Take Five With Westfield BOE Candidate Dennis M. Cariello

WESTFIELD, NJ - Patch asked Westfield BOE Candidate Dennis M. Cariello to take five with us and share some thoughts on the city, the campaign and beyond. His answers are below, with minor courtesy edits for style.

1. Why are you running for office?

I am running for office because I believe strongly in giving back to our wonderful community. Given my background as an education lawyer for the last decade, I thought it would be a natural fit to run for Westfield Board of Education. I’ve given the last ten years of my life in service of education – whether in public service with the U.S. Department of Education, working for private clients, my service in the past on the board of the Cahn Fellows (a program affiliated with Columbia Teacher’s College that provides leadership training and mentoring to principals in urban schools), or my current service on the board of the Center for Education Reform (an education advocacy organization) – and am really excited about the chance to use my expertise to support our town’s schools.

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

One significant challenge we face is finding ways to improve our schools and help our students compete globally. The our world is changing rapidly and we need to keep pace so our children aren’t left behind. We need to support curriculum and technology changes to ensure our children have the skills of tomorrow and ensure our teachers are prepared to utilize new technologies in their classrooms. We also need to help expand their minds through the arts, music, and literature. We should also provide opportunities for students to think critically and work collaboratively in a group setting. These are among the social and practical skills needed to be both good citizens and productive in the workforce.

School safety is a critical issue. While our students do not face the violence and dangers of some schools, Westfield schools face safety concerns on their own. Indeed, opioid addition is now a topic most parents have to discuss with their middle school students. Our schools were recently marred with discriminatory and vile graffiti. We must remain attentive to these concerns, as well as the threat of gun violence in our schools.

Additionally, our town and school district has grown in recent years. The risk of overcrowding in our schools is real and must be addressed. We must find ways to maintain acceptable student-teacher ratios so all of our children receive the attention they need to learn effectively. This will take careful planning to do within a fiscally responsible manner.

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?

I think our town is blessed to have six excellent candidates for three positions on the board. All of the candidates have skills or knowledge that our schools would greatly benefit from. That said, I do believe I am unique in that I have been working in education for the last decade and have been privileged to learn from leading educators and administrators from across the country. After a developing a successful litigation practice in New York, I had the opportunity to serve in the U.S. Department of Education in D.C. as both Deputy General Counsel in the Department’s Office of the General Counsel, and the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement in the Department’s Office for Civil Rights. I served under the administration of both Presidents Obama and Bush because politics has no place in education. After leaving the Department in June 2009, I returned to New York and established an education practice at a large law firm. Currently, I am a shareholder in Hogan Marren Babbo & Rose, and the co-chairman of the education practice. There I help schools - ranging from day care facilities and preschools through major research institutions - understand and comply with the law, and help them innovate while staying within regulatory standards. Having been around education this long, I believe I am uniquely suited to aid the Westfield administration in operating and monitoring our schools.

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

Communication with parents and the broader community is critical. Parents need to be timely informed about what is going on at the schools so they can be active partners in their child’s education. At a board level, I strongly believe in collaboration and value community input. Indeed, no one individual is as good as all of us together. The first step to getting that input is to create an environment that welcomes comments and criticism from the community. I will have an open door policy for people to address concerns with me. I also intend to attend community events to hear of matters of concern to parents and students at our schools. Seeking feedback from teachers is also vital - I intend to find more ways for teachers to interact with the board of education.

I also believe that the board should proactively conduct outreach to various stakeholders before undertaking decisions that will affect them. While there is no way to make everyone happy on every issue, proactive outreach can help to improve the decision-making process and will also give everyone a greater sense of involvement, resulting in a more cohesive school community.

5. What inspires you?

I draw inspiration from a number of sources, but I derive great satisfaction from helping others. My greatest professional experience was when I lead of team of dedicated career staff at the Department of Education and developed programs to ensure all students could continue their postsecondary educations during the credit crisis of 2008-09. Since then, I still try and attend at least one graduation at a client's school so I can feel a modest connection between my efforts to help the school and those students walking across the stage starting a new life thanks to their education. Helping people fulfills me and inspires me to do more.

(Photo courtesy of Dennis M. Cariello)

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.