Q&A: Karen Hughes Runs for Nyack School Board

This is an interview with Upper Nyacker Karen Hughes, who is running for Nyack School Board. Three hopefuls—first-timer Hughes, sitting member Claudette Clarke and newcomer Dan Kaplan—are vying for two seats.

Read a statement from Dan Kaplan .

The vote will be held May 15.

Read about this year's school budget , and last year's school board elections .

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Patch: Why are you seeking a seat on the board, and why should people vote for you?

Hughes: I have spent over 20 years in investment banking technology, as a software engineer and program manager. In my role as a technology manager, my job is to engage, listen, evaluate and make sensible decisions that are driven both by my convictions and the facts. I have been successfully doing this my entire professional life. I have developed keen analytical skills, demonstrated thought leadership and developed a reputation of being a tenacious trouble-shooter and a committed problem-solver.

I believe I can provide the innovative leadership and critical thinking that is required of a board member during these difficult economic times. I want to contribute to an effective, productive and goal-oriented board that will overcome the hurdles, make steady progress and let our metrics do the talking.

P: What are the top issues facing the board during the 2011-12 school year?

H: 1- The widening communication gap between the board and the community cannot be continued. Since I have been campaigning, I am disturbed by the constant comment, "I don't trust the board." Unless we mend this rift, the community's willingness to support the schools will decline and educational quality will suffer. I've always believed that there is absolutely no harm in over-communicating, and it is incumbent upon the board to ensure that our communication is effective. 

2- There are failing sub-groups within our school that happen to be a growing population. We must arrest the continued increase in these failing groups, as our AYP and ultimately our classifications will be in jeopardy. I have been a part of the district's Student Support Group that is looking at ways we can help the children in these sub-groups. One aspect we have looked at is mentoring as we believe this can be an effective means to help these children and it's something I would like to see the board support and explore.

3- We must tackle the problem of our graduates needing to take remedial courses in college, as this speaks to the lack of completeness and quality in our course offerings. We must continue to offer enrichment opportunities wherever possible and build on some of the college-ready courses we are offering in the upcoming school year.

4- Children are entering our school systems that aren't kindergarten-ready. Some of these children have never been read to and never held a book. Let's put our weight behind Dr. Montesano's Community Collaborative that is looking beyond the District for help

P: What are your thoughts on the issue of property tax caps butting heads with state mandates and employee pensions?

H: The budget constraints are, and will continue to be, a challenge for us. However, we have to realize that this is our new reality. In Dr. Montesano, I have supreme confidence that we have a leader who will continue to make hard but sensible decisions with our budget choices in the years ahead. We need to be able to clearly articulate to our taxpayers how their tax dollars are being spent and what the expected outcome is for their investment. We also must collaborate with other associations (e.g. Board of Superintendents, NY School Board Assoc) to lobby intelligently but powerfully against the state mandates that are currently overwhelming school districts.

P: What is your position on the current "last in, first out" system in place that gives priority to retaining teachers with more seniority, in situations of job cuts?

H: I strongly oppose any system that does not take teacher effectiveness into account when making decisions around job cuts. Seniority doesn't correlate with teaching effectiveness. This is tied into the issue about teacher evaluations. Teachers are critical to our students' success and we need to evaluate and rate teachers periodically, consistently, rigorously and fairly. We need to implement an evaluation system that is professional credible and that gives both evaluators and teachers confidence. We must provide regular and meaningful feedback to teachers. Once we can truly and fairly differentiate through proper evaluation, we can start to distinguish great teaching from good, good from fair and fair from ineffective. Making decisions on job cuts then becomes an easier and much less emotional exercise all around.

P: Is there anything we haven’t asked that you would like the public to know about you or your candidacy?

H: I recently spent one period a week over the course of six weeks delivering the curriculum of the Junior Achievement Program to seventh graders. Someone said to me the other day "…because people went to school, they think they know how a school is run." I too have been guilty of thinking that. What I found in the classroom in my time as a "deliverer of the curriculum" really opened my eyes to the running of a classroom. Kids are rambunctious; kids are curious; kids' attention spans differ; some kids are meek, some are bold; some are polite, some are ill-disciplined. This is the reality of our classroom setting today. And yet we think nothing of harshly judging teachers who have to manage 20-plus kids at a time, period after period, day after day. I encourage you to take whatever opportunity you can to spend time in your child's classroom.  And the next time you come across a teacher, please just look them in the eye and say "thank you."