the district adequately compensated? If not, what should be done to address that.

Like the first question, this should be primarily directed to T/E teachers to answer. We should also look to comparable school districts in the region in terms of teacher responsibilities; program and activity offerings; and student outcomes. Compensation includes remuneration such as salary, benefits, and retirement plans. It also involves intangibles such as appreciation, job satisfaction, and opportunities for development and advancement. Both monetary and non-monetary compensation should always be distributed fairly among similarly situated teachers. There are always tradeoffs in any public budgeting process. The school board can engage teachers in this process and potentially find ways to adjust compensation as needed.

What can the district do to better support students who are struggling in school due to factors outside classrooms, such as food or housing insecurity?

This is another important matter I want to learn more about if elected as School Director. As Chief of Staff for a PA State Representative, I lead our district office which routinely helps constituents, including children, by connecting families to in-community food resources - such as the Chester County Food Bank - and to state programs like SNAP (food stamps) and SUN Bucks. However, any state or federal funding lapses could impact what PA school districts can provide as for free/reduced breakfast and lunch and other programs.

Housing insecurity is an intractable problem countywide, which very unfortunately affects children during a critical period of physical and emotional development. Under federal law, all children have the right to free, fair educational opportunity whether they have stable housing or not. In Tredyffrin/Easttown, there are community-rooted organizations like T&E Care and FLITE which have served local families in innumerable ways. In my role as Chief of Staff, I’m always looking to understand public policies and programs in order to share useful information with the public and help people resolve problems like food and housing insecurity. Likewise, as School Director, I will stay attuned to the needs of all students and seek solutions both in the community and on the state and federal levels.