Q&A: BoE Candidate Sharon Hightower

Note: Over the next two weeks the Ledyard Patch will run short profiles of all town candidates for council and board of education, along with their responses to three questions that we asked. Election Day is Nov. 8.

Name:  Sharon D. Hightower

Age:  60

Education: BA Douglass College; MLIS Rutgers U.

Work Experience: Media Resources Librarian, Univ. of Med. & Dent. Of NJ; Serials Librarian, Univ. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Currently Reference Librarian at Westerly Public Library, RI.

Civic/Political Experience: GHS PTO, Past President; LMS PTC; Volunteer, Ledyard Wrestling Club; Founding Member LEAF (Ledyard Educational Advancement Foundation) Board of Directors; CABE (CT. Assn. of Boards of ED) Board of Directors and Area 9, Co-Director; Ledyard Board of ED (6 terms), Board Chair, 2003 to present; District Instructional Council.

Family:  Married to Ralph, 34 yrs., 2 sons (Grant and Julian) both LHS grads; 2 grandchildren (Sevoi, 3yrs and Lydia Simone, 5mo).

1.  Why are you running for this office? 

My board service has focused on updating curriculum and improving instructional practice. By encouraging a more complete focus on student learning, the board has transformed its work in overseeing the district. We now have an expectation for performance at or exceeding current standards, in all aspects of our children’s education.  I fully support use of the strategic planning model that has enhanced policy development and underlies the improvements in student achievement currently in evidence across the district. Ledyard is a school district continuously learning how to get better.  I remain committed to using my experience to assist the board in moving Ledyard Public Schools further down the road to excellence.

2. What do you believe is the greatest challenge Ledyard schools face today, and what would you do to meet this challenge?

Managing the unprecedented magnitude and pace of change in public education will be a significant challenge to our community.  The board has made notable progress in fostering higher levels of achievement by setting priorities for learning and instruction.  The advent of internationally benchmarked curriculum standards, the need for increased levels of support for teachers in the restructured academic environment, the new teacher and administrator evaluation systems linked in part to student performance, and the secondary school reform initiatives, will strain the district’s resources. These new challenges pose a real threat to sustaining the momentum we worked so hard to achieve.

Maintaining our focus on the classroom is essential to the future success of our students. The key to developing winning strategies in an effort to sustain our progress will be to provide clear and contemporary information to our parents and community on why public education must change in the 21st century.  The conversation about the need for higher levels of individual engagement and consistent levels of support will assist the school district in serving today’s learners.  The community’s viability is directly linked to how quickly we embrace these challenges and how well we manage the changes required to grow our district and our community.  This is a strategic priority.

3. How would you rate the performance of the current board overall, and what, if anything, would you do differently? 

This board is a highly functioning group of community volunteers that has an unwavering commitment to improving student achievement.  We have educated ourselves about the trends in public education and the critical forces that are impacting our schools.  

Our board meetings serve as a tool for evaluation of progress toward district goals and as board member professional development.  We have made the connection between improving our leadership skills and student success. We have used the unique talents of all nine individuals to develop the best strategic thinking in our efforts to guide students and staff along the road from “good to great.”

I give this board a high mark for our work in setting the tone for collaboration with the superintendent, central office staff and district administration. By holding ourselves to a higher standard, we have become valued and respected members of the district leadership team.  It is my opinion that this board is incomparable in its ability to represent the work we do as having a direct influence on the students in the classroom.

I would like to see a greater effort to develop opportunities for outreach to parents and to members of our community who don’t have a direct link to our school program, inviting them to see and understand the great work that goes on in our buildings and the diverse aspects of our children’s education from Pre-K to grade 12.