Margot Desjardins has announced that she is a candidate for a seat on the Westport School Committee.

Her declaration states:

The schools have seen a lot of change in the past three to four years.  Now we need to pull everyone together to reassess who we are and where we want to go.  We have work to do. I am ready to hit the ground running.

I have experience in the field of education. As a teacher I developed an awardwinning elementary science program and was selected as a Massachusetts Teacher of the Year. I served as Westport’s first curriculum director for a short time and then spent a decade as your superintendent of schools. I have also taught school in several states and was the principal/CEO of New Bedford’s first charter school, a partner of the Gates Foundation’s High Tech High School in San Diego. My education includes a Master’s degree in Education, a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Educational Leadership, and a law degree.

A Department of Education Review Team recently evaluated our school system including the area of school governance. They found that our school committee could be more effective if it focused on big picture issues rather than getting bogged down with day-to-day management decisions best left to administrators.  I agree with that assessment. The school committee’s job is to create a map of where we want to go, approve a budget that will get us there, and hold the superintendent accountable for making progress toward the goals they have set.  I believe I have the insight and background to make a positive contribution to move our school management team in that direction.

If elected, I would advocate for the consideration of goals such as: to achieve Level 1 status at all schools, improve teacher retention and teacher satisfaction, market our high school program to better compete with private schools, create high school career oriented electives in coding and software applications, improve the quality of the school committee public access broadcasts, upgrade the high school’s network infrastructure, and so much more. I am sure that parents, students, school councils, parent organizations, and staff will have no trouble brainstorming additional suggestions.  Whatever the consensus, a goal driven committee would provide the staff and students with structure and stability to move forward as a school system and as a community of lifelong learners. Our students deserve no less.