Candidate Profile: Oliver Spencer

General information

Name: Oliver Spencer

Age: 46

Background/education

• The Taft School, 1985.
• BA-History, Tulane University, 1989.
• Operational and Contingency Planning- Marine Corps University, 2004.
• Joint and Coalition Military Planning Affairs-National Defense University, 2006.

Experience/occupation

• US Marine with over 24 years of military service to include five combat deployments and numerous other operational deployments.
• Infantry/Reconnaissance, Intelligence officer (Lieutenant Colonel, scheduled to retire January 2013). 
• Former Outward Bound Instructor.  
• Youth soccer, lacrosse, and Nordic ski coach. 
• Currently serve as an Instructor and trainer at the Navy’s Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) School at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

Prior elected office

None

Personal

• Concord resident since 2010, but have been an absentee New Hampshire resident since 1996.  
• Married to Concord native, the former Jill Gfroerer (Concord High School, 1989).
• Father of two Concord High School children and one Rundlett Middle School student. 
• Son-in-law to a 23 year Concord elementary teacher. 
• Board member for the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (EGSR). 
• Co-chairman for Grounds Committee at COPOCO pool and tennis club.

Priorities

Traditional and effective teacher designed curriculum development; Student Community Outreach; Fiscally sound management and improvements of old and new school facilities.

Why are you running?

After serving my country in the military for 24 years, it is a very natural decision for me to serve my local community here in Concord. With three children enrolled in the Concord schools, I feel compelled to be an integral part of both my children’s and my community’s most important asset: education. It has been ingrained in me to never state a problem unless you have both a solution and willingness to be part of fixing the problem. I am a product of both private and public education having been raised by a father who was a private day school headmaster. All of us regardless of whether we have children in the Concord schools or not, must be involved with and willing to participate in our children’s education. The immediate and long-term effects of a strong school system are instrumental and evident to a community’s vitality and prosperity. More importantly, students must be more involved and attune to their own studies and education. The former actor Tony Danza who taught high school for a year, wrote an article in the Aug. 24, USA weekend magazine and stated, “…..when I was in teacher orientation, I constantly heard that teachers must “engage” the students. After a year of teaching, it strikes me that what we really need are students to engage in their own education.” This mission statement rings so true to me as the parent of two teenagers. Therefore the conditions must be set for everyone involved to ensure that students understand and carry out this very simple, but profound mission statement. As a former Outward Bound instructor it was easy to connect to the students and answer the “What’s in it for me?” question because I was immersed all day long with them and there were few if any competing distractions. One of the challenges for teachers is to successfully gain their student’s attention and impart the best curriculum in the short time-span they have with them each day. Additionally, eliminating distractions at school and at home is a priority. Immersion in one’s studies must be a goal and I find this so applicable in the successful practice of foreign language studies. Is it a mystery why European and Asian students speak multiple languages? Their immersion of language and culture in their daily lives reinforces many more hours of language instruction each week. The same immersion can occur if we ensure that the application and practical use of their studies is the paradigm of the curriculum. To do this the instruction must be engaging and teachers must be allowed ample time and freedom to impart their personal touch and experience on the material. When a teacher has this opportunity because they are not encumbered with distractions, the instruction becomes much more profound and believable vice a mere regurgitation of someone else’s concept. I have found this to be particularly true and effective in my current teaching position at the Navy SERE (Survival) School. Regardless of the subject, teachers must strive to constantly engage their students by ensuring that homework truly enhances the lecture or class work. If the student is not engaged and does not understand “what’s in it for me” throughout the class, it remains a losing uphill battle to expect them to demonstrate proficiency. Additionally, those students who easily comprehend and show superior understanding must be empowered and encouraged to teach and lead their fellow classmates. Peer to peer learning is so effective, but not readily exercised. I see this with my own children as well as the numerous children I have coached and am a profound advocate of this. It is frustrating to listen to a student state that he or she is bored with his studies knowing that he has never worked with or tutored another student who didn’t understand the material. Reinforcement through student teaching is an extremely effective means for all ages and must be a fundamental part of our education paradigm.

The task of the school board to ensure that all students and faculty are provided a well functioning and properly equipped schools has been most evident in the past two years with the modernization and consolidation plan that came to a head this school year. The board made some very tough and unpopular decisions. I, along with many other Concord residents, was greatly saddened and even disappointed to see the old nostalgic Kimball school torn down, of which my wife and children attended and my mother-in-law taught for many years. My own son was involved with the new design and was very upset that some of his own ideas were not incorporated in the final design, but what we have now is a superb elementary school named after one of Concord’s greatest residents. It takes tremendous courage and foresight to be able to make these tough and unpopular decisions knowing that not everyone will be happy nor will all objectives be met. The next step of this strategic plan is to determine the best use for the old schools. It will also be a very difficult task and challenge for the school board and I hope to be part of this solution.

I wish to state that I am not a proponent of high school seniors attending college following graduation. I firmly believe from both my college experience and so many of the people I have known and worked with that taking at least a year off from the formal classroom is critically important and the best course of action to follow in the vast majority of high school seniors today. That is not to say that high school graduates should get a “year off,” on the contrary, they must be focused and driven to actively embark on at least a yearlong mission to volunteer, serve, or work before embarking onto college. Naturally, I am an advocate of voluntary military service especially since the newly revised “911 GI bill” is by far one of the best vehicles for funding a college education, however I sincerely appreciate and can attest that the military is not the right fit for everyone. There are, however, many more opportunities available such as “Teach for America” to name just one. By being more involved and engaged in one’s education early on, this path becomes that much clearer and logical when deciding whether college is the right choice immediately after high school. If students are more engaged and truly aware of the significance and actual cost of their own education from the beginning, they will make better informed decisions and not suffer the classic college drop-out or sub-par performance scenario that so many seem to follow.

In conclusion, my 24 years in the Marines brings with it a pretty well defined way of thinking and some might say “baggage”, but what I have learned more so is there are so many more ways of accomplishing a task than the Marine Corps way. Certainly the Corps has had the most lasting impression on my personality and I am a far better man for this experience, but I am both excited and eager to learn from others who have completely different backgrounds and have dedicated themselves to the task of educating our youth. Having an open mind when embarking on any new project or issue is critically important and I cannot stress this to myself enough as I venture into the civilian world after having been on the leading edge of our nation’s foreign policy for so long. Some day it is my goal to stand in front of a high school class to teach History and impart my own truly unique experiences that I have learned firsthand. I vividly recollect my teachers doing the same for me and I owe so many of my successes in my adult life to those teachers and coaches who taught and tutored me. They knew so well how to make sure I knew exactly “what’s in it for me” by imparting lasting pearls of wisdom on me. It is my goal to honor their service by serving on the Concord School Board.