Trumbull Election: Julia McNamee For Trumbull Board Of Education

TRUMBULL, CT — Election Day is approaching fast, and a number of key positions in Trumbull will be on the ballot.

To help readers make an informed decision on Nov. 2, Patch has reached out to local candidates to share their views on various topics of importance in town.

Patch will post these candidate profiles over the next couple of weeks, so check back often to see the latest.

Democrat Julia McNamee, 63, is running for Trumbull Board of Education in Trumbull.

Occupation: Retired

Family: Alexandra and Cadence Neenan, daughters

Experience: Trumbull Library Board Trustee

Family in government: My daughter Cadence works in Senator Richard Blumenthal's office in Washington, DC. My daughter Alexandra works for a defense contractor at the Pentagon.

The single biggest issue in town is ______, and I plan to do this about it:

In education, our single most pressing issue is recovery from the pandemic. So many of our younger children missed critical skills in literacy and numeracy, and there also are huge learning gaps for our older children. Additionally, our town is changing so quickly, in good ways. We are so much more diverse. We need to continually monitor how we are meeting all students' needs. Collaterally, and how do we assess these needs to set goals without over-testing children?

Critical differences between me and my opponents:

I was a middle and high school English teacher for many years and then a director for English K-12. I also taught at three different universities. My experience in education is deep and rich. I just retired and so my experience also is recent.

Accomplishments:

As director of English K-12, I worked with all levels of education, and from teachers to principals to top Central Office officials to the Board of Education to parents. My work incorporating diverse texts at many reading levels and revising curriculum to allow entry points for ALL students is crucial.

Other issues:

School start times are an enormously important interest in Trumbull and need to be studied and potentially adjusted.

Our school budget needs to be scrutinized carefully, line by line, and to ensure that dollars are spent on our community's priorities.

We need a zero sum approach to assessments. We should not require any that are not needed.
Opportunities for parents to communicate with schools must increase. Education is a collaboration.

What else would you like voters to know about you?

My belief in public education stems from my own experiences. I attended public schools K-12 and met my parents' greatest dreams by attending Williams College. Not only had my parents not attended college, but two of my four grandparents attended school only through the sixth grade.
Public education, I believe, is the basis of all that's good in our democracy.

I also believe learning should be thought-provoking, relevant, and and fun. I majored in Political Science and Russian in college and later acquired an MA in English and think our job is to show students that learning should continually be part of their lives.