To the Editor:

As a current member of the Board of Education and candidate in this November’s election, I have spoken frequently on the importance of raising the standard of excellence in our schools. Regardless of political affiliation, I believe that a focus on elevating academic performance, enhancing student outcomes, and increasing our reputational prestige, including via Blue Ribbon distinction, is something the entire community supports.

Accordingly, what my time on the Board has been about thus far, and what it will continue to be about if I am elected, is translating a focus on excellence into disciplined, concrete execution. This means three things.

First, we must find the courage to level set on where we are as a school district. While some believe that empty platitudes of support constitute a plan for our schools, I do not. Instead, we must look honestly at objective data, including math and reading scores, SAT scores, post-secondary readiness benchmarks, and performance gaps, and be willing to acknowledge that the data reflects underwhelming performance.

Second, we must be willing to forge a shared vision of excellence that lifts all students in the district. We must work together to determine which strategies are most likely to yield real world progress, including the deployment of significant additional resources to support struggling and at-risk students, and we must relentlessly execute on those strategies.

Third, we must be willing to transparently track our execution against agreed upon metrics, pivot quickly when our progress is lacking, and hold ourselves accountable as colleagues and neighbors for the results.

We are fortunate to have a Superintendent now beginning to lay the groundwork on all three fronts, and I ask for the opportunity to continue working closely with him.

Newtown can do better. Newtown can be excellent. That is why I am a candidate.

Todd A. Higgins, Esq.

Newtown