Carver School Committee Chair Stephanie Cloughtery is so committed to her role on the committee that she quit her job for it nine years ago. Now, Clougherty is running for her fourth term, where she hopes to improve the educational experience and culture of Carver’s public schools.
Prior to running for school committee for the first time, Clougherty was a classroom volunteer in Carver’s schools, served on the town’s finance committee and Carver Cultural Council and was a stay-at-home mom.
Clougherty said she decided to run for school committee when her daughter’s fifth grade teacher encouraged her to, which surprised her.
“I never really thought of myself as advocating at that level,” Clougherty said. “Because it was never about, and it’s still not about me, it’s about how can I improve everything for our students.”
Clougherty has served on the committee for nearly a decade and said that she is still a valuable asset to the committee. Clougherty said that on the school committee, she’s proud of work she did to modernize the district’s policies, promote fiscal responsibility in the school district and give students a voice in their education.
“If I didn’t feel like there was value in my service to our students and our community,” Clougherty said. “I wouldn’t be running again”
Clougherty particularly emphasized her commitment to having students learn beyond their academic skills.
“I think this concept of deeper learning and empowering students to feel comfortable asking questions,” Clougherty said. “To feel comfortable making mistakes, to feel comfortable learning with others, to feel comfortable to share their opinions and have constructive conversations, I think that is such a valuable skill that they will be able to carry with them for the rest of their lives.”
She said that students today face challenges that didn’t exist years ago, like toxicity on social media.
“I feel like there’s work to be done where we can further build that sense of community and uplift our students and give them the tools to have conversations with people that they don’t see eye-to-eye with in a meaningful way,” Clougherty said. “Versus a hateful way.”
Polls are open for Carver’s annual town elections, including the school committee race, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 25 at the Carver Middle High School gymnasium.
Contact editor-in-chief Nick Mossman at nick@carverjournal.com
