EAST PROVIDENCE — Karen Doucette, a first-time candidate, has announced her intention to run for the East Providence School Committee from Ward 4 in the 2014 election.

Mrs. Doucette announced her decision in a press release Wednesday, April 23. Tim Conley, elected for the first time in 2012, is the current Ward 4 representative on the committee.

"For over 20 years, I have been involved in East Providence’s public schools, first as a student and now as a parent of two.  I would like to help steer our school district in a positive direction. Being a representative on the school committee, I believe that I can help enhance the East Providence school community," she wrote in the introductory paragraph.

Mrs. Doucette continued, "I believe that the state of Rhode Island and city of East Providence need to move in a different direction. We need to change our focus away from the current national obsession with high-stakes standardized testing, uniformity, overcrowded classrooms, antagonism toward professional teachers.  Instead a move towards richer and solid curricula, creativity, collaboration, respect for the teaching profession and a dedication to promoting the joy of learning in our schools and all our children. I feel doing this will entice highly productive teachers back into our district.

"We need to foster a public education system that embraces and celebrates the individuality of all our children and facilitates their ability to reach their full potential, whether that be through the arts, sciences, mathematics, humanities, music, or all of the above.

"We need to make fiscally responsible decisions that prioritize directing resources to the classroom.  I believe that too often there is disconnect between decisions that are made at the committee level, and the needs and realities of our schools and families who are the key stakeholders in public education.  I will aim to oversee and safeguard our resources and help steer our district in a positive direction that corresponds to these needs."

Mrs. Doucette is the first candidate to formally announce her intention to possibly challenge an incumbent on the school committee.