For some students, the new face on the Westport Board of Education (BOE) may be surprisingly familiar. In fact, Brett Aronow, who was appointed on Sept. 24 to fulfill the vacant position on the BOE when chairman Don O’Day resigned in August, has three children in Staples: class of 2014 twins Baxter and Griffin, and Quincy Stein ’15.
“I hope that by being a member of the BOE, I can continue the tradition of excellence going forward for many more years,” Aronow said. “I truly believe that Westport has great schools, teachers, parents and students.”
Because O’Day left before the end of his term, the vacancy became an appointed position rather than an elected one. When Aronow, a Democrat, learned of the open spot, she applied and was interviewed by a nominating committee from the Democratic Town Committee as well as the entire BOE. With the four-year term she presently fills expiring in November 2013, she plans to run for reelection.
Aronow, who holds an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and an MBA Stanford University, cites several goals on which she looks forward to working.
“One goal is to try to gauge how we are doing with the Westport 2025 initiatives that have been put in place already,” Aronow said. “We want to use research-based measures to benchmark ourselves against the best schools systems nationally and internationally with regard to curriculums, programs and assessments.”
Aronow said she fully believes in the BOE’s mission “to prepare all students to their full potential as lifelong learners and socially responsible contributors to our global community.” One way she hopes to achieve this end is by eliminating a potentially unpleasant school environment.
“[I would like to] address issues related to school climate and mean-spirited behavior on the part of students and adults,” she said.
According to Aronow, the most important message she tries to convey to her own children is that they are individuals—she believes this value should be appreciated by all students in the Westport public school district.
“There is no ‘right’ way to be able to get the most out of your school experience,” Aronow said. “But [students] should try hard at whatever they do, not be afraid to fail and consider themselves incredibly fortunate for the wonderful opportunities they have around them in Westport and the community.”
Aronow encourages students to raise issues and concerns to the BOE either through public meetings or by email.
