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Arlington Advocate
Weekly Questions: Question 1. (Published February
27) Why do you feel like you are
the best candidate to be on the School Committee? --------------------------------
The school
committee doesn’t oversee the building project; that is
the responsibility of the building committee established
by the Massachusetts School Building Authority. I don’t
have any particular concerns, as I have confidence in
the building committee’s ability to manage the project.
The members include folks with an understanding of what
we need in a successful high school, as well as others
with prior experience in completing successful town
building projects. For the school
committee, we will need to focus on the experiences our
students have while attending school adjacent to a
construction site. We must make sure the high school is
sufficiently resourced to provide a safe environment
conducive to learning. We will rely on the
superintendent and high school principal, who serve on
the building committee, to keep the high school
community informed about how we must work around the
construction activity. --------------------------------
Twelve years ago,
the student population in Arlington included 20%
children of color; now it’s 30%. We understand our
community is becoming more racially diverse, even as we
are becoming less economically diverse. We need to strive
to employ educators who reflect our student population,
for obvious reasons. Research shows that students have a
better school experience when they attend schools with
teachers who look like them. Less obvious, but equally
important, is that our students are preparing for a life
in a global society. -------------------------------- Question 4. (Published March 19) Over the next year, Arlington will be in the process of hiring a new superintendent? What quality would you look for first in a superintendent? Last year, we were able to pass an override and a debt exclusion because voters have confidence in our leadership. We need to maintain this trust in order to build upon our success, and we need a superintendent who communicates well with the community. We need a superintendent who recognizes the excellence of our staff, and promotes our culture of continuous improvement. I find value in a leader with a sense of humor, a leader who brings joy to the work. As a former teacher, principal, and district administrator, with 18 years of school committee service and statewide leadership roles, I have worked with dozens of superintendents. I have seen how great superintendents make a school system a better place, and how others can impede the work of educators. My experience will help me to evaluate candidates who will be a strong addition to an already strong system.
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THANK
YOU for re-electing Paul Schlichtman Arlington School Committee in 2020. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Experienced leadership for challenging times. WE WON! A map of election returns for Arlington's 21 precincts, June 6, 2020 A map of Arlington & Belmont state primary election returns, September 1, 2020
We need an experienced,
collaborative school committee to work
together to make the difficult decisions
ahead.
In the past three years, we worked
together to meet some significant
challenges. We welcomed new families to our
town and built classrooms for our children
at the Gibbs, Thompson, and Hardy schools. We
worked together to fund a new high school.
Now we must bring the system back from
the COVID closure, operate a high school on
a construction site, and select a new
superintendent when Kathleen Bodie retires
next year.
Paul
Schlichtman is a past president of the Massachusetts
Association of School Committees (MASC).
Attracting educators of color is not just an Arlington
problem: it is a challenge faced by every district in
the state. That’s why Paul authored a resolution that
was adopted by the MASC delegate assembly in 2019 to
advocate for the elimination of the state’s teacher
testing program. The tests are expensive (the applicant
pays the fee to Pearson), and don’t provide a valid
measure of teaching ability. They are a barrier for
out-of-state educators who might consider working in
Massachusetts. He understands that measures like the MCAS are just indicators that inform our work, not desired outcomes that drive our decisions. Too much emphasis on MCAS and accountability scores takes time and resources away from art, music, world languages, social studies, social-emotional learning, and other essentials not tested by the state. ![]() Looking for a data-informed school committee member? Paul built this interactive map and documented the enrollment growth in Arlington to support the 2019 operating override and high school project. Here's the map that shows a six year increase of 1,036 students; the 21.13% increase is the largest of any municipality with a student population over 100 children. Watch Paul's one-on-one conversation with James Milan of ACMi, a 15 minute talk about data, the superintendent search, the pandemic, and the advantage of having a highly-functional, collaborative school committee. Watch the ACMi School Committee debate & read the transcript.
Keep
in touch with Town
of Arlington COVID-19 updates here. During
the COVID-19 emergency, the Secretary of the
Commonwealth advises that no-excuse
early voting is available now.•Download
the application here,
and return it to the Town Clerk's office,
Arlington Town Hall "The Arlington Public Schools will ensure
that every graduate is prepared to enter and
complete a post-secondary degree program, pursue a
career, and be an active citizen in an ever-changing
world by offering a rigorous, comprehensive,
standards-based and data-driven K-12 system of
curriculum, instruction, and assessment that
integrates social, emotional and wellness support."
Minuteman Regional Technical
Vocational School Committee - Member (1997-2001) Massachusetts
Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, School
& District Accountability & Assistance
Advisory Council, M.A.S.C. Representative
(2015-2021) Did you know?
Arlington is a diverse,
fiscally prudent, high-achieving district. For "higher academic
standards, transparent hiring protocols, and strict
accountability measures... Paul Schlichtman... the best
chance for a cleansing breath of fresh air." Lowell
Sun, June 25, 2013. 2020 Virtual Campaign Kick-Off "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Paul Schlichtman • 47 Mystic
Street - 8C • Arlington MA 02474 • 781.641.3401 Last update Saturdat,
March 20, 2021
![]() Paul is married to Rieko Tanaka, a classically trained pianist, who became a U.S. Citizen in 2017. They both serve as Town Meeting Members representing Precinct 9. |
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