To the Editor:
On May 21, voters will be faced with some hard choices.

As a mother, teacher in the Capital Region, and current member of the Guilderland School Board, I am interested in the experience of candidates, and how they would apply their background to help the district meet the current challenges facing the district and successfully achieve critical goals in the years ahead.

As the only incumbent, Blanca Gonzalez-Parker has both teaching and macro-level administrative experience necessary to hit the ground running as the board continues down the path of improving our schools.

I also know Blanca as a mother, first responder, volunteer, and town resident who takes her role on the board of education with the utmost professionalism and dedication to improve conditions for our educators and create an environment for our students to thrive.

The district is in a time of financial turmoil, and our learning environment is still feeling the impacts of the pandemic, including social-emotional impacts and staffing shortages throughout our learning community.

There is much work ahead as we work to improve our schools and prepare our students to compete in the changing worlds of higher-education and employment.

I urge the Guilderland community to vote for the candidates who understand the nuances of impactful teaching, relationship-building, education policy, communication, and teamwork.

This election day, I urge voters to vote for Blanca Gonzalez-Parker. Experience matters.

Katie DiPierro 

Special Education Teacher

Capital Region BOCES