2023 Stamford Election Profile: Antonia Better-Wirz For Board Of Ed.

STAMFORD, CT — Election Day on Nov. 7 is fast approaching, and there are a number of key races on the ballot in Stamford.

Patch reached out to candidates for local office to get more information on their campaigns and the issues that are facing the city.

Name

Antonia Better-Wirz

How old will you be as of Election Day?

54

What city or town do you live in?

Stamford

What office are you seeking?

Board of Education

Please give us your party affiliation.

Democrat

Education.

Associates Degree in Early Childhood Education

What is your occupation?

Bilingual Early Childhood Educational Coach (8 years)

Do you have a family? If so, please tell us about them.

Jeff Wirz (husband), Matthew (23), Lucas (21), Diego (19)

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Have you ever held a public office, whether appointive or elective?

No

Now we'd like to ask a few questions about your reasons for running and your general views on politics and government. First, why are you seeking this office?

For many years I have been preparing to serve on the Stamford Board of Education. I have received encouragement from others to run for years. There are several reasons why I am running, but first and foremost I am running because there is a significant segment of our population who needs my representation on the BOE - that is the immigrant, and specifically the Latino population. I am a firm believer that every child (and family) deserves the right to receive fair and equitable access to educational resources in our schools and our community.

The immigrant population in Stamford needs a voice who will speak for and represent them, who understands their needs, and who can help the district and the administration to better understand their unique experiences and perspectives. I also hope to be able to inspire more immigrants to become involved in their schools. It’s important they know they can have their own voice too, and I hope to serve as a role model for them to become leaders in the future in our community as well.

I myself am an immigrant from Colombia. I came here in my early 20’s and for years I have worked as an advocate for immigrant children and families in Stamford, both as a volunteer parent and as a professional working in early childhood education and social services. I know it is challenging to raise a family while also learning a new language, adapting to a new culture, and advocating for our children in our schools, and often while also working multiple jobs.

I believe I can offer a unique perspective for the BOE, and I hope to empower the voices in our community who are often not heard.

Please complete this statement: The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is ____, and this is what I intend to do about it.

The single most pressing issue facing a large number of our students is achieving proficiency in the English language. This includes full proficiency in reading, writing and oral communications. According to data provided by the district, 51% of our student population identifies as Hispanic or Latino of any race, and 16.6% of our students are identified as English Language Learners. There are over 70 different languages spoken at home, including Spanish, Creole-Haitian, Ukrainian, Bengali, Polish, Russian, Portuguese, Arabic and many more.

While this diversity contributes to making our schools culturally rich, this also presents challenges for our students and our educators. Expanding resources to help these students to become proficient in English early in school is something that will benefit ALL of our children. The end result will be greater interactions between students of all backgrounds, increased dialog in classroom settings, stronger academics in all classroom subjects, improved graduation rates, and of course better test scores.

My objective as a member of the BOE will be to ensure a consistent focus on building resources that will contribute toward English proficiency among our English language learners, and especially on development during the earlier years. I also want to ensure that all newer immigrants, regardless of age and grade level and languages spoken, are immediately provided with the resources they need to be successful in our schools.

What are the major differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

What makes me unique is the fact that I am bilingual with English being my second language, and also I have many years of experience working in the field of early childhood education. As an immigrant I have had many unique experiences that have helped me to relate to those of today’s young parents. Beginning with the ten years before I had children I had to learn the English language and put myself through school. I then had the opportunity to work in different fields for various community organizations relating to early childhood education and social services.

As a preschool teacher, I worked with parents from different cultural backgrounds and who spoke different languages. As an outreach worker I supported first-time mothers with services for prevention of child abuse and neglect where I learned some of the many struggles they face in today’s society. As an advocate for immigrants and young adults I have learned to understand the many struggles of young parents who don’t understand the local systems. Having worked on the front lines in different areas has provided me with a perspective that many leaders in our community cannot relate to.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?

I believe family and community engagement is extremely important at all levels in education and for all children and families, regardless of background. I have seen so much improvement at the school level in recent years, especially in the area of multicultural events and activities that invite community participation. But I know there are still many parents who feel disconnected and I am often confronted with stories from parents who feel they aren't being heard, which tells me there is still great work to be done in regards to family engagement.

I would like to see more Stamford community involvement in our schools as well. Resources within our school system will always be financially limited, but by extending our outreach to building productive partnerships with other community organizations we can work together to provide added educational support and resources for our students.

We also need to seek more partnerships and support from our local for-profit small businesses and corporations.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I have served on various community boards over the years and have participated at many different levels, both as a community volunteer and as a professional working for 25+ years in social services in Stamford. One of my strengths is having many high level experiences working with various community leaders at the local and state levels. These leaders often come to me when they want insight on how to engage with the Latino community. Although I have never held any public office, I believe people see me as an important leader within the Latino population in Stamford.

My career began as a preschool teacher working at Stamford’s School Readiness Program at the William Pitt Child Development Center. When I was there I implemented a bilingual “Learning-in-a-Bag Program” where I taught Spanish-speaking parents how to incorporate teaching and learning experiences into their lifestyles at home with their very young children using activities that didn’t cost them any money. I helped these parents to feel comfortable teaching their own children using English words, and I also talked about how they can get involved with their schools, and why it is important for them to interact with their teachers.

As a teacher and as an advocate, as well as a bilingual educational coach, I can speak first-hand about the importance of working with children and their parents at an early age. I have been lucky enough to have worked with so many of Stamford’s community organizations over the years. I have learned so much working in early childhood education in Stamford and I hope to give back some of my knowledge, experience and expertise as a new member of the Stamford Board of Education.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

The best advice anyone ever gave to me was the importance of being true to myself. I am comfortable with who I am and what I believe in. I speak the truth about how I feel and I believe people respect me for that. I always respect others whether they agree with me on a subject or not. I think it's important that we all get along if we want to accomplish anything together. That means respecting each other’s opinions and actively listening to them and understanding their point of view.

I believe we all generally have the same goals for the children’s futures. One of my strengths as an advocate of children and families is being a connector of people and resources. I hope that as a member of the Stamford BOE, I can help to make new connections within our community that will help us to enhance the programs and services offered through Stamford's public school system.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

Anyone who knows me knows that I am passionate about helping children. Children are the seeds to a sustainable future. I believe every child deserves fair and equitable access to educational resources, and every child deserves an equal opportunity. As adults it is our responsibility to be mentors for our youth. Whether a child is just learning to walk or talk, or they are negotiating the complex social pathways of adolescence, they all need us. They’re always watching and learning from us. We sometimes forget that. I hope that my passion shows and that I can make a difference in the lives of the people around me.

My husband and I moved to Stamford 31 years ago and we made this our home. We have raised three young men who were born in Stamford and who attended and graduated from Stamford Public Schools. We were always actively involved in their schools and in the community.

I currently work as an educational coach at All Our Kin where I mentor and support family home-based early childcare educators in Stamford. I am also currently serving on the Citizen Advisory Board at The Ferguson Library, and I am a member of Crisol and Acuarela, a coalition of Latino leaders in our community. My husband and I are also both graduates of the Stamford Parent Leadership Training Institute.