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GREENBURGH, N.Y. School board elections are Tuesday, and we're preparing by asking the candidates questions about the issues, what they hope to accomplish and why residents should vote for them.
Here is what Greenburgh Central School District 7 candidate Jacqueline Hoeger had to say.
Tell us about yourself:
My name is Jacqueline Hoeger and the following is my career as a parent. In 1991, I quit my job as a senior systems programmer for a Fortune 500 company to be at home full time with Katarina, my first child. As a mom, I set a personal goal to provide opportunities for my children to develop into responsibly independent and effectively interdependent beings for the good of world peace. When my daughter started the Lee F. Jackson School, I expanded my goal to involve the children in the Greenburgh community so I got involved with the Promise of Unity campaign to support Terry Pavone, a parent and former Woodlands schoolmate of Lee F. Jackson, whom Pavone was honoring. Through a team effort of children, parents, teachers and volunteers, I initiated, designed, and executed group projects of the Promise of Unity Quilt, the Hands Across My Town Map, and the Face of America. To highlight the success of our students and community, I presented the Promise of Unity projects in several state and international early childhood conferences. As my children moved toward the high school age, my focus in fulfilling my goal for our GC7 children shifted to providing academic help for State ELA, State Math, Regents Mathematics and English etc... My husband, Sven, and I have been residents of Greenburgh since November of 1989. We have three children. One is a junior at Woodlands High school, and two are in college. Even at age 54, my mission to develop global citizens has not changed since Day 1.
What qualifies you to be a school board member? (Have you held or run for office before? Participated in PTA? Citizen budget committees? Other school committees? Civic organizations?)
Yes, I am a member of the PTA, ACTSO and helped with Woodlands WISE for several years, but the main thing that qualifies me to be a school board member is my knowledge of how to help our children succeed. My two oldest children were successful students in the Greenburgh school district. Both were accepted into top schools in the United States. Harvey Mudd College in California, and Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, and my 11th-grader recently was recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation and National Achievement Scholarship Program for his achievement on the PSAT. All of my experiences come from observing and working with my children, from tutoring students in the district and helping them pass their classes and state exams and working diligently to help our children pass their Regents. I would like to share one success story on one student I had helped in English; the student had taken the English Regents at least four times and did not pass. I and a few community members worked with the student and within several months she passed the English Regent Exam. The student was happy and we were happy to help. No man is an island; it takes a village to raise a child. I have been actively involved throughout the Greenburgh system since 1996 and consider myself an expert in what it means to be an involved parent in the education of our children. All of my experiences of working with students and parents have prepared me to be here, seeking a position on the Greenburgh school board.
What would you like to accomplish if elected or re-elected?
If elected my determination is to
- Provide a safe learning environment for our children.
- Work as a team member with fellow board colleagues to establish, uphold, and monitor management systems that will ensure budget and infrastructure accountability, as well as academic success for our children.
- Increase parent awareness of what they need to know in order for their children to succeed.
- Provide opportunities for children to develop into responsibly independent and effectively interdependent leaders of a global society.
- Increase parent involvement at all levels (pre-k through 12)
- Be a mouthpiece for those parents who can not advocate for themselves and their children.
- Be a resource from which parents can learn about services that are available to them and their children.
- Share the success stories.
If something had to be cut from the budget to meet the state tax cap, what would you cut?
I would need to evaluate the budget further. On Friday, I sat down with Ed Joseph and reviewed with him line by line what was presented in the Greenburgh Spotlight. As a result of my sitting with Mr. Joseph and thinking over his explanation, I have more questions to ask of him.
What are the three biggest issues facing the school today?
1. Parents not seeing themselves as equal partners in the education of their children in the GC7 school district
2. Lack of parent awareness of what needs to be known in order for their children to succeed
3. General lack of parent involvement on all levels (pre-K through grade 12)
If elected, what would you do about them?
I would start by sharing my success stories as a parent. I would encourage other parents to share their own success stories. Through sharing success stories, more and more people will be encouraged to emulate our success.
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