Jessie Steigerwald for School Committee

Thank you!

JESSIE

RE-ELECTED FOR SCHOOL COMMITTEE

March 3, 2015

Special thanks from Jessie

I am honored to have earned re-election to the Lexington School Committee and look forward to serving our children, schools and community. Thank you to every endorser, sign holder, lawn sign host, letter writer, coffee host, and campaign contributor. Many of you were instrumental in getting out the vote by sending reminders to friends, and with low turnout this with critical. You have all been part of my extended campaign team and, together, we were successful! Links at the end of this letter will take you to the Town Clerk's results and the Minuteman's coverage of Election Night.

This winter has been especially challenging for a local campaign, and our grassroots approach involved many volunteers climbing on snowbanks, shoveling out signs, and other New England-specific adjustments. Many of you stood outside in below freezing weather to raise awareness about my candidacy and hand warmers don't go far enough to thank you.

I am grateful to the many civic organizations who hosted candidate forums or debates. I am proud to have earned endorsements from the Lexington Minuteman and the Chinese American Association of Lexington for the third consecutive campaign.

Thank you to the campaign team members who gave time daily - Manager Judy Zola, Treasurer Melanie Lin, Lawn Sign Department Betty Gau, Sign Holding Ilene Benghiat, Web Gil Benghiat and Julia Steigerwald Schnall, Designer Cristina Burwell, Photography Zack Steigerwald Schnall, Hospitality Department Julie Miller and Diane Biglow, and Social Media Department & Strategist Tanya Morrisett. Several people took on the behind-the-scenes work of planting lawn signs, and again - we could not have covered the whole town without lots of help. My family serve as cornerstones every day, providing support and encouragement throughout the campaign and during my tenure!

For those who hosted coffees, and shoveled snow paths for people to come over - thank you so much. Opening your home shows your investment in making this an inclusive and welcoming process and helped convey the spirit with which I approach my service on the School Committee.

I believe we share a core value that our public school system is a vital way to provide greater equity, opportunity and inspiration for every child. In this next term, I will include the concerns you raised and the ideas you shared. As you have been there for me, helping others become more aware of my work and this campaign, I will be there for Lexington's children. Always please share your feedback, ask questions and I will do my best to be helpful.

Together, and working with our next superintendent, we will continue Lexington's tradition of educational excellence, while also stretching our school culture a bit to expand the feeling of inclusiveness, to shine a light on our desire to have students and staff experience more inspiration than stress, and create new paths between stakeholders so we are better connected in support of our children and public schools.

TOWN CLERK RESULTS

ELECTION NIGHT PHOTOS

MINUTEMAN ELECTION ARTICLE

CAMPAIGN BUZZ

February 26, 2015

Minuteman Newspaper Endorses Jessie

Many thanks to the Minuteman for recognizing Jessie's efforts to make the School Committee more transparent and responsive to the community, and for endorsing her candidacy!

February 19, 2015

League of Women Voters Video Available at LexMedia

If you would like to view all three candidates, you can watch the Candidate Forum by clicking the heading above. Candidates for Planning Board begin the program and School Committee candidates begin just after 24:52.

February 14, 2015

Happy Valentine's Day - Coffee Invitation

Please stop by at the home of Laurence Smith and bring your questions and ideas! Thank you to the League of Women Voters of Lexington for the wonderful Candidates' Night held at Clarke Middle School this past Thursday.

February 9, 2015

New resources available!

Lexington resident Andrei Radulescu-Banu coordinated a questionnaire for candidates. He asked questions about many important issues, from our current capital challenges to diversity and student stress. You may find my answers by clicking the heading above. All candidate responses are available here.

February 2, 2015

Coffee with the Candidates

You can learn more about me by watching the recent video interview "Coffee with the Candidates." Caitlyn Kelliher (Lexington Minuteman) and Jim Shaw (Colonial Times) interviewed all three School Committee candidates and you can find all interviews at the LexMedia site under "Coffee with the Candidates."

February 1, 2015

Busy month ahead!

Thank you to the members of the Chinese American Association of Lexington (CAAL) for hosting a terrific candidate forum this past Saturday. I am very honored to have received CAAL's endorsement!

January 2015

Jessie's 2015 campaign!

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I am proud of our community’s commitment to public education, and am excited to run for a third term on our School Committee. It has been my privilege to serve as an advocate for our students, families, staff and community.

Please join me for tea/coffee and conversation at any public event listed under the Meet Jessie page.

I am running for re-election because I want to continue to incorporate your input into the decisions that shape the future for our students. Today, we must: accommodate increasing enrollment at all levels; hire our next superintendent; promote academic, social and emotional growth for all students; and continually raise the quality of professional development.

If re-elected, I will continue to incorporate student, family, and staff feedback as we craft our budget, policies and district goals.

Current projects:

Chair Policy Subcommittee – Complete Review of Lexington Public School Policies
Co-Chair Superintendent Search Committee – Structure Smooth Transition to Next Superintendent
Collaborate to Improve Quality and Capacity of School Facilities – Update LPS Master Plan for School Buildings
Support Comprehensive Review of Superintendent’s Proposed 2015-2016 Budget, Address Community Feedback
Support 2014-2015 Site-Based School Council Roundtable, Empower SBSC members to align School Improvement Plans with District Goals

I hope to earn your vote and welcome feedback at jess@shininghours.com. How do you define success for our schools? For our students? For our School Committee? If you are willing to help work on the campaign, please let me know!

Very sincerely yours,

Jessie Steigerwald

MY BUTTON