Jessica Jacques: Taking active role in children’s education by running for Gilford School Board

To The Daily Sun,

I am Jessica Jacques, and I am running for a seat on the Gilford School Board. After much reflection I have decided to take a more active role in my children’s education by running for a seat on the school board. Recognizing I have been critical and disappointed at times over the past two years in the decision-making process that impacts Gilford’s entire school community, I would like to be a catalyst for change.

I have always had a passion for, and a firm believer of, public education, which is what brought me from Connecticut to New Hampshire where I studied to become a public educator. I believe our district has quality educators and many valuable resources at its disposal. A main reason my husband and I chose Gilford as the town to live in and raise our family 18 years ago was its reputation for an outstanding school system.

As a proud parent of two amazing girls, this reason alone provides me with a strong, vested interest that our school district strives to be the best it can possibly be. Additionally, I am a public educator with 25 years experience; 17 as a middle school math teacher and eight as the K-12 district math specialist. I have held numerous leadership positions as well as been recruited by districts around the state as an independent mathematics consultant since 2018.

This pandemic’s strong hold is impacting so many facets of our lives. The health and safety of both students and staff must be at the forefront of every decision. I believe we should continue to refine safety protocols using resources provided by the experts to keep all in the school community safe. However, I truly want the conversation and energy of the school board to shift its focus to the learning loss our students are facing. Another very critical issue that needs consideration is how we can better support staff through the pandemic so that we retain and continue to recruit quality staff.

Students in kindergarten through grade two across our nation have never experienced a “normal” school experience. Due to absences, quarantines, and the original shut down, students at all levels are being greatly affected by both the pacing of curriculum and content understanding, as well as social and emotional needs. Differentiation of content has been a struggle of educators for years, and this pandemic has only compounded the problem for educators because of such high and frequent absences. Educators nationwide have expended all of their energy and are experiencing burn out. We need to prioritize ways to better support and retain staff so they can be more effective with their practices.

When it comes time to make your decision on which candidate can help to make the school board and district stronger, I would appreciate your support. Working together, we can make the Gilford School District a more innovative and an even stronger school system. For more information about my candidacy visit jessajacques.wixsite.com/my-site.

Jessica Jacques

Gilford