This is the fourth and final piece in a Q&A series running each week up to the election to give Warren’s two candidates for school committee (Kyle Jackson and Jarrod Hazard) a chance to answer a few pressing questions to help inform voters and provide insight into each candidate. For the last prompt, candidates were given 300 words to answer.

Answers are direct quotes from candidates, with edits only for spelling or grammar.

The question:
Name an experience you had during your K-12 educational experience that shaped you in a memorable way. It can be positive, negative, or something in between.

Jarrod Hazard
I was incredibly lucky growing up with a chance to go through a top public school district. In a typical year, we had 15-20 students accepted to Ivy League schools, MIT, or similar level schools. This was in a district the size of BWRSD (my high school class was 238 students) that currently, as of 2018, invests approximately the same per student as our BWRSD. I want to work on the school committee to help provide every student in this district similar opportunities.

Our district, like every district, pushed the academics and believed that every student who put in the effort get into a college that was a good fit for them. We were held accountable to put in the effort and to be present, both physically and mentally, in all of our classes. Reading this you might think that my district focused on only academics and focused on preparing us for tests. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. In high school, there were only two subjects in which we were required to have four credits, English and Arts. This allowed for students to find other interests outside of the typical academic classes. Whether it was photography, theater, chorus, or automotive class, everyone was encouraged
to expand their horizons beyond math, sciences, and English.

I have always stated that from a position on the school committee my top priority is to help foster an environment conducive to learning while improving our curriculum. I want to see a school system that will allow for our students to excel and grow. I believe that academics and accountability will lead to excellence.

Kyle Jackson
Going into my junior year in 1993, Warren and Bristol regionalized our schools. Rivals came together as a new district. Adults in the community, teachers, and administrators worried Warren and Bristol youth might not get along. Concerns about possible violence and discipline issues created a negative perspective that initially fueled student concerns. But young people are resilient, and they can always surprise adults.

When my junior year started, I was technically at a new school. Students integrated, mostly without incident, and camaraderie was formed from the start. Regionalization brought our two connected towns together and provided us with opportunities to meet new people, make new friends, and explore new options in academics and extracurricular activities. The experience expanded my own world and that of my fellow students. I graduated from Mt. Hope in 1995 with new lifelong friends from Bristol, many of whom remain some of my closest friends today. We’re all different and followed different paths to college and careers. We have different parenting styles, family structures, and politics. To this day, we support each other through raising our own children, managing careers, and navigating life’s ups and down. We talk about things facing our world and our towns. We don’t always agree. And that’s alright. Our relationships are grounded in shared experience and care, so we’re open to each other’s perspectives.

This experience taught me that good things happen when we let down our guard and don’t make assumptions. Young people have something to teach us in our district and in society today. When we show up and find common ground with each other, it’s easier to tackle challenges and achieve our goals. I want today’s students to experience this sense of community, and I want to contribute to an environment that shows them what’s possible.