 My name is Laura Giddelson, and I am running for school committee. I am a mom of two, a lawyer, a town meeting member, and an advocate for social justice. Thank you so much for the opportunity to introduce myself and tell you about my work with Arlington schools and why I'm running. I'm an active member of the Pierce PTO. I serve on the Pierce School Council, and I work as a substitute teacher. I'm also a member of the town's LGBTQIA plus rainbow commission where I work on the education working group. And I'm one of the leads of the Arlington chapter of mom's demand action for gunsense in America. I'm running for school committee because I know from my own experience as both a parent and a long-time advocate for social justice that when elected officials support policies and allocate resources in ways that make it easier for every child and adolescent to access education, they change lives for the better. In 2023, Arlington schools are well positioned for success. We have a relatively new superintendent, are close to finishing our beautiful new high school, and we are poised to launch a five-year strategic plan. That said, there is a lot of hard work ahead of us. We are likely to face challenging budget conditions, and we'll need to confront those with Arlington's long-standing commitment to fiscal responsibility. All the while maintaining our commitment to providing our kids with the best education possible. We're also still emerging from COVID-19 and must confront the inequities and access to learning laid bare by the pandemic. To do this, we must make thoughtful and responsible decisions about the allocation of resources. So programs, services and support are equitable across the district. We need to support the creation and implementation of high quality professional development for faculty and staff to ensure that they are equipped to welcome, support and educate the districts racially, linguistically, culturally, economically and ability diverse learners. And we need to support recruitment strategies to bring new educators to the district who reflect the racial and cultural diversity of Arlington students and families. We need to prioritize special education services for students who experience barriers to learning and advocate for APS to allocate more resources to special education to ensure that every learner can access the education to which they are entitled. It is no secret that Arlington does not pay its teachers competitively with the communities around us and those we like to compare ourselves to. Pay parity has to be a priority to ensure we attract and retain the best educators for our kids. I will advocate for competitive compensation that is commensurate with surrounding districts and support professional development and training opportunities and workplace culture improvements that nurture, sustain and retain talented teachers, administrators and staff. Like many of you, I watched the school committee meetings in the summer of 2020 anxiously waiting to know what the school year would look like. Amid that uncertainty, I was impressed at the collaborative nature of the school committee's work and I believe I have the experience and skills to be a productive part of that work. School committee members do not make decisions alone. I have seen firsthand how the ability of committee members to listen and learn from community members and one another directly affects the quality of their decisions. In 2021, I joined the civilian police advisory board study committee and was elected as the committee's co-chair in its first meeting. While leading that committee, I worked with multiple stakeholder groups throughout town, including residents from all walks of life, elected officials, union leaders and town employees at every level from rank and file to executive leadership. The work of our committee resulted in a recommendation to the town to create a permanent police civilian advisory commission that was overwhelmingly supported by the select board and town meeting. That experience gave me insight into how important it is for the town to have volunteer leaders who understand how the systems of town government work in practice and also understand what needs to be done to improve those systems for the people who work within them and the residents they serve. As a parent and town meeting member, I have seen how important it is to have a well functioning school committee and I am excited to play a part in that hard work. I have the experience needed to work collaboratively and effectively with my fellow school committee members to ensure that we support and champion policies that are in the best interest of all of Arlington's kids. I'm Laura Gettelsen and I am asking for one of your three votes for school committee. Thank you so much.