The Murch Nominating Committee is pleased to announce the slate of candidates for the 2016-2017 school year for officers of the HSA Executive Board, the Parent Representatives for the Local School Advisory Team (LSAT), and the 2017-2018 Nominating Committee. Please join us in the Murch library at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, May 24, for the annual Election and Budget Meeting. In addition to the election, the HSA will be considering and approving its budget for the 2016-2017 school year. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend.
HSA Officers
- President: Sue Guzman
- First Vice President: Joanna Brown
- Second Vice President: Ron Eckstein
- Treasurer: Selena Fox
- Assistant Treasurer (payables): Sharon Bennett
- Assistant Treasurer (receivables): Maura Healy
- Secretary: Brendan Holland
- Past President: Maggie Gumbinner
Local School Advisory Team (LSAT)
- Karen Abrams
- Aaron Hanna
- Emily Kallaur
- Adam Riggs
See short statements below.
The 2017-2018 HSA Nominating Committee
- Sarah Benatar (Chair)
- Pam Gallant
- Kirsten Hawkins
- Manolis Priniotakis
Please direct any questions you may have regarding these nominations to the 2016-2017 Nominating Committee, as listed below. We would be happy to answer them. See you on May 24!
Kirsten Hawkins
Carrie Kolasky
Karissa Kovner (Chair)
Virginia Marentette
Local School Advisory Team (LSAT) Candidate Statements
Karen Abrams – During my seven years as a parent at Murch, I have witnessed the positive evolution of our school’s curriculum and appreciated the strong and supportive culture of the Murch faculty, staff and community. Looking ahead, I am very excited about the opportunities to continue to strengthen the Murch academic experience at our temporary home at UDC. I’d be honored to be part of the LSAT to help Mr. C make this transition a positive and rewarding process for our teachers and students. Being a team player who genuinely enjoys serving my community, I have been a leader of the early “GreenScene” at Murch to reinvigorate the school’s gardening program. I have also been a Girl Scout troop leader for the past four years. As the parent of three Murch children, our family has experienced the value of differentiated teaching in the core fundamentals of reading and math. I am also passionate about the value of enriching students’ education with strong science and music programs. I work at the National Marine Fisheries Service on the sustainable management of our nation’s fisheries.
Aaron Hanna – I am a professor of political science at Howard University. Though my “expertise” is in democratic theory and institutional design, I have for the last few years been addicted to the debates our city has had over education reform. So much so that I contributed a couple of op-eds to the Washington Post on the peculiarities of our two-sector public education system and now teach an interdisciplinary course on the politics of education reform. In terms of my potential contribution to the LSAT, I was a board member of the aftercare program at Shepherd ES (where my kids were previously enrolled), and I am presently – and this is surely the ultimate test of my ability to work productively with people with very different skill sets, personalities and ideological orientations – the coach of a first-grade Murch recreational soccer team! I am agnostic on many issues in education and a skeptic by nature, meaning that I expend more energy trying to understand the precise nature of a problem than trying to push a particular agenda or point of view. Hopefully my analytical rigor and conciliatory temperament will help Mr. C and fellow parents respond creatively to whatever unique challenges we face over the next year (especially the trade-offs and adaptations that result from our move to swing space).
Emily Kallaur – It has been a pleasure to serve on the LSAT this year and I hope to have the opportunity to continue next year. These are exciting times for Murch. Given the extraordinary dedication of all members of the school community, I am confident that it will be possible to maintain an excellent academic environment during the time in swing space and set a great foundation for years to come. The move to UDC brings challenges, but it also creates some interesting opportunities for partnerships and new ideas, and I hope that the LSAT can play a role in helping to maximize the learning potential of our temporary location. As the parent of one current (kindergarten) and one future Murch student, I feel highly invested in the school’s long-term future. I am a stay-at-home parent with a background in communications and international development, and would draw on my research and writing skills as well as time spent talking with a wide range of parents to better understand issues facing Murch from different viewpoints. If selected for the LSAT, I would bring an open mind, a desire to work with others to build consensus on key issues, and a passion for helping Murch be the best school it can for all students.
Adam Riggs – I have been a Murch parent since 2014, with both a 3rd and 1st grader enrolled now, and one more younger son en route. Having attended very good public schools myself, I feel strongly that contributing to a supportive and committed LSAT is one of the best things I as a parent can do to assist the teachers and administrators at Murch. My current focus is on the proposed build/renovation. The students, parents, and teachers all deserve the highest possible level of confidence in this new infrastructure, as it will be nothing less than a second home for all the children who attend, now and going forward, for decades. I have spent the majority of my career in the private sector, in finance and media/data-related fields, but have also worked at Treasury and the State Dept on technology projects.