I have lived in Hopewell Township for nearly 20 years and I have two children in the district: a tenth grade daughter and an eighth grade son. Throughout the years I have served on various PTO and district committees and boards and have always paid close attention to the actions of the school board, local concerns and issues in general.
I am writing this letter in support of the school board nominees, Andrea Driver, Ross Gordon and Anita Williams Galiano. I feel these three candidates possess many of the same values and priorities as I do as a township resident. I believe Driver, Gordon and Williams Galiano are committed to bringing more transparency and communication to the school board. Whenever I have reached out to any of them with questions, they are always so responsive and listen intently to my concerns. In this unprecedented time, more than ever, we need to have a clear line of communication from the school board, as things change by the day.
Unfortunately, there have been far too many racially charged incidents that have happened among our students. My son’s young friend was the recipient of a horrible racial attack via social media over the summer. It upset my son and our family deeply that an innocent boy would be attacked in such a way by another 13-year-old peer. I think the school district has done a lot to educate students at all ages and levels on tolerance and diversity, but I think even more could be done within the curriculum to prevent such attacks in the future. There is also a significant amount of bullying that occurs both in school and on social media. No child should ever feel unsafe at school, yet it happens still.
Driver, Gordon and Williams Galiano have been having conversations with the community centered around a desire to make certain that our students are feeling safe both physically and emotionally and they are very supportive of curricular and co-curricular initiatives centered around exposing our students to a diversity of voices and perspectives.
These candidates also seek to incorporate more aspects from our own local history here in Hopewell into the curriculum. I think these three candidates will add fresh ideas, backgrounds and perspectives to the board.
Please vote for Driver, Gordon and Williams Galiano on Nov. 3.
Cathy Kavanaugh
Hopewell Township
