Meet Joseph Durette, Democratic Candidate for Board of Education

• Resident of SW since 1965 (with brief stints elsewhere).
• Graduate Class of 1980.
• Highest degree: MS Management from Rensselaer @ Hartford. (Environmental) 
• Also BS Ind. Studies from Charter Oak State College and AS in Chemical Engineering Tech from Capital Community College
• Also certified in Paralegal Studies and Occupational Safety & Health from UConn.
• President of South Windsor Community Toastmasters club.
• Volunteer for American Cancer Society.
• Aspiring freelance writer.

I’ve been a resident of SW for about 45 of my 51 years, and one thing that’s always been a staple of the community is the quality of our school system. I’m proud of the engagement our residents display and the bipartisan effort our board has demonstrated in the past to the education of our students, and if I’m elected I will be honored to continue working in that direction.

Clearly having a strong school system benefits the town in many ways, including attracting new residents who want their children to benefit from that system, which is a completely understandable goal. One concern I have heard from various residents over the years is a tendency for families to move into our town solely for the purpose of education their children here and then move away again when their education is complete. And I wonder why that is, because SW is a great town with much more to offer. Does school spirit flourish while community spirit wanes?

I think it’s important to keep in mind the economic disparity that is ingrained in our town’s demographics, and consider the impacts of the board’s recommendations to all town residents. It’s also important to sustain the quality of education that has been a tradition in SW, not because we should compete with our neighbors, but because a strong school system is a foundation for a strong community, and because the children deserve it. Some key element of this include offering a diverse and engaging curriculum, hiring and retaining enthusiastic teachers, and supporting a strong extracurricular program that gives students opportunities to learn outside the traditional classroom setting lessons in leadership, teamwork, goal-setting, and interpersonal skills. Sports play an integral part in this, of course, but not the only part. Student endeavors of artistic expression, volunteerism, technology, intellectualism, activism, and inclusion must also be supported. Our job should be to broaden horizons in as many directions as we can.

As a candidate for BOE, my vision is for SW is a school system that not only looks internally at its own processes for improvement opportunities, but outward to the local tertiary schools and business organizations to help us recognized trends and, subsequently, educational opportunities to give our students every advantage we can before they put on the cap and gown. A young, vibrant, relevantly educated workforce will be seen as an asset to growing businesses, and the jobs they bring will strengthen our community as a whole. And perhaps when our students settle down to grow their own careers and families, SW will be their town of choice to do so as well.