Letter: Support Catherine Brunell For School Committee

The following is a letter to the editor and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Natick Patch.

As our students make a full-time return to their classrooms over the next few months, there is a lot to be fearful of. Can our students catch up on the academic, emotional, and social growth opportunities they’ve lost over the last year? What will COVID’s lingering impact on our economy mean for our schools' already strained budgets? And, how can we create an environment where all students feel safe and welcome when our society is still plagued by racism and other forms of insidious prejudice and hate?

These are all valid fears that I share. The lens that I am looking at all of this through feels so complicated at times — I am a public school teacher, I teach mindfulness and yoga to adults and children, I’m a longtime resident of Natick (born and raised), and I’m the parent of a Grade 3 student here in our town. All of this feels overwhelming and frightening for sure — the future and all that it holds for us, for our children. However, even with all of these uncertainties and fears, I am still voting from a place of hope. Hope for our future, hope for our children, hope for our town.

That’s why I’m voting for Catherine Brunell.

Catherine is someone who understands the school system from multiple angles. She is a former teacher who taught elementary school in Chicago and Boston. She is a community organizer, who founded a group that galvanized people across Natick from all walks of life in response to the School Committee’s post-COVID budget proposals. And she is a mom of five kids at all levels of the system who has been a coach, a volunteer, and an active member of our community for over a decade.

Throughout this campaign, Catherine has demonstrated her thoughtfulness, willingness to listen, and work ethic. She has outlined in detail the specific actions she would take to ensure our School Committee is following best practices when it comes to policy making, budgeting, and setting our strategic priorities for the future. She has answered questions and had robust conversations with established community groups and elected officials but also with regular citizens and people who haven’t been a part of the process in the past. And, she has not been afraid to speak truth to power and point out the areas where our School Committee has not been serving our students and community as well as it could be.

I’m voting for Catherine because I’m hopeful that we can have a data-driven approach to a return to school that keeps our students safe while beginning to heal the emotional and social wounds of the last year. I’m voting for Catherine because I’m hopeful that we can give our schools the resources they need by having clear, transparent, and thoughtful budgeting practices. And I’m voting for Catherine because I’m hopeful that we can make our schools a place where all students feel safe, valued, and heard.

I hope that you will join me on March 30 in voting for Catherine Brunell for Natick School Committee.

— Joanne Carlisle, Natick