Nicole Scherer: 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 Nicole Scherer, who is running to become a new member of the board.

Name: Nicole Scherer
Age: 48
Gender: Female
Location/Town: Berwyn
Party: Democrat
Campaign website/social media: www.Scherer4TESD.com, Facebook: @Scherer4TESD

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

One of the toughest challenges teachers face currently is the role of technology in the classroom and schoolwork. Technology has rapidly developed over the past 20 years, and every year (or month or day!) there are new programs and devices available, which come with new problems to face. The widespread use of smartphones has provided many positives to teachers and students. Our students have access to libraries and databases from all over the world at their fingertips, which makes doing research much easier. Teachers can use programs like Kahoot and Quizlet to make quizzes and classroom learning more interactive and fun for students. AI tools like ChatGPT can be invaluable in finding specific information or helping to take notes for students with learning challenges. On the flip side, we have seen a rise in the inability to focus, bullying, and isolation alongside the rise of smartphone usage. AI can also make it easier for students to cheat or plagiarize work. I think the challenge of finding a balanced approach to how technology is used in the classroom is something teachers, parents, students, and administrators will continue to navigate in our ever-changing world.

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

Research has shown that smartphone usage in school is linked with lower grades, and when they are removed from school test scores increase (American Academy of Pediatrics.). Constant access to smartphones means students are constantly being pulled away from being actively engaged in learning due to the many pings and vibrations of notifications. I am happy to see that TESD has been actively exploring the use and restriction of smartphones at school, and that many teachers at Conestoga have students put their phones in a central storage area when they enter the classroom. As mentioned above, I think this is an issue that our community will need to continually evaluate as more research is done and technology develops in the future.

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

As a school board member, my role in addressing school safety would be to continually re-evaluate policies and procedures around potential threats to our school buildings and community. In the past, I have participated in safety and threat assessment focus groups held by the TESD administration, as well as the most recent Strategic Planning process, which updated our goals and action plan concerning school safety. TESD has wonderful partnerships with our local police departments, as well as the Chester County Emergency Management Division, and practices regular walk-throughs and trainings with staff and students on how to handle emergencies of all kinds. Hoax threats are not necessarily something we can prevent from occurring, but I believe that the district responds to them in the best way possible, as evidenced by the decision on August 28, 2025, to delay the opening of Conestoga High School in response to a bomb threat. First responders and administrators did not open the school until they were confident that the threat was unfounded and it was safe for students and staff to enter the building.

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

I do believe our TESD teachers are adequately and fairly compensated, and this can be seen in the high number of teachers who have been teaching in our district for so many years. We also have a large number of teachers that have Ph.D.s teaching in all levels of our schools, and are supported by the district in their educational and professional goals. I look forward to diving further into this topic in 2027, when the district and teachers renegotiate their contract.

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?

For the past 20 years, TESD has had several partner organizations in place that help support students and families who face a variety of barriers, such as food and housing insecurity, financial challenges, job loss, transportation issues, etc. Both T &E Cares and FLITE work with TESD staff, such as guidance counselors and teachers, to make sure that all children in TE schools can fully access the educational opportunities available to our community. As a member of the FLITE Board of Trustees, we are always talking about how to improve this partnership to ensure staff and families know about all of the programs available to them. Additionally, our state implemented a universal free breakfast program in the 2023-2024 school year, and I would like to see our district, as well as other local school districts, lobby for an expansion of that program to include lunch as well. Many families do not meet the income requirements for free and reduced lunch, but are still struggling to make ends meet. Ensuring that all children can get breakfast and lunch at school helps to ease that burden while also making sure our students have the nutrition they need to learn each day.