Election 2023: Republican Natalya Khavulya For Council Rock School Bd.

Candidates running in the Nov. 7 general election are providing background about themselves and their positions on the issues to voters in these profiles, which will run in Patch individually for each candidate.

COUNCIL ROCK — Republican Natalya Khavulya is seeking election to the Council Rock School Board in Region 1. She is running against Democrat Tracey Osecki for an open, four-year seat in Region 1.

Biographical Information

Name: Natalya Khavulya

Age:

Town of residence: Newtown

Position sought: Council Rock School Board Region 1

Are you an incumbent? No

Party affiliation:

Family: Our family lives in Newtown, since 2006. My husband and I have two children, attending Goodnoe Elementary and Council Rock North High School. We also have two pug-puppies, who are part of our family.

Education: I graduated from Drexel University with a B.S. in Information Science & Technology, and minor in Psychology. I then completed the MBA program at Temple University. Graduated with magna cum laude

Occupation: I work in the field of Information Technology and manage Global-scale system implementations.

Questions

Why are you running?

I am running because I believe that schools need to return to their core fundamentals and the purpose that they serve, which is to educate kids in order for them to become self-sufficient and successful adults. Unfortunately, our schools and school boards have become overly politicized. I would like to return to focusing on educating children and ensuring that decisions are made in the interest of kids, families, and the community - without outside influence.

What do you see as the top issues facing the district and how do you plan to address them?

Unnecessary politics has creeped into our schools and needs to be removed. Collectively, our focus needs to be on what is best for children to learn and thrive. We hear that children have still not recovered from tremendous learning losses in education during Covid school closures. We need to put energy and focus on what matters in order to ensure children catch up and succeed. Activities such as after school tutoring is a great addition that is provided by Council Rock to support kids who fell behind. In addition, empowering teachers to work closely with families and provide resources and support based on individual child's needs, as well as creating opportunities for peer-to-peer tutoring and learning, so that kids can provide support to their friends and peers directly.

This can be achieved by making sure that we remove distractions from the day to day work and ensure that sufficient time and resources are available to dedicate to teaching. As a result of more focused actions, we will also be able to manage spending more effectively and for impactful initiatives.

What policies would you change, revise, delete or retain and why?

I support Policy 109 - Resource Materials (including books in the schools) - which states: "Provide resource materials that implement, support and enrich the educational program of district schools." I support this policy because it provides the administration the ability to make decisions based on material that is available through the schools, while also providing opportunities for families to be involved based on their specific needs. That said, it is important to make sure that material is age-appropriate and provides educational and developmental benefits to children.

If elected, what would you fight to change or keep the same?

I would love to see more of a focus on educating students on government, civics and voting - more so than what is done today. Running for public office made me see that many are not aware of local elections and the importance of them in our local community. students need to learn how to research candidates, understand issues, learn about both sides, and make individual decisions that align with their own beliefs and values. On a lighter note, I love the various events that our schools put together. At the elementary level, cultural celebrations and team building activities are great for both kids and community to be involved in. In secondary schools, Council Rock has amazing after-school activities for kids to get involved in, meet new people, and learn new skills.