To the editor:
I am writing to express my wholehearted support for Phil McQueen for re-election to the Lynnfield School Committee, as I did in the previous School Committee election in 2018.
When Phil first ran for School Committee in 2018, I reached out to get to know him as a candidate because I felt that his experience as a public school educator and his long record of volunteerism in town made him a standout candidate. Many professional and volunteer experiences informed that impression for me. I am a longtime public school educator of first graders, preschoolers, and pre-service educators.
I worked at Summer Street School providing math Intervention for third and fourth graders. I have served on the Summer Street School Parent-Teacher Organization executive board for the past six years.
All of these experiences allow me to understand that Phil’s professional and volunteer experiences make him uniquely suited to the following:
*understanding how the policy School Committee writes determines the experience of teachers implementing the curriculum and programming driven by that policy.
*continuing the Lynnfield School Committee’s tradition of working closely with our administrative leadership, with the Lynnfield Teachers Association, and with individual teachers to seek insight about proposed policies and initiatives.
*recognizing how School Committee policy influences the school improvement plans and district goals that our PTOs work hard to support with funds and time.
*sustaining positive relationships with adult caregivers of students in the district.
A longtime educator understands the implications of these decisions and relationships, insightfully takes a deep dive into curriculum and instructional practice when considering initiatives, understands how policy and initiatives can influence the culture of a school or district, and carefully considers the outcomes desired in these methods before writing policy or embracing new initiatives.
That makes the voice of a longtime educator incredibly important among those at the School Committee “table.”
However, my support of Phil goes deeper than the fact that he has a public educator’s insight into the policy he helps to write. I am not someone who leaps to perspectives quickly.
I asked about him among School Committee colleagues. He is described as, “not someone who speaks just to speak,” but rather “someone who speaks with purpose (and) when he has something important to add to the conversation.”
Listening is among the most important acts a School Committee member can engage in, and this is truly a quality that has inspired me to continue to support Phil.
My support of Phil’s candidacy is also about the goals and policy the School Committee has established and enacted during his tenure and about his role in that work. Among these are:
*an unfailing commitment to addressing diversity, equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in our district. Between 2018 and now, that commitment has resulted in the creation and adoption of a DEI policy, hiring of an equity consultant and, through Phil’s instrumental efforts, working with School Superintendent Kristen Vogel to establish the Equity and Diversity Committee.
His work also helped to select DEI professional learning opportunities for school staff and Phil showed dedication to gaining insight into the experiences of families working within the purview of the Special Services Department.
Phil is the current School Committee Liaison to the Special Education Parent Advisory Council. In this capacity, he has worked to maintain insight on behalf of these families. He shares that insight with the School Committee regularly, adding the nuanced understanding that only a public school educator can have about their experiences.
Phil has focused on prioritization of social-emotional learning (SEL) and well-being, including the provision of adjustment counselors at the elementary and middle schools and the addition of numerous other SEL resources and supports at all levels.
He supports increasing educational opportunities for teachers and students in the school district, including expanding advanced placement opportunities at the high school, the addition of more STEM initiatives and world language opportunities district-wide (and in partnership with Lynnfield Community Schools), and increasing both professional development and leadership opportunities for teachers district-wide.
He supported efforts to continue on a path to increasing excellence by participating in the hiring of a new superintendent and student services director, bringing a voice of experience to both contract negotiations with the Lynnfield Teachers Association and the budgeting process, and contributing practical experience to the elementary expansion project on the part of the School Committee.
During Phil’s tenure, the schools in our district have received recognitions of excellence both within Essex County (with Summer Street School ranked first in the county; Huckleberry Hill School ranked fourth in the county; Lynnfield Middle School ranked at fourth in the county) and with the high school ranked eleventh in the state.
Phil’s professional and in-town volunteer experiences “earned” him my vote in the 2018 School Committee election because I felt he would offer many valuable insights as a public school educator that would help our district continue to seek excellence, and he has done just that.
I continue to support Phil because the path to excellence in education is a “long game.” The work he has contributed to the School Committee these last three years has made my children’s schooling experience broader, more inclusive, more supportive of their emotional well-being, and offered them more depth of academic opportunity.
His voice and his experience are of immeasurable value in the work of the School Committee and I urge you all, my fellow Lynnfield residents, to keep long-term goals in mind when you vote in April.
Kathryn Price
12 Russet Lane
