Amy Goldman
I greatly appreciate the opportunity to present myself as a candidate for the two-year position of PSBA Sectional Advisor for Section 8, starting in 2019. Among the responsibilities of Sectional Advisors is to serve as an additional channel of communication between the designated PSBA liaisons on each school board in the Section and PSBA regarding local and statewide education issues. I am eager to be that resource and foster greater engagement.
Since becoming a parent of school aged children, I have become a dedicated advocate for the highest-quality educational experiences possible for each and every child. I don’t believe there is a greater gift that society can give its children than an outstanding education. I have a family legacy of being educated in Pennsylvania’s public schools and one of my two children recently graduated from one as well. With approximately 1.7 million Pennsylvania children currently enrolled in public schools, I hope their experiences will be as fulfilling as ours have been. But this is not something we can take for granted. Informed, thoughtful and consistent advocacy is essential.
My passion for education bloomed from being a very active parent volunteer in my children’s various educational settings over the past 17 years. That volunteer involvement included many parent organization and school leadership roles culminating in 2015 with my election to the Radnor Township School Board. I am honored to have served for the past three years as co-chair of our board’s Government Relations/Communications Committee as well as being the current Chair of our board’s Policy Committee. While the experiences I have had as a member of Radnor’s board have been educational and rewarding in and of themselves, I have also been invested in learning even more about the workings of public education outside of Radnor. That learning has come from attending multiple PSBA advocacy events and education forums of all kinds across Pennsylvania. Most recently I completed the PA Educational Policy Leadership Center’s Fellowship Program. I am a firm believer in “it takes a village” to best educate children, and that no one school entity or body of government has a lock on best practices and ideas, nor can we afford to operate in silo in this global age. I also believe it is the charge of all educational professionals and elected officials to consistently and collaboratively assess our students’ educational needs, our educator and educational system effectiveness, and any and all novel educational opportunities from our respective perches. From those assessments come critical advocacy opportunities and responsibilities.
If elected, it will be an additional honor to get to know, support and learn from the rest of the PSBA Section 8 public school community, my PSBA colleagues, and many other PA education officials to protect and strengthen public education. Together we can contribute to PSBA initiatives already in place and work to create new ones as needed for the sake of our students.
Amy Goldman
Board Member, Radnor Township School District
July, 2018