13 May, 2022
This year, there are 2 School Committee Candidates for each of the 3 seats. For the one year seat: Jennifer Devlin or Jared Pray. For the 2 year seat: Ashley Fogg or Holly Morand. For the 3 year seat: Nancy Richards-Cavanaugh or Christopher Melton. We gave all candidates in these 3 School Committee races an opportunity to answer some questions to be posted on our website. Below, view the questions and responses from all Candidates in these races who submitted answers.
School Committee (3 Year Seat: Nancy Richards-Cavanaugh or Christopher Melton)
1) What experience and qualifications will you bring to the board if elected?
Nancy Richards-Cavanaugh:
I have served on the School Committee for the past 6 years, twice as the chair, and, in that time, I have served on many subcommittees as well. In addition to the hands on experience of delving deeply into the vast array of issues that have come before the School Committee in that time, I have participated in School Committee development through conferences and trainings through the Massachusetts Association of School Committees and I have a keen understanding of the issues that will face the School Committee in the coming years.
Prior to first being elected to the School Committee in 2016, I spent time volunteering in each of the schools, worked on the board of eHop, served on the executive board of the HPTA (now HPTO), and covered the School Committee for the Hopkinton Independent for many years, giving me a broad historical view of issues that have confronted the schools over the past nearly 25 years I have lived in Hopkinton. As the saying goes, “It’s hard to know where we are going if you don’t already know where we have been.”
Professionally, I am a clinical social worker and have spent my career in the mental-health field, and have a well honed understanding of the youth mental health crisis that we have been facing since before the pandemic. My work in the field also offers perspective on the work that needs to be done in wake of the pandemic.
I have collaborated with local and state elected officials and community organizations to help bring both programming and funding to the District to offset cost and increase opportunities.
2) If elected, what are your top priorities?
Nancy Richards-Cavanaugh:
1) work with the community to address the continued growth our district has seen and will continue to see for at least the next 10 years. We are in the midst of a feasibility study to address the constraints of the Elmwood School and voters passed an article to fully fund the 4 classroom addition to Marathon. We will need significant community involvement (public forums, listening tours, etc) to help develop a vision and plan for implementation for how to address campus wide improvements needed for spatial and programmatic needs in the coming years over which time we are predicted top welcome over 700 additional students.
2) Continue to address the mental health crisis, both with social and emotional learning for all students to help students before they are in crisis, and with a review of the resources we currently have in-school and town-wide to ensure students in crisis have adequate treatment to allow them to access the curriculum and participate fully in school.
3) Continue work to address bullying and bias-related incidents. This will require sustained efforts with our students and community to improve the culture of not just equity and inclusion, but of understanding and kindness. It’s important to note that this work is also supported by continuing to develop the social and emotional learning mentioned above.
3) Do you support the current State COVID-19 guidelines for Schools and is there anything you felt should have been done differently during the pandemic?
Nancy Richards-Cavanaugh:
Yes, I do support the current State COVID-19 guidelines for Schools at this time. We are fully open and in person for all of our academic and extracurricular programs and we support families’ choices about masking. While I recognize that cases have risen locally over the past 2 weeks, I believe we are at a different point in the pandemic than we were even a few months ago, both with our understanding of the virus as well as available treatments for those who become ill. The School Committee spent many hours debating and considering how to implement state guidelines from March 2020 when the schools shut down to February 2022 when the state lifted the universal mask mandate for k-12 schools, always with balancing physical safety as we understood it at the time with social and emotional needs. There were times when our schools led the pack in lifting restrictions, such as when we were the first district in the state to do a trial of a mask optional policy at our High School, and there were times when we exercised increased caution. It was a constant balancing act to ensure we were doing the best for our students.
There were, however, times when the state waited until what felt like the last possible minute to set guidelines and mandates which left local School Committees in a tough place trying to make decisions about health and safety without knowing what the state would do. For example, communities across the state were up in arms about whether or not schools would be required to universally mask for the fall of 2021. Most School Committees needed to vote on this before the state finally issued guidelines in order to be prepared to open the doors to their schools in August 2021.
4) Are there any changes to education you feel are needed in Hopkinton? If so, what and why?
Nancy Richards-Cavanaugh:
It’s important to constantly evaluate what we are doing in our schools. Evidence based practices and a clear understanding of our students’ needs evolve with time and we need schools which can continue to respond appropriately to these changes in under standing and conditions. While our District was rated #1 in the state by Niche earlier this year, the rankings only tell a piece of the story. One of the things that I have tried to do as a School Committee member is to increase transparency and engagement with the School Committee. I instituted the practice of holding office hours for the community to have easy access to the Committee and I keep a pretty active social media presence with school related information to encourage an exchange of information and ideas.
Community concerns brought forward in the past year included programming for our gifted and talented students as well as services for our students with dyslexia. I would love to see an increase in extracurricular programming to increase how we are able to meet social and intellectual needs of our gifted and talented students. Differentiation in the classroom for our students is key no matter where a student falls academically in any particular area… whether it’s an advanced learner, a struggling learner or a student who falls anywhere in between. Students need appropriate challenges and supports in their classroom to meet where they are at, but I also believe that extracurricular extensions could play an even bigger role than they do currently.
There is a plan in place to continue to improve how we screen students for dyslexia with a new screening tool in the fall as well as to improve supports available for dyslexic stu dents, particularly as more educators are able to get certified in Orton-Gillingham. I am hopeful that we will see progress in this area in the coming year, but certainly this is an area I would expect the School Committee to continue hold a specific interest.
As we address the space constraints across the district, I believe it will open up in creased programmatic opportunities across the board. We are in a unique position as we plan for our spaces in the future to be able to dream what we want the schools to look like programmatically for generations to come.
School Committee (2 Year Seat: Ashley Fogg or Holly Morand)
1) What experience and qualifications will you bring to the board if elected?
Holly Morand:
I am the mother of two young learners in our elementary schools and a scientist, researcher, social worker, and community volunteer. In my career as a mental health professional, I gained an in-depth understanding of the issues our neighbors faced daily when I practiced as a community social worker here in Hopkinton, and I served as an in-school social worker in both Franklin and Milford. I have served as the President of the HPTA, which gave me experience managing over a hundred volunteers and a six-figure budget. I am currently a Board Member of the Hopkinton Freedom Team, which promotes love, inclusion, and trust to support and unify our community. Professionally I am currently employed as a research project manager for Brigham and Women's Hospital in a unit serving roughly 500 kidney transplant patients.
I am open to discussions on any topic and all views to help deliberative decision-making. All stakeholders should be involved in important decisions, and all voices are valuable. I view the School Committee as a job that requires many of the skills I learned as a social worker: active listening, mutual respect, collaboration, and trust-building. As your School Committee member, I vow to use all my expertise and insight working in our community to make sure our schools engage and support our children for years to come.
Ashley Fogg:
I grew up in Hopkinton and attended the public schools. I have a lengthened understanding of its past and how it has grown into this amazing community. I have a Bachelor of Science in Applied Legal Studies from Suffolk University in Boston.
I think it is very important to actually understand and look at what the responsibilities of a School Committee member are as put forth by the laws of Massachusetts.
The M.G.L. Part I, Title XII, Ch. 71, Sec. 37 breaks down the 3 responsibilities and duties of the school committee, all of which I am qualified to handle and ready to take on.
These duties are:
1. The power to select and to terminate the Superintendent
2. Review and approve budgets
3. Establish educational goals and policies for the school
The first one speaks about our Superintendent Carol Cavanaugh. Last year, she signed a 5-year contract with HPS. Therefore the hiring of a new Superintendent during this School Committee tenure would not apply to either me or the other candidate for the 2-year seat. The second one is to review and approve budgets. We have a Budget Director who helps guide the School Committee members. I am very organized, detail oriented, a fast learner and work well under pressure. This skill set will enable me to make sound decisions regarding the budget. I believe the third duty is the most relevant and important requisite for a School Committee member. Reviewing and implementing policy for Hopkinton Public Schools is what most of our time and energy will be put into during our tenure as members of the School Committee.
As a parent of elementary-aged kids, I am uniquely qualified to shape and understand those policies. I am directly affected by those policies and living them out with my own children. The School Committee currently does not have a representative who has elementary-aged learners in our schools. The policies that the School Committee will decide and put in place will have a real life impact on my family and therefore give me a greater understanding of their importance and effect on the students in town.
Lastly, I come from a legal background. My legal education and experience has taught me to be organized, patient, to work well under pressure and also be a good teammate. I have also learned good negotiation skills, which will be relevant when negotiating with teachers unions, etc. This is also another unique asset I bring to the School Committee.
2) If elected, what are your top priorities?
Holly Morand:
From day one of my campaign, I have been meeting with stakeholders and researching the critical issues our schools are facing in the years ahead so I can hit the ground running. My top priorities (in no particular order) are: (1) tackling our continuing community growth; (2) addressing our unprecedented mental health crisis, and (3) Our diversity is our strength and should be acknowledged every day by promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion of all members of our school community.
First, to uphold our academic excellence while balancing budgetary limits with our continuing community growth. Funds need to be distributed equitably to support all students so they can succeed and need to ensure the school infrastructure has the flexibility to handle anticipated growth. Second, we need to address our unprecedented mental health crises by expanding access where gaps exist. I would love to step up all our staff training so that every professional and anyone on staff at the schools who encounter students is equipped to help our students socially and emotionally. There are budget-friendly programs available to help K-12 educators and staff better support mental health in schools, including the free WISE program, which includes an online course, a resource library, and a website (classroomwise.org). Third, and not unrelated to our current mental health crisis, we need to ensure that our schools promote an atmosphere of respect, empathy, equity & inclusion for ALL students. Our schools have witnessed a disturbing rise in harassment and bullying, and this priority requires an understanding of what types of struggles our kids are experiencing at every age and providing age-appropriate resources and collaborative programs to help our kids learn about different kinds of families, and cultures, backgrounds, as well as how to engage with those who are different from us, with respect and consideration.
Ashley Fogg:
My top priorities if elected are the following are several issues:
1. The mental health crisis facing our children - We need to start giving our children HOPE for the future. The past 2 years we've been telling our children to be alarmed, that the world is an uncertain place. Children have been removed from real-life interaction, and the normal development that typically happens did not take place. We need to start having our children look forward to their future and have hope for their goals. As adults we set the tone... we can do better.
2. Managing effectively the exponential growth we have seen in our student population in the last several years - We are expecting large enrollment growth in the next 10 years! We need to continue to look for ways to improve and expand the school buildings and campuses to handle such an increase.
3. Continuing the excellence of Hopkinton Public Schools - Hopkinton already does a phenomenal job. I hope to provide a new perspective and bring all voices to the table when it comes to implementing policies that will promote our students.
4. Keep our children in a full-time structure - I think keeping students in a full-time structure is vitally important. (Many say this is a non-issue now, but if COVID numbers rise in the Fall/Winter - this could be a very real issue we may face again.) When kids go to school they feel cared for and supported, and have a sense of belonging. The lockdown and subsequent isolation of remote learning caused a severe disruption to their well-being. I would absolutely do all in my power to keep our kids in school, full-time.
3) Do you support the current State COVID-19 guidelines for Schools and is there anything you felt should have been done differently during the pandemic?
Ashley Fogg:
I do support the current State COVID-19 guidelines. As stated above, I think our kids should be in a full-time structure and not remote learning. Many of the mental health issues we are now seeing are a result of the lockdown and remote learning. I think masking should also be a family’s choice. If a family chooses to mask, that is 100 percent okay too.
Holly Morand:
Yes, I support the current COVID-19 optional masking guidelines, but Covid guidelines from the AAP, AMA, and CDC have not only been updated on school masking but in all situations. The beauty of being data and research-focused is that the science changes as more data becomes available. I agreed with the hybrid and remote options offered for fall 2020, dedicated teachers and staff did an amazing job putting together these learning options. In Spring of 2021, I was concerned that the District did not take our teachers’ safety concerns seriously about increasing our in-school student population without upholding social distancing standards seriously, and before teachers and staff could achieve full vaccination protection.
For the 2021-2022 academic year, the key issue was universal masking, there were no remote options offered and children under 12 were ineligible for vaccination, global masking was an especially important mitigation strategy. I was glad the District followed the AAP recommendation, which allowed more students to come to school in person safely. I was proudly part of a team of 675 concerned neighbors who advocated for our District to follow the science in August. When factors had changed in the spring, I worked again with 352 concerned neighbors to encourage the District to consider a more cautious approach to off ramping by delaying optional masking for just two weeks (until March 14) to accommodate post-February vacation exposure and to consider additional safety precautions. While school masking is now a resolved issue, I continue to stand by my position that optional masking is the right choice in our schools.
4) Are there any changes to education you feel are needed in Hopkinton? If so, what and why?
Ashley Fogg:
After speaking to community members, many parents and students would like to see more practical classes being offered at Hopkinton Public Schools such as those that teach financial literacy and other life skills that are so vital upon graduating. These classes would help lay the foundation to build strong money habits and skills. Providing these opportunities will set up our kids up for life long success.
I do think Hopkinton Public Schools has excelled in many areas including providing children with extra support or special options in their education. I would welcome emails, comments and conversations from any parent or community member that has further suggestions or ideas on how to improve our schools.
Holly Morand:
Hopkinton has extraordinary schools, but we certainly have areas to grow and improve. After speaking with many parents in the community about the various requirements of their children, one of the recurring issues I heard is that parents do not have the information they need to understand curriculum decisions that are made for their kids. This has come from parents across the spectrum of potential educational needs.
I suggest releasing de-identified data/known performance indicators (KPIs) of these curriculum decisions. I have studied the District’s presentations on both the dyslexia program and gifted learners' curriculum, which are very important to the community. Neither presentation provided any data from Hopkinton students, aside from MCAS data which is not intended as an assessment for specific curriculums. If parents are told that a particular strategy works for their child, the district should provide data to manage expectations on all sides. This plan will help both the schools and the parents, as we ensure that methods appropriate for these learners are used, parents will know how and why their children are given a particular strategy, and teachers will use the appropriate approach for student needs.
School Committee (1 Year Seat: Jennifer Devlin or Jared Pray)
1) What experience and qualifications will you bring to the board if elected?
Jared Pray:
I bring a business mindset, and importantly, a history of delivering on objectives. I also bring the perspective of working parents with young children to this role, and uniquely on this next school committee, the perspective of that of a father. Much has been made of the fact that, unlike my opponent, I do not have previous experience on the school -- however, the fresh perspective and penchant for action that I bring is exactly what is needed. If we want our schools to remain top-tier, we cannot be passive.
2) If elected, what are your top priorities?
Jared Pray:
1. We must do more to support all kinds of learners, including students with learning disabilities and special needs as well as the needs of advanced learners (particularly those in younger grades). Investment by the community has made this a top-10 district in MA. The next school committee must commit to maintaining the current standard of excellence.
2. With the recent and projected enrollment growth, we must plan for future space needs. While a replacement for Elmwood is the biggest near-term need, let’s continue our work towards the proposed long-term master plan to ensure that the Elmwood replacement fits our long-term and short-term needs.
3. We must be more diligent in ensuring that our schools are a safe, positive environment for each and every student.
3) Do you support the current State COVID-19 guidelines for Schools and is there anything you felt should have been done differently during the pandemic?
Jared Pray:
In the early days of the pandemic, this town and the state took a cautious approach towards schools, which was both admirable and understandable. As we progressed into mid- and late-2020, and into 2021, we learned more about Covid and the limits of remote learning, but we failed to adjust. We knew our children were struggling greatly. We knew that virtual and hybrid learning was severely limiting for all students, and of little value for the youngest learners. We knew all children, and particularly our middle and high schoolers, were struggling badly from a social and emotional perspective. We even knew, based on the state's published data, that Hopkinton had one of the lowest amount of face-to-face learning times in the state. On the contrary, we saw the town fair well, with one of the lowest Covid infection rates while achieving one of the highest rates of vaccination in the state. Yet with all of this information, as we watched the towns around us work towards returning children to school, our school committee did nothing -- our district did not return to full time schooling until the state mandated it. This response, or lack thereof, is simply inexcusable. It may be easy to assume (or hope) that decisions around Covid are behind us -- however, the importance of evaluating data and decisively moving forward, for our space planning, our curriculum, and our tax dollars, remains paramount.
4) Are there any changes to education you feel are needed in Hopkinton? If so, what and why?
Jared Pray:
We have historically done many things well, as reflected in the various rankings of our high school and our district -- like all members of the school committee present and future, I would seek to maintain that level of excellence. One area that we must continue to improve is supporting individualized learning for all levels. For example, this district needs better programming for advanced learners, particularly at the lower grade levels. Additionally, while we have made improvements in supporting students with learning disabilities and special needs, we still have work to do.
