Meet the Candidates: Rob Canfield, School Committee (copy) | Columns

“Experience is the best teacher.”

—Penelope Davis

These last three years have taught me a lot. I have always had great respect for our educators and our schools.

After serving on the Foxboro Advisory Board for three years, I firmly believe that all children deserve equal access to quality public education. Over time, I began to truly understand the important work of the school board – representing all members of our community – in setting policy, financial oversight, and evaluating the performance of our administration. I have come to understand that the school council has one collective voice, not five individual voices.

I am proud of the work of our committee. We faced the unprecedented challenges of a global pandemic and navigated ever-changing state policies that impacted our local community. I am fortunate to be seated with committed volunteers who approach our work with integrity, intelligence, empathy, curiosity and thoroughness. I am also fortunate to work alongside an administration that leads our schools with vision, compassion, and dedication to using data and evidence to inform all decisions. Most importantly, I got a first-hand view of the amazing educators, staff and school community who work tirelessly and creatively to improve every day, reaching all of our students and guiding them in their academic development. , social and emotional.

My service on the school committee has broadened my perspective and deepened my experience. I am very proud to live in a community that believes so strongly in its principles and sets goals for the education of its children. We believe in a comprehensive quality education including the arts, athletics and special interests. We focus on the whole child, we operate in a way that promotes diversity, equity and inclusion for all children, and we learn from each other every day.

As a parent and elected official, I personally know that it takes the whole community to prioritize and drive this success. I want Foxboro to continue to focus on being a community, united in our belief in diversity, equity and inclusion, so that our schools are welcoming and accommodating to all students, support our educators, trustworthy parents and responsible with our taxes. . We can do this by encouraging communication, focusing on our goals, and trusting that the checks and balances are in place to hold us all accountable.