2015 NYC Education Council Elections
Candidate Profiles for Community Education Council 30
Candidate Noreen Alam
DBN: 30Q148 IEP: No ELL No 30Q148 No Yes 30Q148 No No 30Q148 No Yes 30Q148 No No Applicant VOLUNTEER IN PTA Background
Personal Statement
Candidate Tahmina Begum
DBN: 30Q258 IEP: No ELL No 30Q258 Yes No 30Q152 No No 30Q152 Yes No Applicant Currently I am in the S L T team, and I am also the vice president in PA at PS. Q,152 Background
Personal Statement
Candidate Eileen Violeta Bendoyro
DBN: 30Q329 IEP: Yes ELL No 30Q329 No Yes Applicant I have been serving on CEC 30 for a year and a half. Visiting schools and helping parents work through Background the DOE system is one of my goals. When my child started attending East Elmhurst Community School I became a member of the parent volunteer corp. As a member of parent volunteer corp,we help students during lunch as well as during recess. I also volunteer in the school program. As a learning leader I help with the children`s homework and supervise a small group of students who are english language learners. Personal As a parent ,I want to be involved in the advancement of the schools and the district . I have been a Statement part of this community for many years and I want to make sure that the voice of this community is being heard loud and clear by the district and DOE. I am out spoken and believe that the improvement of children`s education is something worth fighting for . Continuing to serve on CEC 30 would be an honor and privilege.
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2015 NYC Education Council Elections
Candidate Profiles for Community Education Council 30
Candidate KA-TRINA C HARRIS
DBN: 30Q234 IEP: Yes ELL No
Applicant SINCE MY CHILDREN STARTED SCHOOL, I HAVE VOLUNTEERED AND HELPED. FOR Background MANY YEARS, I SERVED ON THE PTA EXECUTIVE BOARD INCLUDING THE POSITION OF PRESIDENT FOR 4 YEARS. I HAVE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF SERVING ON CEC30 FOR 2 YEARS AND HOPE I GET OPPORTUNITY CONTINUE. PROVIDING A VOICE TO THE COMMUNITY IS VERY IMPORTANT TO ME. Personal I HAVE BEEN SERVING ON COMMUNITY EDUCATION COUNICL 30 FOR 2 YEARS. AS Statement A PARENT OF CHILDREN ATTENDING D30 PUBLIC SCHOOLS, ONE IN HIGH SCHOOL AND ONE WITH AN IEP, I FEEL IT IS MY RESPONSIBILITY TO GIVE BACK AND ASSIST. DURING MY TENURE, I HAVE WORKED CLOSELY WITH PARENTS IMPROVING SAFETY & TAFFIC CONDITIONS AROUND THEIR SCHOOLS AND EXPLORED WAYS TO IMPROVE PARENT ENGAGEMENT. PARENTS KNOW ME IN THE COMMUINTY AND I LISTEN!! I BRING THEIR CONCERNS TO THE COUNCIL AND APPROPRIATE DOE STAFF.
Candidate Cesar Eduardo Tejeira
DBN: 30Q148 IEP: No ELL No
Applicant I'm the PTA co-president of PS 148. I also have a daughter in special education. Background
Personal I am a dedicated parent to my family and to my daughters. I have much to learn but also much to give Statement to the community. I hope to represent each and every one of the parents of my school and district. Thank you.
Candidate Clover Leah Yordanova
DBN: 30Q069 IEP: No ELL No
Applicant I am an Intervention Specialist in a Charter school and have worked as grades 2,4 and 3 teacher in Background public school.
Personal Every child deserves a great education! As parents, we need to do our best to be the change we want to Statement see!
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2015 NYC Education Council Elections
Candidate Profiles for Community Education Council 30
Candidate Valarie Lamour
DBN: 30Q291 IEP: No ELL No 30Q166 No Yes Applicant I was selected and then voted onto the CECD30 board twice with the highest number of votes (2013) in Background the district and all of Queens. As a member of CECD30 I have had the opportunity to establish new residential zoning lines in our district, making sure that community input is always paramount. I have been a strong supporter of translation services for our non-english speaking parents and have a track record of support to the special education population in our district. With community support we successfully saved PS122’s Middle School G&T district program from being abolished and successfully lobbied for a G&T City-wide middle school program in our district. Also as a CEC board member, we advocated to preserve our NEST program at PS 76 by avoiding a co-location in that building and stopped the Voice Charter School from only taking older five year olds into their Kindergarten lottery. My advocacy has also driven me to solicit with my surrounding community and politicians to stop the closing of Long Island City High School. I have served on the SLT at PS166, in Long Island City since 2009 and I am currently Co-President of the Parent Teacher Association of PS166. Personal I feel that my efforts and those of my fellow board members I have served with on the Community Statement Education Council and the community relations that I have established within Educational District 30 have demonstrated that I have been an effective and a positive advocate for my community. I believe it is important to give back and serve our communities and this is the way I have chosen to do it, for the past six years. I enjoy helping parents and children get the resources for education that we are all promised and entitled to as New York City and New York State residents. I will always support the efforts of my neighbors and community on how we feel educational policy should be implemented in our city. I feel that education is one the most important factors in keeping our City prepared and relevant for our future and our children’s futures.
Candidate Mafijul Islam Bhuiyan
DBN: 30Q166 IEP: No ELL No
Applicant I am involved in Bangladesh society INC. Which is a none profit organization. In that organization my Background position in public relation and publicity Sectery. We do have civic program for the community to help people. Personal I am a father and I committed my self to give my children best education as much possible. My older Statement boy is attending second grade in public school gifted talented program.
Candidate Eugenia Fickens
DBN: 30Q286 IEP: No ELL No
Applicant Preschool educator at Astoria Blue Feather Head Start working with typically developing and Background developmentally delayed students. Before working as a Child Development Associate I served on the Policy Council for two terms as the Secretary. Currently serves as an SLT member as a parent at
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2015 NYC Education Council Elections
Candidate Profiles for Community Education Council 30
TYWLS of Astoria.. Personal I am a mother, student, teacher and homemaker. Currently I am employed at Astoria Blue Feather Statement Head Start, an AHRC organization. My first position at AHRC was a volunteer, intern, substitute teaching assistant and now a Child Development Associate. I have observed and experienced developmentally and culturally diverse preschoolers for over eight years and throughout the years I have applied teaching strategies for an entire classroom, groups of children and individual children. I am proud of my ability to do so effectively. I am a firm believer in parent involvement, parents advocating for their children, bridging the gap from school to home and parents being their child's first teacher. I have a strong work ethic that I have carried my entire life that I attribute to observing my parents. I welcome the opportunity to be a positive model for my child.
Candidate Nazmul Quayyum
DBN: 30Q230 IEP: No ELL No
Applicant I have been in PTA ( Treasurer from 2006-2011 at PS 69) and active SLT member in PS 69 from Background 2006 -2011. Currently i am the PTA co-president at IS 230 & an active SLT member at IS 230 from 2012 to present. I am also involved in helping students of my neighborhood to understand and learn english, also a volunteer reader to the 1st & 2nd grader at Queens library. Personal Since my daughter statred public school at the age of 5, i got involved into the NYC public school Statement sysytem by joining the PTA, SLT for the elementary and middle school. I learned lot about the NYC public school and try to explore the knowledge to the parents and wanted to involve more with special activities related to parents and kids.
Candidate Myrna Sobeyda Palacios
DBN: 30Q228 IEP: No ELL Yes
Applicant In the past, I have participated in the parent leadership of my daughter's school. I have a Learning Background Leaders ID. I also participate in the parent education committee of Make the Road NY, Queens. We advocate for seats in schools and after school programs. I sometimes facilitate the parent committee meetings. Personal Statement
Candidate Fatma Munir
DBN: 30Q286 IEP: No ELL No 08X014 No No Applicant Background
Personal
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2015 NYC Education Council Elections
Candidate Profiles for Community Education Council 30
Statement
Candidate Nick Konstantakos
DBN: 30Q002 IEP: No ELL No
Applicant Background
Personal Statement
Candidate Monica Cabrera
DBN: 30Q152 IEP: No ELL No 30Q152 No No 30Q152 No No Applicant none Background
Personal Statement
Candidate Nuala O’Doherty
DBN: 30Q145 IEP: No ELL Yes 30Q230 No No 30Q149 No Yes Applicant I have 3 children currently in schools in Jackson Heights. I have served on the School Leadership Background Teams of PS 222, PS 149, IS 145 and IS 230 over the last 10 years. I have learned that it is critical to voice parent concerns and to work through the SLT to make change. I have been PTA president or involved in the PTAs of both PS 222 and PS 149. I am also a director of the Jackson Heights Beautification Group. Over the last 5 years, I have organized a “Meet the Principal Night― so parents of children entering kindergarten in Jackson Heights can learn about our local schools. It is critical that we educate our parents about the NYC School system. I believe that involved parents make good schools. My 3 children have all been in dual language programs since pre-kindergarten and I am currently working to expand dual language to IS 230. I also have 2 older children who were English Language Learners and attended Newcomers High School (Q555) in Long Island City. Personal School are more than systems to educate our children, they are the heart of our communities. Schools Statement must work better with parents and other community partners to build a system were parents, community members and school work together. For the last 10 years I have work tirelessly to improve
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2015 NYC Education Council Elections
Candidate Profiles for Community Education Council 30
my neighborhood schools, but it took me a long time to understand the Department of Education and how I can make a positive impact. We need to educate our parents when they first enter the system on how the process work and how they can best advocate for their children. The best way to improve our schools is to have active parent involvement, but this take an investment. In district 30, many parents did not attend NYC school and they do not understand the bureaucracy of the system. I believe it is the role of the CEC to change that. We must educate, inform and empower our parents to become effective advocates for their children. I have had children attend 5 different schools over the last 10 years. I have attended more PTA and SLT meetings than I could count, I think that with this experience, I can now work at a higher level so that I can use this experience to influence other schools.
Candidate Adriana Lynch
DBN: 30Q002 IEP: No ELL No
Applicant I am currently serving as a member of the P.S 2 School Leadership Team Background
Personal My name is Adriana Lynch and I grew up in the NYC public school system. I have always felt proud of Statement the education that I have received in this wonderful city. Now my daughters attend public school and I look forward to giving back in any way that I can. Our public school system can thrive and achieve great things. Policy makers, educators and parents working together can make anything possible. The children of our great city deserve a top notch education. My goal is to be an informed advocate for positive progress in public school education.
Candidate Robert Francis Novak
DBN: 30Q122 IEP: No ELL No
Applicant I have been a high school English teacher for the past 12 years. I began my career as a teacher at Background Richmond Hill High School, and I currently teach at Manhasset High School. Because the schools serve very different populations, I have a unique perspective on the current educational climate. I have worked closely through the years with a wide range of student populations, including special education, ELL, autism-spectrum, and honors-level students. My daughter, Stella, is a Kindergarten student in Astoria's PS 122, a school that educated both my mother and grandmother. My son, James, will follow her there in two years. My wife, Destiny, is also a high school English teacher at Aviation High School. We are educators and parents with a passion for helping this system be the best it can be! Personal I am passionate about preserving good-quality education in a safe and nurturing environment for all of Statement New York City's children. Many like to say that the system is "broken," but I don't think that's true; I think it has been bent to its breaking point, and is in desperate need of some relief. I understand that the public schools of the greatest city on earth have complex problems, and that the solutions for these problems will be harder to find in a political environment that seems to add only more obstacles and challenges. We deserve better. As a parent, an educator, and a citizen, I am shocked and dismayed at the idea that changes are being made to the public education system by those who have little to no experience in the classroom. The decisions that will shape the future of our public schools need to be made with the input of its hard-working teachers, its dedicated administrators, and its passionate
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2015 NYC Education Council Elections
Candidate Profiles for Community Education Council 30
parents. These are the people who make good education happen. If I am fortunate enough to serve on a Community Education Council, I will serve as the voice of a concerned parent and educator, and I will work with the Department of Education to help find the solutions needed to best serve the needs of our children.
Candidate Ivan Beacco
DBN: 30Q070 IEP: No ELL No
Applicant volunteer as chef with wellness in the school program Background
Personal Statement
Candidate Lynda Susan Kennedy
DBN: 30Q321 IEP: Yes ELL No
Applicant For nearly 20 years I have worked in education, first at a private progressive school, then in museums, Background followed by working on multi-year Teaching American History Grant funded projects in several New York City public schools in CSD 5 and CSD 17. I hold an MS Ed from Bank Street College of Education and a PhD in Urban Education from the CUNY Graduate Center. For several years I served as an adjunct on the faculty of the Hunter College School of Education in the Curriculum and Teaching department and currently teach in the MCNY masters in education program. While directing the Teaching and Learning Department of the New York Public Library I worked to expand our young adult literacy program as well as our community-based literacy centers which offer programs to support English language learners, as well as native speakers who struggle due to learning challenges. Personal As a lifelong educator, I am concerned with the setting aside of authentic assessments in favor of the Statement one size fits all approach. Good assessments inform instruction, highlight student strengths and give direction for improvement. Much time and money now is poured into "assessments" that give none of this information, where the cut score for passing is moved each year and a disconnected rating is returned months after the school year ends. I am concerned for students with learning challenges as they move through the system. Dyslexics who can comprehend beautifully when allowed to use an audio book are not allowed that support. Students with Dyscalculia who can show what they know on a math assessment using manipulatives are not allowed to use them. This is like failing a near sighted student on a vision test when not allowing them glasses. How can these and other students hope to pass the current tests – including Regents – and graduate? It is time that the policy setters listen to good research about assessments, about students with learning challenges, about learning in general and re- channel that money to impactful initiatives instead.
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