Take Five With Madison Board Of Ed. Candidate Sarah Fischer

MADISON, NJ - Patch asked Madison Board of Education Candidate David Sarah Fischer to take five with us and share some thoughts on the city, the campaign and beyond. Her answers are below, with minor courtesy edits for style.

1. Why are you running for office?

I am running for the BOE because I strongly believe there needs to be someone with a background in education who works with students who are district age on the board. For over 15 years I have worked with all ages as a classroom teacher, a coach, a non-profit manager and an administrator. I served as the Assistant Director of National Programs for a youth-based agency in Vermont and as Program Coordinator for Literacy AmeriCorps New Orleans which oversaw GED, ESL, and Family Literacy programs. For the last 8 years, I have worked at Newark Academy as a Humanities teacher and the Director of Community Service where I redesigned the 6-12 community service program. I also have personal experience and professional background with special education. Because of this experience, I feel that I have holistic approach to education that will complement the current board members’ strengths and the work of Superintendent Schwarz.

2. What is the biggest challenge you see facing your community and how will you address it?

The biggest challenge we face as a district is the achievement gap between the success of different cohorts in the district. One way to address the gap is early intervention. The sooner we identify students who are struggling the sooner we can provide them with the necessary supports both academically and emotionally. This is why I will continue to push for full day kindergarten so we can get students in the district sooner and work to identify their areas of growth. Addressing these achievement gaps does not mean we need to add new programming necessarily as the district budget is very tight already, but we must evaluate the effectiveness of our current offerings and seek out places where we can build what is working into programming across the district and cut what has been proven to be ineffective. The creation of homework clubs that meet before school and provide academic support as well as assist families with childcare or increasing the outreach from counselors to ensure students are building confidence and have the emotional and social support necessary to prioritize academic learning are just a few ideas to help address this pressing issue. We need to think outside the basic curriculum to provide these students with opportunities to build the confidence needed to become more engaged learners. We can do this through differentiated STEAM based programming, the incorporation of school gardens into the curriculum, and the recognition that extracurriculars like sports, service, and the arts are essential in educating the whole child. Finally, better communication with parents and more transparency from the BOE to the public will help hold everyone accountable and build stronger relationships which will benefit all of our children.

3. What makes you the right person to vote for as opposed to the other candidate(s)?

What do you bring to the table that others don't? When making a decision about who should be on the BOE I think it is important to assess the skills each member brings to the table and to consider the Board as a whole since the group will need to work together. As an educator I have a unique lens to understand the experience of many of our students that no one else on the BOE currently can offer. I have dedicated my life to educating children of all ages and levels, to leading with compassion and to teaching others how to build empathy. As a mother with young children in the district (Kindergarten and 5th grade at Kings Rod School) and a taxpayer, I have a long-term stake in the success of the Madison Public Schools. Running for BOE is an opportunity to use my lifetime experience to provide stronger education opportunities for all learners. As a teacher, my students become my kids and I fight for them fiercely trying to provide the skills they need for success beyond the walls of the classroom. I want the opportunity to fight for Madison’s kids. Besides my extensive background in education, I also have experience working with tight budgets, hiring teachers, writing grants and facilitating government audits. I have been involved in multiple strategic planning processes and hope this visionary and organizational work will benefit the district as we seek to make the best choices for our students. I strongly believe in giving back to the community which has given my family so much, and I feel passionately that serving on the Board is the best way to utilize my unique skill set to benefit the children and families in our district as well as those who do not have children in the school system.

4. What will you do to facilitate communication with the community?

Communication between the district and the larger community as well as between the district and the parents is an area for growth for the district. I am hopefully that with the release of the new district website later this year Madison will take a solid first step to addressing this issue head on. If elected, I will continue to advocate for better communication via the website, which is our face to the world. I also believe that there needs to be better communication about district policies and expectations to the parents. This ranges from feedback on report cards and IEPs to having an online billing and payment process for extra fees like the K-wrap program. Because of my desire for transparency, I am a proponent of videotaping BOE meetings so that they can be accessed by the population that cannot attend the meetings more readily. I would also like to see more opportunities for the public to talk to the board directly possibly through a townhall style meeting or open office hours model.

5. What inspires you?

Our youth, cheesy as that sounds. If I did not get inspiration and joy from working with kids I would be miserable in my job. I find inspiration in the ingenuity and creativity our kids possess, in their ability to see the world from a different perspective, and in their drive to find solutions to the problems confronting our world not matter how difficult. Examples of the inspiration to be found in our kids can be seen in many of the presentations to the BOE about what is happening in the district like the REACH presentations where students discussed what they learned about fracking and solar energy or the amazing artwork done by our high school students in the district. It can also be found in the work of our student leaders to engage the issues facing our world as we saw with the walk out and the work of the GSA, which has been recognized by many outside organizations. The resiliency and passion of our youth inspires me. Plus, I love to garden and getting my hands dirty always makes me smile!

(Photo courtesy of Sarah Fischer)

Editor's Note: Patch has reached out to every candidate that has filed to run for office and is publishing all responses received. If a candidate does not have a story on the site it is because they did not respond. But they are encouraged to contact russ.crespolini@patch.com if they have any questions.