My endorsement decision and rationale follow this announcement.
Anne-Marie Norman for School Committee
Billerica Townie News – Staff Reports 18.FEB.10
My name is Anne-Marie Norman. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and announce my candidacy for one of two open seats for the Billerica School Committee this April. I have been a resident of Billerica for 42 years and graduated from Billerica Memorial High School in 1978. I am aware of how strong the Billerica School System is both as a former student and as the mother of 4 children receiving their education through the Billerica Public School System; and I would like the opportunity to continue to help the school system stay strong.
I have received my Masters Degree in Special Education from Fitchburg State College in May 2005 and am employed by the Wilmington Public School System as a teacher in the high school Life Skills Program. I am aware of the pressure on the administration and the teacher to continue to offer the best quality education to all our students and to work to continue to improve the MCAS Scores each year. I am also aware of how the economy is affecting the school budgets and how we now rely on grants to try and bring new and updated technology into our classrooms. I feel working in a neighboring community along with being the parent of a senior and a sophomore in BMHS gives me the knowledge of the issues our students, teachers and administrators are facing on a daily basis. I would use that knowledge when making decisions as a School Committee Member.
I am the mother of four children who have attended Billerica Schools over the years. Two of my children are autistic and attend an out of district placement. I have had the opportunity to work with Special Education Staff and administrators starting with BEAM (Billerica’s Early Intervention Program) all the way to the high school special education teachers. I am aware of the different special education programs that Billerica has to offer and the high quality of the programs. I am also aware that there are children in our system who are not going to fit into our programs due to their individual disabilities they will need more than we can offer. We need to be able to continue to offer them the opportunities to get the best education possible. We need to continue to look at the information available to us and plan our programs in advance so that we can service children in their home school districts if possible. I have also been fortunate to have two children in the general education population and have watched them grow and learn and take advantage of the sports programs, drama programs, community service, music and other clubs offered throughout their school years. I would like to see Billerica continue to offer all the extra curriculum clubs and activities for all the students to participate in.
I have been very involved in the school system serving as a committee chair person for the box tops for education program at the Ditson School. I also served on the screening committee to hire a new Special Education Director when Ed Peterson was retiring, and again a year later on the screening committee to hire a new Assistant Special Education Director for Elementary schools. I was on the redistricting committee when the new Ditson was built. I have also been a CCD Teacher at Saint Mary’s Parish for the last 10 years. I am a member of the Democratic Town Committee and have coached several soccer teams for both the Billerica Youth Soccer Association and for Special Olympics.
I hope that when you go to vote on April 10, 2010 you will consider me for one of your votes.
Thank you,
Anne-Marie Norman, M.Ed.
I am more than happy to give space for readers of this blog to discover that Ms. Norman is, indeed, a candidate for one of the two vacant school committee chairs. However, I cannot endorse her candidacy for one simple reason – it is my belief that she is running on a personal agenda and not one that focuses more broadly on the entire town and its needs.
Ms. Norman is a special needs teacher, a member of the teacher’s union, the parent of special needs children and her driving desire to get on the school committee is to be in a place to guide special needs education in Billerica. To me, that adds up to a professional conflict of interest as well as one of a more personal nature. Ms. Norman can find other ways to push special needs and to support public education, but in my humble opinion, she should do it from the sidelines.
Our schools are in horrible physical condition. Our MCAS scores are below those of neighboring towns. Our budgets are getting tighter and tighter and the school committee is now infamous for squandering boat loads of money on special interests as opposed to teaching basic skills and preserving the integrity of very expensive buildings to the taxpayer’s detriment. I don’t see how any candidate similar to Ms. Norman can be anything but more of the same. Therefore, I recommend that you NOT vote for her in the upcoming election.
–Rick
