2022 Election: Alicia Unusan, Holmdel Board of Education
HOLMDEL, NJ — Alicia Unusan is one of eight candidates seeking three full seats on the Holmdel Board of Education in the Nov. 8 general election.
In these profiles, based on the questions, the candidates give the voters an account of themselves and their positions on the issues. The patch spreads to each person until the election.
It is part of the Education First panel, which includes candidates Matthew Weisfeld and John Lam and, as the name suggests, is more focused on challenging careers in the district. Unusan is also concerned about the school environment and issues such as bullying. “Specifically, more needs to be done around curriculum, budgeting, and wildlife that weakens our educational environment,” he said.
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Read more from the candidate Alicia Unusan:
Name: Alice Unusan
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Age: 46
Town of inhabitants; Holmdel
Position sought: Holmdel Board of Education
Are you an incumbent or do you have previous school board or civilian experience? No
Do you have a campaign design or scrap? Education First
Campaign website: www.holmdeleducationfirst.org
Family: Husband, Eso; and two sons, Greyson, 10 and Ellery, 5
Education: BA, Manhattan College; MS, University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ
Occupation; Mother and freelancer in corporate voiceovers
What do you want to run for school board and what in your experience or stage prepares you for the election:
I am the mother of two students, one at Indian Hill and one at the Village School. I have my master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling and I believe we need a renewed focus on children’s emotional and social well-being.
I want my children to know that I have done everything to improve the current educational climate. As a class parent, member of PLG and PSA, as well as a designated Board member of PSA, we encounter the lack of infrastructure, policies, rules and procedures that wreak havoc on teachers and students and ultimately impact. the education that our students receive.
From bullying on the bus and the use of cell phones in the classroom, to the lack of enrichment classes and programs experiencing vapor, our schools have become dark and disorganized and education has become a secondary goal to managing behavior issues and creating infrastructure.
The previous board allowed many supervisory roles in the harmful game of musical chairs to be removed and allowed a temporary superintendent to play chess with our students for 18 months.
The newly appointed members have shown promise and are working hard to improve Holmdel schools for our students. They need more like-minded members who value education above all else to join them in their endeavor. In particular, more needs to be done about the curriculum, budgeting and wildlife that weakens our educational environment. Children don’t learn if they don’t feel safe.
I value the individual advanced level in the sciences, the structure and the way my institution is structured, and I recognize the values of the positive school culture.
Qualifications of candidates:
Our first board is Education. Mat Weisfeld, Joanne Lam, and I are all committed to restoring a cutting-edge STEM/STEAM curriculum that will rival technical schools, improve fiscal transparency for revenue and students alike, and restore a positive culture in this post-pandemic environment. society to provide education for our students and their future.
We believe that a board member should be knowledgeable and experienced in real-world matters to support. Each of us brings experience and insight into the current issues facing Holmdel Public Schools today.
Issue:
Holmdel’s main school subjects such as STEM and Language are given once per school cycle, so students only receive them three times a month. The curriculum has evolved and is not up to the standards of today’s technology in rival schools. Some teachers have 600 students per semester. They admitted to me that they do not recognize my student and say that they are overwhelmed.
Student behavior is declining all the time with cell phone use during testing, fights in bathrooms, poor school property, and children feeling isolated and harassed by peers. The bus ride to and from school became a fight zone, with students fighting other students as well as bus drivers. Parents and students no longer feel safe, yet our Board of Education scored highly in the NJ Anti-Bullying Harassment, Threats and Bullying (HIB) annual self-assessment.
With a school budget of more than $60 million, students should not be told that we cannot educate them at a certain level, nor should we be told that we must implement policies to keep them safe on the school bus. But this is exactly what our administrators say. We need to know where our tax dollars are going and the tax authorities must assure us that our taxes should not be raised because of a deficit in the budget.
What changes or improvements do you see for the country that could improve the quality of education and how can you make it happen?
(1) Renew the focus on the higher academic experience with more STEMM/developmental courses, sports and enrichment programs;
(2) We spend our tax dollars effectively so that no unnecessary tax increases are made, and
(3) Develop a positive play culture in a safe and healthy environment for our kids and
educators Some specific examples for item 3 above;
- Bus assistants in all the businesses that reported the incident.
- Promote the current HIB program with HIB reporting encouraged and enhanced by HIB-certified monitoring staff.
- They ensure that staff and teachers give them high accountability and power when it comes to negative behavior and accountability with students.
- A well-rounded child begins development with staff who reach out to students and address their social and emotional needs.
- Social media is a norm in classrooms with a disciplinary program that encourages positive behavior.
- There are Big Brother and Big Sister programs for first-year students at each school.
- Peer Mentorship schemes for students working in Academies
Candidates for the Holmdel Board of Education:
Full Term – Voting for Tribes
- Debbora Wilson, School of Community Advocacy
- Elizabeth Urbanski
- Chris DiMare, Save Holmdel Schools
- Jeff D. Mann, Save Holmdel Schools
- John Buckley, Save Holmdel Schools
- John Lam
- Alicia Unusan, Education First
- Matthew Weisfeld, Education First
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