Norwalk Public Schools are navigating a complex landscape of teacher morale issues, breakneck advances in artificial intelligence, funding gaps compared to other districts, and increasing challenges related to student mental health and multilingual education.
Nine candidates – four Democrats, four Republicans, and one Independent – with ideas for addressing these issues are seeking four at-large seats on the nine-member Board of Education, each carrying a four-year term. The board has five other members each representing one of the city’s five individual voting districts, but none of their terms are up this year.
A virtual forum Tuesday gave voters the opportunity to hear from eight of the nine candidates running for the board on how they would approach these issues. At least one more candidate forum is planned next week.
The crowded field of candidates in this year’s school board election includes Democrats Sheri McCready Brown, Dana Nellie Cole, Marcus Jaime and Garrett Oliver and Republicans Xavier Guzman, Alexandrea Kemeny, Tricia Massucco and Artie Kassimis. The Independent candidate is Lisa Brinton, who is also running for a seat on the Common Council as allowed under Connecticut state law. If elected to both, she’ll need to choose one and give up the other.
Democrats currently have a lock on the nine-member school board, which the four Republicans and one Independent are hoping to break. Three of the Republican candidates – Guzman, Kemeny and Massucco – have also received the cross-endorsement of the Independent Party, meaning they will appear on both the Republican and Independent ballot lines.
McCready Brown, who is finishing out the term she began in 2021, is the only incumbent seeking re-election.
Kassimis, though not an incumbent, previously served on the board from 2011 to 2017 and is now seeking a return. He was the only candidate not to participate in Tuesday’s forum. A reason for his absence was not stated.
Diverse backgrounds
The nine candidates represent a wide range of professional and community backgrounds.
Three of the nine are current or retired educators: Guzman is a former engineer who now teaches at a private school, Jaime works as a public school counselor, and Kemeny is a retired music teacher from Norwalk Public Schools and co-founder of the local Crystal Theatre performing arts group.
Two others have had experience with the Norwalk Public Schools through their work: Massucco serves as director of elementary school programs at The Carver, a local nonprofit offering recreational and before- and after-school programs in the Norwalk schools. McCready Brown, a real estate agent, previously held administrative and public affairs positions with Norwalk Public Schools and the Norwalk Housing Authority.
Rounding out the field are Oliver, a product marketing and sales professional, and Brinton, a retired AT&T executive and self-employed writing coach. Kassimis is a pastor at Word Alive Bible Church. Information on Cole’s occupation was not immediately available and was not provided during Tuesday’s forum.
Unconventional format
Tuesday’s forum was co-sponsored by progressive youth advocacy organizations Norwalk ACTS and the Center for Youth Leadership in cooperation with the League of Women Voters and local news site Nancy On Norwalk.
The virtual panel followed an unconventional format with five students taking turns reading from a prepared list of 19 prewritten questions, the first 16 of which were directed to a single candidate in alphabetical order with no dialogue or follow-up by either the students or the other candidates. Some of the topics did overlap, however.
The final three questions were posed to all the candidates and allowed them to offer their thoughts on educational innovations, why they’re running for the Board of Education, and whether they would support appointing two student representatives to the board as non-voting members.
Teacher Morale and Support
Teacher morale is said to remain a concern in the district, which reflects similar findings at both the state and national levels. A student questioner during Tuesday’s forum cited a recent Connecticut Education Association survey of 1,000 teachers showing that nearly 98% of teachers said stress and burnout are very serious or somewhat serious problems and that 60% reported worsening conditions over the past two years.
Brinton highlighted student discipline as a key factor in these findings: “Teachers are feeling a little bit of the pressure of not necessarily being supported in disciplinary matters… They want more advocacy for teachers, better communication, and acknowledgment of their hard work.” She also emphasized that consistent leadership and communication can contribute to a healthier school culture, noting that Norwalk has seen 10 superintendents over the last 20 years.
Reducing Barriers to Participation
Equity in access to school governance and participation also emerged as a theme during the forum. Cole praised the City of Hartford’s use of real-time AI translation for Board of Education meetings and recommended extending the use of sign language and other accessibility tools to those with hearing or communication challenges. “Transcripts are another method that we could go with… making sure that everyone is able to register what is being said and then participate,” she said.
Civic Engagement and Volunteerism
Guzman emphasized the value of community service and civic education in schools. He pointed to national programs like Habitat for Humanity as well as “Filling in the Blanks,” a local initiative aimed at fighting childhood hunger, and noted the formative impact that participating in them had had in teaching his own children about civic responsibility.
“Kids need to understand not only reading and mathematics, but also how to participate in being part of the community. Giving back brings them together,” Guzman said.
Food, Social Services, and Budget Transparency
Jaime stressed the need for transparency and prudent resource management in school programs. Discussing the cost of free meal initiatives and social services, he suggested auditing the budget and “putting the money back into the schools and getting it out of the central office” wherever possible. He also called for funding staff development through more use of in-house resources, professional learning communities and other teacher-led initiatives, which he suggested could be paid for with stipends rather than traditional “top-heavy” approaches.
Oliver echoed the need for clarity in budget processes, emphasizing parent education and town hall engagement to ensure timely and transparent decision-making.
Vocational Pathways for Non-College-Bound Students
The growing demand for vocational education and credentialing in recognized trades drew attention from Kemeny. She said access to technical programs and apprenticeships remains an area of need: “We need more equity in our schools to give opportunities to students who aren’t necessarily going the pathway of college,” she said. “Let them work with carpenters, plumbers, electricians. They are going to be the millionaires of the future.”
Mental health and Bullying
Mental health and bullying – and the use of social-emotional learning (SEL) to address these concerns – were also recurring themes.
Massucco noted that younger students are increasingly at risk and called for training every staff member to better understand the mental health challenges that students face. “We as trusted adults need to be there for them. We are their lifeline,” she said.
Sheri McCready Brown touted what she said were successful SEL programs at Tracey Magnet School and West Rocks Middle School. She said West Rocks’ RULER program – an acronym for “Recognize, Understand, Label, Express, and Regulate” emotions – had reduced suspensions by half and improved students’ sense of safety and belonging.
Multilingual Learners and Inclusion
Oliver addressed support for Norwalk’s multilingual students, who represent nearly a quarter of the student population. “We need more teachers that are engaged and there to really take the time to work through the problems kids are having. Funding is crucial to make sure that those tools are available to everyone,” he said.
Artificial Intelligence in Schools
AI emerged as both an opportunity and a concern during Tuesday’s forum.
Brinton said AI tools could be useful for high school students with sufficiently developed critical thinking and reading skills but cautioned about their use with younger students: “Bringing it down to an elementary or middle school level is of great concern,” she said. “Half of our kids aren’t reading at grade level and aren’t in a position to use AI effectively.”
Cole underscored the need for vigilance in the use of AI tools as stand-ins for human counselors and therapists. She cited reports of AI chatbots that had gone awry and begun advising individuals considering suicide on how to do so and instructing those with eating disorders on techniques for purging and other other potentially dangerous behaviors. “Remember that AI is generative. It goes off the information it has been fed. Maybe it can handle minor day-to-day stuff, but there has to be someone monitoring it to make sure nothing harmful is being sent out,” she said.
McCready Brown praised what she described as Norwalk’s proactive approach to getting in front of these issues: “We are developing policies, engaging families and the community, and creating professional learning that ensures AI is used ethically, equitably, and effectively. We know that AI supports – not replaces – the critical human skills students need most: empathy, collaboration, and critical thinking.”
Sensitive Issues and Cultural Awareness
Sex education, religious holidays, and parent engagement were highlighted as areas needing thoughtful, inclusive approaches.
Guzman stressed collaboration with parents to guide the district’s approach to sensitive topics.
Massucco noted that parent participation varies across schools and emphasized translation services and clear guidance to spur greater family involvement.
Kemeny advocated expanding the philosophy of inclusiveness to teaching directly about diverse holidays such as Diwali, which took place Oct. 20, when closing for the day is impractical or impossible. “There were a couple of years where we didn’t have Veterans Day off, and we dedicated the whole day to teaching about veterans,” Kemeny said. “I understand if people feel they need that day off, but sometimes it’s just as valuable for all of us to study and learn about it so everyone has a true understanding.”
Educational Innovation
Candidates offered a range of ideas for bringing innovative practices to Norwalk Public Schools.
Brinton emphasized scaling successful theme-based magnet and charter school models across the district, while Cole supported policies like Westport’s classroom cell phone ban with allowances made for accommodating neurodivergent students.
Guzman echoed support for cell phone bans and stressed collaborative learning from other districts and non-public schools, while Jaime highlighted teacher-led professional development rooted in adult learning theory.
Kemeny suggested a K-12 social-emotional learning framework modeled on a program in Barrington Public Schools in Illinois, while Massucco advocated for flexible, student-directed high school experiences inspired by programs used in Long Island public schools.
Oliver emphasized leveraging technology and AI models already in use in other school districts nationally, and McCready Brown cited partnerships like EdSafe and the AI District Policy Lab as models for innovation and ethical AI use.
Student Voice
The candidates uniformly appear to support the idea of appointing two students as non-voting members of the Board of Education.
Brinton observed that “too many battles have been fought over adult agendas.” Having students on the board could help “keep the adults honest,” she said.
Cole, Guzman, and Massucco echoed those thoughts and highlighted the grounding effect that youth perspectives could have on adult decision-making.
McCready Brown, while supportive of the idea in principle, underscored the importance of obtaining parental consent and instituting policies that safeguard student well-being and privacy when sensitive topics are discussed. She also suggested building on existing structures like the superintendent’s Student Leadership Council. “While I’m open to exploring new approaches, we should also build on what’s working,” she said.
Several candidates – Brinton, Cole, Guzman, Jaime, Kemeny, and Oliver – also expressed support for affording teachers a form of representation on the board.
Motivations for Serving on the Board
When asked why they want to serve, the candidates talked about a combination of personal commitment, professional experience, and community responsibility.
For too long, Brinton said, the Board of Education and Common Council have been “pointing fingers at each other” over budgetary matters while state aid to Norwalk schools continues to lag Bridgeport by as much as 10-to-1 on a per-student basis. “I want to fight for Norwalk and the students of Norwalk,” she said.
Guzman focused on closing academic gaps, Jaime stressed the need for fresh, education-centered voices, Kemeny advocated raising expectations for students, Massucco emphasized sustainable resource allocation, Oliver stressed action and engagement, and McCready Brown reflected on public education as “the great equalizer” and her desire to ensure students are prepared to thrive in an ever-changing world.
Additional Forum Planned
With Election Day approaching, those wishing to hear more from these candidates will have at least one more chance to do so at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 27 at the Concord Magnet School, where the PTA will be holding a Board of Education candidates’ night.
Candidates will give brief introductions and take turns responding to several pre-selected questions, after which members of the public will have an opportunity to ask questions as time allows. The event is being billed as a parent-focused forum but is open to the public.