Tabitha Dell'Angelo Is Running For Central Bucks School Board

DOYLESTOWN, PA — A New Jersey professor and longtime Doylestown resident is running for Central Bucks School Board.

Tabitha Dell'Angelo is running for a two-year term to represent Central Bucks School Board Region 8, which includes Doylestown Borough and parts of Doylestown Township.

The Doylestown Borough resident is a professor of education at the College of New Jersey in Ewing. She attended Rowan University where she studied special education, and received her PhD at the University of Pennsylvania. She has two students in the Central Bucks School District; one is a sixth grader at Doyle Elementary School, while the other attends Lenape Middle School.

While she feels the board has done a good job with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic, she sees room for improvement for the district in other areas.

"We do a really good job in this district for kids who are average or above average in terms of traditional academic achievement, but for kids who don’t fit into the center of the bell curve, I don’t know that we do as good of a job, she said. "I think that for kids who are English language learners or have learning differences, we don't do as good of a job as we could. I don't think that’s where the resources are going because we are so focused on achievement."

Dell'Angelo runs a teacher education program, where she teaches her students how to have difficult conversations around issues such as the social and political climate of education.

"I've been to board meetings, and sometimes really important topics don't get discussed very well because folks are afraid to say the wrong thing or come off the wrong way," she said. "I've been a teacher my whole life and I understand what's happening in schools from a philosophical and practical perspective."

While she was the first in her family to graduate from college, Dell'Angelo said she still recognizes that her status as a white woman grants her certain societal advantages.

"As a white woman I have unmistakable privilege thats not earned, but I also have an intersectional identity that includes some marginalization, and I understand what that feels like," said Dell'Angelo, who began working at the age of 12. "I think I could be a person who folks could trust to really listen to all of the perspectives that are out there, and come to a reasoned decision that doesn’t leave anyone out."

Dell'Angelo is one of two candidates challenging incumbent Daniel Ring for the school board director position. The other challenger is Laura Viel, a Doylestown resident who works in higher education at Delaware Valley University. Patch will be featuring the other candidates in articles later this week. All three have filed across party lines and will appear on both Democratic and Republican ballots in the May 18 primary.

The last day to register to vote in the primary is May 3, while the deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot is May 11.

Be the first to know what's happening in your town and area. Sign up to get Patch emails and don't miss a minute of local and state news: https://patch.com/subscribe