Alicia Piedalue: Ward 7

Alicia Piedalue is a candidate for the Newton school committee in Ward 7. Learn more about her views from her campaign website, the Beacon’s profile, and her responses to the Beacon’s candidate survey:

Would you support a Proposition 2 1/2 operating override to fund schools and other city expenses?

Yes. Before asking voters to approve an override, we should modify the rate at which we fund our pension and OPEB liability. The current rate of funding would fully fund this liability by late 2031; state law does not require full funding until 2040. Stretching the schedule by even a few years – for example, 2034 instead of 2031 – would provide funding to maintain the Level Services+ type of budget approved last year, and also free up millions for other city services. And there would be no impact on any pensioner. 

But to fully implement Dr. Nolin’s vision, we will likely need an override within a few years. Her “Thrive” budget scenario, which many residents support, would require additional funding, and it would be up to the School Committee, the Superintendent, and the Mayor among others to explain why the investment is worth the cost. Voters deserve a clear view into how their money will be spent and what it will mean for their city.

Did you support the NTA going on strike last year?

No. First and foremost, the strike was a collective failure. It was bad for kids, and it was particularly bad for our most vulnerable kids. This is why teacher, fire and police strikes are, and should continue to be, against state law – because of their capacity for harm to the public.

As a community, we need to move forward together, and I think transparency will be a cornerstone of our ability to do that. In order to avoid another strike, budget transparency is key. The School Committee and Union reps need to be working off the same set of facts regarding the city budget. We need open communication about what we value most and where we are willing to make trade-offs – because there will always be trade-offs. This last budget season, where we saw significant communication and outreach from Chair Brezski and Dr. Nolin, was a meaningful step in the right direction.

Would you keep the district’s multilevel classroom learning?

No. We should start by asking a simple question: “Does the multilevel class model address the problem it was intended to solve?”  NPS began multilevel classes with the worthy goal of ensuring all students had access to higher level coursework and to address persistent achievement gaps. It seems pretty clear that, overall, the answer to this question is no. Achievement gaps in math have actually gotten worse. We have heard from some teachers who have made their multilevel classrooms work well and who understandably believe in the model. But across the system, MCAS data, as well as teacher, parent, and student feedback, all suggest that we need to make significant changes to the model. 

Nation-wide, multilevel math has mixed results. We owe our kids a math program that does a heck of a lot better than “mixed results.”

I would love to see us rapidly adopt a model that provides all students with what they need (i.e. support and acceleration) and empowers educators to do their best work.

Would you support the district joining School Choice, which would permit parents to send their children to public school in communities other than that in which they reside?

No. I am open to hearing new information and revising my opinion, but at present I am disinclined to vote for School Choice, for two reasons. 

First, I have had many folks bring up School Choice in my discussions across the city, and they are by and large against it. The community voices matter. Second, I think any real consideration of School Choice is predicated on a very generous view of the health of special education in NPS. We have a lot of work to do in special education, and in areas like facilities planning, which makes it hard to support adding stress to the system right now.

Would you support keeping the schools’ DEI initiatives even if it may mean losing millions of dollars in federal funding?

Yes. I don’t think NPS should make any decision based on bullying, threats, or undue outside influence. We should make decisions based on the best interests of our students. Diversity, equity and inclusion are important values to me and there is no question that all students should feel safe, welcome and included at school; and all students should have access to the many opportunities our schools offer.  

But I also don’t think this question can be answered in the abstract.  For example, if we needed to change the name of a program in order to keep funding, I’d seriously consider making the change. But if you told me we needed to take an action that would target or increase the vulnerability of a subgroup of our kids, I’d say no way. Ultimately, I think initiatives that fall under this bucket should face the same scrutiny as any other program or initiative in the district: We should measure student outcomes and make changes if we aren’t getting the results we intended.

Are you prepared to close one or more of the city’s elementary schools if data supports doing so?

Yes. There is a huge caveat to this answer, which is that the “data” supporting a decision like this would need to be an extensive set of objective facts and reliable extrapolations (for things like enrollment trends and city finances); and qualitative data from the community on what they value and how much they are willing to invest; and expert advising from educators, administrators, city planners and the like on the impacts of school size, class size, teaching teams, outdoor space, school location, traffic patterns, home values, etc.  If a truly holistic set of data like this said clearly that we needed to close a school, I would support it.

I am very much in favor of neighborhood schools. Neighborhood schools bind communities, and I think most young families want to move to cities and towns that have them. This is why my family moved to Newton. I believe we should do everything we can to preserve them, and any change must be the outcome of a robust community process.

What one big idea or initiative would you champion, once elected?

I’d love to see us take steps to implement Universal Pre-K. The research shows that quality preschool is great for kids and for working families. In Newton, it would also do two important things: Opening even a handful of new preschool classrooms would immediately shore up enrollment (which is something we need to consider in any discussion of enrollment-based school closures). And, having kids start in NPS at age 4, which is the age at which many area private schools begin enrolling, would likely capture some of those kids who start private earlier because it’s available and then never shift to public schools.

We also need to do a review of our special education programs and our inclusion models. I don’t think we fully understand the interplay between different special education models, our MTSS work, and their budget implications. Given the complexity and cost of special education we need to look hard at whether we can make adjustments to do better.