Letter To The Editor: Crossling's Skills Needed On School Board

To the Editor, Ossining Friends, Families and Taxpayers,

What a year.

What a year.

More than anything 2020 has shown me that good, well-researched, calm, reasoned leadership is so crucial to our functioning as a society.

I think our school district as a whole has done a wonderful job, and in no small part due to our Board of Education, district leaders, teachers, staff and parents.

Despite Covid, parental and staff fears, community turmoil and heightened anxieties there is a leader on our Board of Education who stands out above the fray.

That leader is Katherin Crossling.

I watched her from afar during her first run at election when she seemed to come out of nowhere. She first ran in 2017 and like many candidates her first run was not successful. But I admired her gutsiness and willingness to get involved. Ossining is not an easy place to play politics.

Some people, without grit or a fierce determination, would have given up hope or gone on to do something else.

But Katherin did not. She knew where her skills were best utilized in terms of giving back to the District and she stuck to it.

She came back a second time, more connected, more well-versed and more determined. I did not know her personally until that second campaign run in 2018.

I reached out. We talked at length, we ran through issues, solutions and alternatives, time and time again, I was impressed. I saw what she knew, the Board of Education was a great fit for her skill set.

And I was thrilled when the community saw what I saw and elected her three years ago.

So I have continued to watch her for three years as she has tackled this volunteer position. She has attended to it with the seriousness our community deserves as if it were a full-time job.

And I am still impressed now and so grateful she is a board member.

Her leadership, intellect and strength were especially clear to all who tuned in to the virtual Board of Education meetings these past fourteen months as the District has navigated its way through a global pandemic.

I am so happy I voted for her in 2018 and I will be voting for her again this May 18th.

We need people on the Board of Education who are going to ask tough questions, run through details at length, work to achieve cohesion, consider all consequences of board decisions and maintain their composure and grace during the process.

We need leaders who are going to bring innovative and inclusive SEL project-based programming to Ossining like Destination Imagination which teaches children - among other things - innovative problem solving and teamwork.

Many say they want programs like this in our schools. Katherin went out and did it, for about 300 students. Katherin has kept this after-school STEAM program going for six years on a volunteer basis.

She has been adamant that our young students have an enrichment opportunity that is more than just sports, that there is an option available to those who are neurodiverse, and that it is something all can take advantage of irrespective of financial circumstances.

When funding and faculty support was lost at certain points in the journey she was never deterred.

We need leaders on our BOE who are fierce in advocating for programming like this, leaders who remember the children who may be excluded otherwise. We need leaders who do not argue - but advocate - with a calm, reasoned voice - for the families and children who cannot.

We need leaders that represent all the families of Ossining and all viewpoints, especially if those viewpoints may clash with their own.

I believe Katherin to be this person. She has proven herself to be all these things and more. I am so proud to support her for Re-election and I hope you will too.

Justine Lackey