To the editor:

Our community prides itself on the quality of education that the Barrington Public Schools delivers to our students in grades K through 12. I offer continued gratitude to the teachers, administrators, support staff and building staff in each of our schools who continue to deliver high quality services, as they did during the disruption of the pandemic. 

Since early 2020 students have been impacted in many ways by the pandemic disruptions and for many of them their classroom performance continues to be impacted by those disruptions and ongoing challenges that resulted from them. It is imperative for the School Committee to solidly support the administration in using all tools at their disposal to help remedy the setbacks caused by the disruption to education as well as ensuring that student mental health does not take a back seat to advancing academic and classroom performance. 

To that end, we can all agree that it is critical that our incoming School Committee members are making clear to voters what their priorities are when it comes to student well-being. One of the School Committee candidates, Margaret Reid, gives me confidence that if she is elected to the School Committee she will prioritize student-focused policies that help the district address the impacts of the pandemic on student well-being as well as academic performance. Margaret has spent years advocating for students on the Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC), as a member of the BMS PTO board, and currently as a member of the Special Education Task Force for the district. 

As an educator herself and a leader in her field, Margaret is also a parent of a Barrington Public School student. As someone who, through years of teaching at the university level and leading her department as Chair, has an understanding of what impacts both student well-being and college preparedness, I believe Margaret would bring a unique and important voice to our School Committee. 

As we get close to October 19th when early voting begins and the requested mail ballots start hitting mailboxes, I would like to see a commitment from all School Committee candidates to student-focused priorities and a commitment to prioritizing student well-being. I already know that Margaret Reid has made that commitment and articulated her priorities for supporting student mental health and well-being. Our community, our schools and our students would be well-served if we could all come together and put our minds together to collaborate for the best outcomes for our children. I believe we can count on Margaret Reid to help lead that work, if she is elected to the Barrington School Committee.

Rep. Liana Cassar

Barrington