West Hartford Election: Lorna Thomas-Farquharson For BOE

WEST HARTFORD, CT — Democrat Lorna Thomas-Farquharson, 45, is running for the Board of Education in West Hartford.

Occupation: Program Manager At Connecticut Office Of Early Childhood.

Family: My husband Jerome and I have been married for 15 years. We are blessed with two daughters: Julianna who is in the 8th grade at Sedgwick Middle School, and Gabrielle who is in the 5th grade at Charter Oak International Academy.

Experience: Elected to the Board of Education in 2017; currently serving as Vice Chair

Family in government: No

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

The single most pressing issue facing our town is the pandemic and its impact on all facets of our community and those living within our community, especially our youth. The youth of today are our future leaders for tomorrow; education is a key factor needed to build a solid bridge into the future. Therefore, we must collectively work towards solidifying their educational foundation today in order to promote a promising tomorrow. Provision of high-quality education ensures our youth are well-rounded in their development and exposed to opportunities furthering their development academically, socially, and emotionally. While supporting the development of well-rounded youth, what cannot be overlooked is the impact the pandemic has had on our community. Responding to the pandemic requires compassionate strategic planning focused on recovery and forward thinking. WHPS received over $15 million dollars in federal funds as a result of the pandemic. These funds are intended to go towards areas directly impacted by the pandemic. However, allocation of funds requires a two-pronged approach, one responding to needs created by the pandemic, as well as recognizing pre-existing needs exacerbated by the pandemic. When distributing funding, it is important to strategically plan equitable allocation of funds in purposeful ways minimizing creation of a budget cliff. By serving on the BOE, one has the honor to be a member of a team whose primary charge is to ensure policies are in place, and a budget is developed, and that supports and reinforces these overall goals.

Critical differences between me and my opponents:

What sets me apart is my personal, professional, and public service background. Personally, as a mother with children in the WHPS system, I’ve been intimately involved in their learning since they started school. As a parent, I’ve served many years on the PTO Board at Charter Oak International Academy as a member and as a Cultural Council representative, I’ve volunteered for annual school activities/functions, and chaperoned many field trips.

Professionally, I’m trained in clinical psychology and keenly aware of the many dynamics playing a role in children’s development. Engaging with children and families with compassion, while being solution focused when addressing life challenges, is extremely important. As a program manager at Connecticut’s Office of Early Childhood, I’m often reminded of whom I serve, and that is the children and families in our community. Collaborating with others, while using resources to invest in our children, is paramount. Furthermore, operating through a lens of equity is essential as decisions are made and plans are operationalized.

My background as a public servant is interwoven throughout my personal and professional background. Before having the honor to serve on the BOE, I’ve served the public in various ways through community service involvement and organizational affiliations. Overall, it’s about servant leadership, before you can lead, you must serve. I believe my background overall shows a commitment to public service as well as servant leadership. These areas are not mutually exclusive, for as one leads, and one can never forget those whom we are entrusted to serve.

Accomplishments:

Completing my first term in office on the Board of Education is an accomplishment giving evidence to my ability that I can handle the job. Throughout my time on the Board, I’ve served in various capacities including ex-officio member to West Hartford Prevention Council, current ex-officio member of the Foundation for West Hartford Public School, current member of the Policy Committee, and current Vice Chair serving in this role since 2019. Throughout my tenure on the BOE, I’ve been committed to serving the children and families in our community supporting our school motto: Clear Paths. Bright Futures. No limits. As a member of the BOE, I advocated for and responded to the call from the community to rename the second Monday in October to Indigenous Peoples Day so that our school calendar was congruent with lessons being taught on the classroom. As a member of the BOE, I supported the annual passing of a school budget that focused on responding the needs of our students in a fiscally thoughtful way. Last year as a member of the Policy Committee, I was honored to support the bi-partisan passing of Policy 1800 on Educational Equity. Last year when the pandemic emerged in town compromising our ability to safely educate our youth on school grounds, as a BOE member we supported our Administration in the timely and innovative ways of shifting to virtual learning. In doing so, the nutritional needs of our vulnerable families continued to be met with daily provision of bagged breakfast and lunch. As a BOE member, I remained focused on our North Star of returning our youth to school safely by adhering to local and federal guidelines. At the start of the 2021-2022 school year, all WHPS students returned to school full-time in-person. That is a shared accomplishment governed by effective leadership.

Outside of my role on the BOE there are other accomplishments citing evidence I can handle this job. This includes professionally, where my role as a program manager requires an ability to be goal driven while nimble in responding to events. However, and my most honored accomplishment is being blessed to be the mother to our two daughters and watching them grow into individuals who desire to achieve their own self-defined accomplishments in life.

Other issues:

I stand by promoting development of well-rounded youth where scholastic excellence is based on academic performance as well as ensuring youth are enriched socially and emotionally. I believe it is important for our youth to be confident in who they are, strong at their core, and demonstrate resilience when faced with challenges. The pandemic is a clear example of a challenge all are experiencing in this very moment. West Hartford Public Schools often receive accolades for its excellent school system. What accentuates this fact is that WHPS serves students of all learning abilities and disabilities, students from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds where more than 70 languages are spoken, students from various socio-economic statuses, students representing various religions and country of origin, and students whose family structure is defined in different ways. ALL of these characteristics are what makes WHPS exceptional and allow our youth to experience the depth of the human experience from a well-rounded perspective.

I support expanding WHPS curriculum to include the wide historical perspective of African-American history. Our youth cannot learn and/or operate in silos of existence. History is defined as the study of past events. American history studies past events shaping the development of this country. Unadulterated recall of American history includes race relations in the U.S., for race is a social construct created by humans to classify people based on physical differences. By studying history as it occurred, we’re educating youth about the past to better understand the present. Any deviation from this rewrites the past from historical facts into historical fiction. As we collectively support a well-rounded educational environment, we help our young people learn about the past in order to better understand the present. In doing so, we help develop strong-minded, resilient youth with potential beyond measure for future success. Furthermore, this approach further promotes high-quality education operating through a lens of equity, and supports all children and staff in reaching their fullest potential based on receipt of comprehensive education taught by skilled and well-informed staff. Implementing policies supporting these efforts help build and sustain high quality education. A key role of a Board of Education member is to establish and uphold said policies. As a member of the WHPS Policy Committee, and I was honored to support the bi-partisan passing of Policy 1800 of Educational Equity.

What else would you like voters to know about you?

I firmly believe in the African proverb it takes a village to raise a child. Whether one currently has children in the school system or not, all residents in our town are a part of the village. Although parents of school-age children represent a small percentage of taxpayers in West Hartford, it is important to remember that these same children within our school system will one day grow up to become taxpaying adults. Additionally, these same children will grow up to become our future leaders and professionals helping to care for our adults and senior population. It is important for all members of our town to recognize the valuable contribution they play in educating our youth and how their continued investment in the school system yields a return that is beyond beneficial. In other words, investing in our youth is mutually beneficial, and both in the short term and long term.