Foxboro Candidate Profile: Salina Chowdhury for School Committee

FOXBOROUGH, MA — Foxborough's town election is May 3. Foxborough Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles over the coming weeks.

Salina Chowdhury, who also ran in 2019, is one of two challengers running for a seat on the School Committee. She faces two other candidates in the race including incumbent Richard Pearson and challenger Sarah Lidonni. The top two voter-getters will join the School Committee.

Are you running for office in Foxborough? Contact Jimmy Bentley at jimmy.bentley@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate profile and submitting campaign announcements to Foxborough Patch.

Learn a little more about Chowdhury in the profile below:

Age (as of Election Day)

43

Family

My family and I have lived in Foxboro since 2011. I am a Mom to two growing boys; my oldest son, Aareb, is in high school and my youngest son, Zain, is in middle school. My husband Anisul works for the Department of Homeland security.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

I am formally educated in Business Management and Administration.

Occupation

Two years ago, I started a small business after working for 15 years in the banking industry.

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

No

Campaign website

Salinachowdhury.org

Why are you seeking elective office?

I have always been passionate about three things: our children, effective education and community involvement.

I am running in an effort to make continuous improvements, better our town’s school system, and be the voice for the unheard.

As an immigrant mother of two, I am uniquely positioned to understand the value of having diverse representation in our community. While our collective values may be similar, our lived experiences are different.

I look forward to serving our community as we work together to foster an inclusive, diverse, and safe learning environment that enriches our students and allows them to prosper.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

The lack of diversity and adequate representation to further the growing and diverse needs of our school system and community members.

While I appreciate the contributions of previous school committee members. I am here today with the commitment to work with all of you to elevate our school system in Foxboro.

I firmly believe that a strong educational environment opens the door for a better future. I feel very fortunate to live in such a great community and to have such amazing schools for our kids. But, I also believe there is work to be done and areas that I would like to continue to improve on.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

My fellow candidates and I share something very important, our commitment to improving our school system - that is powerful.

Where we are different is in our philosophy, lived experiences, and ways in which we plan to empower these changes.

What I promise to bring is diversity and inclusivity in outlook, and a fresh perspective to solving both current and new challenges.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

My goal is to expand our focus into areas that have not been getting enough attention. I am committed to amplifying the diverse needs of all our children by allowing them to learn dynamically, and enabling them to be successful as young adults.

How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?

The pandemic has certainly taken us all by surprise, and it’s fair to say that we may not have anticipated the debilitating impact it has had on us and our children.

Our local officials have done the best with limited information and resources. That said, an important aspect that was not prioritized is the focus on mental and social emotional health and the implications on our students, families, our teachers and all school staff members.

By prioritizing this, we could have customized actions relating to the academic needs and deficits felt by our students; and assisted our parents, teachers, and community with the right tools.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

My vision is to create an optimal and equitable learning environment for all of our students by reinforcing diversity, and inclusion as valued parts of the culture within the Foxboro school district.

We live in a world where change is occurring every second of every day - with these changes come new and unique challenges.
Currently, the two biggest themes I am focused on are: (a) security and safety; and (b) aligning the right resources for our dynamic students and school system to succeed.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

My professional experiences have allowed me to work in a variety of different environments. It has trained me to think critically and deeply evaluate complex challenges that don’t always have a simple answer. In the last few months, I have had deep conversations with many folks in our community and listened to their different opinions, as a school committee member should.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Don’t give up and to keep trying to bring change - even when the odds seem to be against you.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

The investments we make in our children by way of their school education is paramount to their success as adults. The positive impact we can promote for children during these times is invaluable. The opposite is also true - if we don’t proactively work to protect our children from the negativity then the disadvantages slip in.

Whether the issues pertain to school funding, taxes, facilities, equity (race, religion, sexual orientation, food scarcity, technology etc.) and other challenges, I am fully committed to bettering our town’s school system by being principled, bringing fresh perspectives, and advancing an open-minded environment to address these challenges.

I hope to earn your vote for school committee with you make meaningful improvements on our school system.