LETTER: Support Sarah Hernandez for School Board

It is with great pleasure to write this letter for Sarah Hernandez. She was born in Connecticut to a military family, Sarah Hernandez began life with a respect for service, morality, and country. Her father served the Air Force as a Korean cryptologist for the NSA, and her mother served her community as a pre-K and kindergarten teacher. Her family returned to Connecticut in 1995.

Sarah has worked in a variety of educational settings over the past two decades. She has been a personal care assistant for a young girl with cerebral palsy, a teacher with Head Start, and a high school paraprofessional. In her early 30s, she made the decision to pursue formal education and, in 2014, earned her Master of Occupational Therapy.

As an occupational therapist (OT), Sarah has worked as a mental health OT in a residential treatment facility for adolescent boys. She currently works in Early Intervention primarily with toddlers on the Autism spectrum and as an Assistant Professor of occupational therapy at Bay Path University. Her specialties include pediatrics, mental health, and sensory integration. Sarah has earned an award for excellence in teaching and has presented at a national conference after co-authoring a children’s book to help children and parents with PTSD.

The Hernandez family includes Sarah and her husband, Jeremy; her three children José, Esther, and Chase; and one dog, three cats, and two guinea pigs. Sarah and her husband also serve as therapeutic foster parents for the Department of Children and Families. Her children have attended Stowe, Nathan Hale, JFK, Fermi, and Enfield High.

Sarah’s educational philosophy can be summed up with the popular Dr. Seuss quote, “A person is a person no matter how small.” All students in Enfield deserve a dynamic, engaging education. Sarah, along with the rest of the Democratic slate for Board of Education, will champion the education Enfield deserves.

I hope that you will vote for Sarah and the whole Democratic slate in November.

Charlie Ladd
Enfield

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