Jennifer Loughran: Bridgewater-Raritan School Board Candidate

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — The Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School Board has seven candidates vying for three seats in the upcoming election on Nov. 2.

Jennifer Loughran is one of the candidates running. The other candidates include:

• Ashish "A.J." Joshi - incumbent
• Stacey Friedlander
• Hiral Desai
• Richard Myers
• Kimberly Lucci
• Fabiola Folino

All of the candidates are running for the three, three-year seats on the board.

Are you running for office in Bridgewater? Contact Alexis Tarrazi at alexis.tarrazi@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate's profile and submitting campaign announcements to Bridgewater Patch.

Jennifer Loughran

Name: Jennifer Loughran

Age: 44

Town of residence: Bridgewater

Position sought: Board of Education

Family: My husband Michael is incredibly supportive and a wonderful dad. We met in Manhattan 18 years ago. We were married in the backyard of our Bridgewater home, which is where I grew up. We moved back to Bridgewater in 2013 and had four children, but lost our oldest Sylvia and youngest Finnegan to a rare genetic disease. Our two daughters, Serafina (7) and Eilish (5), are incredible and vibrant kids. Everything we do, we do for them.

Education & Occupation: I spent most of my education in the Bridgewater school system. I worked every summer of my childhood in my family’s small factory building formica countertops. I had my first "real job" at 14 at the Burger King on Rt 28. I was a photographer at a studio in the mall at 16. I worked through high school and into my young adulthood. I climbed my way up from entry-level administrative jobs and moved to Manhattan where I had an extensive career. Adobe hired me to design complex graphics tools that are still distributed within their Illustrator platform. I transitioned into programming e-learning platforms for several companies and designed training curriculum for the City of New York. While working full time, I launched Uptown Skate School, a small business with a handful of amazing skateboarding friends and legends. We taught skateboarding to children and adults and organized skate programs through non-profit organizations to underserved communities.

When I returned to Bridgewater, I learned how to sew as a form of therapy, became interested in embroidery, and taught myself the complicated art of digitizing. While being a full-time mom at home, I started a successful Etsy business Artisanal Threadworks, which provided custom digitized embroidery art to other small businesses.

I founded two local charity organizations. The Mask Squad was an incredibly inspiring grassroots movement that rose up during the beginning of the pandemic. When people in the community were locked down in their homes in fear of the unknown a spark went off and united them all in an effort to help. We made masks when there were none to be found anywhere. And it happened so fast. Two families managed the supplies and donations. We had a really amazing driver who delivered masks to people who needed them and supplies to volunteers. A Captain of a neighboring town and his wife helped customize and distribute tactical style face masks to eleven police departments and first responders. I could go on about the people who made it happen for hours: mothers, fathers, teachers, kids, union leaders, fellow candidates, as well as a current member of the BOE. We even had a dedicated website maintained by an incredibly talented Bridgewater woman. The stories are beyond inspiring. You can read about these real local heroes on themasksquad.com. When our mission was complete, the leadership team decided to distribute leftover funds to every PTO in the district on behalf of the community.

A close friend and I organized a local fitness group that has grown to over 1,300 women from the area. It is focused on being active and supportive of each other’s goals to prioritize a healthy lifestyle.

Most recently, I launched BR Skateboarding and a charity organization called BR Skates. The names are inspired by the "We Are BR" chant from my high school days at Bridgewater-Raritan High School. I currently run programs through Bridgewater Recreation, offer outreach lessons to families in need, and teach children locally. I hope to raise funds through BR Skates to not only build a skate plaza, but to also build other projects that benefit the community, parks and open spaces.

Previous or current elected appointed office: I am on the Board of Recreation, appointed this year. I have submitted two proposals to improve open spaces and am currently working with Camp Cromwell, Kidstreet, and Communication subcommittees.

Why are you seeking to run for school board? 2020 was a very difficult year for so many. For my family, it was devastating. Our 1-year-old son was diagnosed with a terminal disease and required extensive medical care. His hospital bed was three feet from where I was teaching my first grader virtually.

My daughter’s first grade teacher is a champion. She worked so hard for each of her students, under the most difficult circumstances, and still found time to help our daughter individually. When I couldn’t leave the house to pick up a laptop, our principal delivered it personally. Our guidance counselor was also wonderful as was the office staff and extracurricular teachers.

I am running because I am so grateful for the compassion and the fortitude of the educators, administrators, and school staff. I am running because I empathize with families in the district who all have their own stories, their own losses, their own struggles.

I am running because many people felt they could not be heard and that their views were not acknowledged.

I am running because I believe in our district’s mission statement. If we hope to inspire, educate, and prepare our children to be leaders, then we must teach by example through accessibility, building trust and open communication.

What is your stance on masks in schools? As a member of the board, I would be tasked with representing a community. A community with varying opinions that will inform my decisions along with the updated guidance of our local, state, and federal officials.

At this point, the decision to wear masks in school is not being made by the board. It is being mandated by our state officials.

Most people don’t want to see their children in masks. We all want normalcy, and we all have a different understanding of what that path looks like. Letting the public know how the board will make the decision to make masks optional in schools (once mandates are lifted) is a way take the edge off the debate. Regardless, the option to wear masks should always be afforded to those families who feel it is in their best interest, and those families and students should not feel intimidated to do so.

I’m confident, no matter where most people lie in the spectrum of this issue, we all find common ground in keeping our schools open, our children safe, and providing the best educational experiences for them.

Should schools offer a virtual option? Last year was taxing for teachers, administration, school staff, students, and their families. We learned a lot of things during the pandemic including the detriments and benefits of virtual education and hybrid learning. However, it did introduce a need in the community and a gap in education that should be addressed. I will always be in support of initiatives that garner more access to those who need it and more opportunities to those who seek it.

The implementation of a virtual option is monumental and there are a lot of questions to be asked. For example; How many families want a virtual option? Would collaboration at the state or county level alleviate the potential financial burden on Bridgewater residents?

As a representative of the community, I am open to the dialogue about the pros and cons of this initiative, and the opinions and needs of local families. I look forward to learning more about the issue, what other communities are doing, and the innovation that is on the horizon.

What other issues do you feel must be tackled in the school district? Like any school district, Bridgewater Raritan has challenges and opportunities, but overall we are fortunate to have incredible educators and dedicated personnel. I think it is important for any candidate to recognize that they don’t have all the answers and to come to the table not weighed down by preconceived opinions, but instead to be open to listening, learning, and identifying the problems and working in collaboration to solve them.

This begins with an open line of communication among all of the stakeholders — students, parents, teachers, administration, our superintendent, as well as the other members of the BRRSD Board of Education. Additionally, community extends beyond our zip code. Looking at what neighboring districts are doing, understanding their best practices, and the programs implemented are valuable resources of knowledge and experience.

What sets you apart from the challenging candidates? Instead of focusing on what sets us apart from each other, I believe it’s more important to consider what brought us all to run in the first place. I am eager to understand the views and vision of the current members of the board and each candidate that is running.

My career, entrepreneurial and charity endeavors, as well as overcoming adversities in my own life has given me the experience of coming back from devastation, seeing things through to fruition, of engaging the community, approaching problems and finding solutions in collaboration and common purpose, even when opinions about how to get there are very different.

What else would you like to share about yourself or your campaign? It is an incredible honor to represent my family and Bridgewater Raritan in this election. I am so grateful for this town, its people and the support and encouragement I have received.