Update

Election time is approaching here in Chicopee! – Mayor signs all over town, people discussing candidates, politicians going door-to-door, spaghetti supper fundraisers, and more. The primaries are September 17 and final Election Day November 5. Ward 8 citizens can vote for me on November 5! 😊

I guess the recognition I received from the State Senate for my education is relevant again now that I’m running for school committee!

I was enjoying all the first day of school pictures parents have been posting! All the kids look great in their favorite outfits and ready to get to it with their school supplies! Remember to watch for busses! Have a great school year.

Your school committee Ward 8 candidate,

Elonia Lamontagne, M.Ed

Meet & Greet: Chicopee

There will be a meet and greet in which all candidates for School Committee, City Council, and Mayor have been invited and I am planning to be there for those of you who have questions for me, want to chat, or who would like to offer to put up a sign in your yard (Ward 8). It will be September 12 at the Chicopee Public Library community room from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. Hope to see you there!

Dedication

I’ve thought a lot about my decision to move forward with submitting my papers to get on the ballet. I’ve been discouraged by some saying that attendance is crucial, that I don’t have the time to campaign, that I should withdraw. I’ve considered all of this, but I have first hand reasons why I want to stay involved in Chicopee schools.

For the kids who are overworked and not getting enough of sleep stressing over getting into that dream college

For the kids brushed off as “trouble” and treated differently than the other students in the class

and all students in between…

I want to do what I can to ensure that they get the care, assistance, and motivation that they need from the adults in the schools. It all comes down from administration and the city.

I remember myself and many other teachers being powerless in situations, guidance counselors and vice principals not having the support or permission to help students that need it. Stress contagiously infecting the students through the air passed down from teachers that are made to feel that they are never doing enough even though they don’t have the time in the 6-hour work day to do 150% of their daily work. Students bringing in anger and resentment from home issues and not feeling comfortable or be allowed to talk to an adult. Students not passing the MCAS because they learned English only a few years ago and being made to feel like their whole life depends on passing an impossible test. Students having undiagnosed health issues which causes them to day out early and spend the year not trying in their classes. The list goes on.

I want to advocate for the students who need us to be better as adults and make school worth it to them. To be better doesn’t mean to get the correcting done faster or to spend the weekends doing paperwork, it means to make students know you’re there for them even in a changing city. Each and every student should feel empowered to go to Chicopee schools rather than just an MCAS score. Teachers do that directly and I’ve seen it every day. What gets in the way of that is the teacher workload. Let’s be a better city, let’s be better admins and teachers. Let’s prioritize students over mandating more and more extra work for teachers because the kids need us.

Elonia Lamontagne, M.Ed

Candidate for School Committee Ward 8

On the Ballet

After much deliberation, I’ve notarized and turned in my signatures today. Looks like I’ll be on the ballot.

Again, I’d like to be open about the fact that I am still fairly new at my job and will have to miss a few meetings throughout the year. Attendance should improve around April, but could continue to be difficult when I have to work nights.

I look forward to being your ward 8 Candidate !

Elonia Marianna Lamontagne, M. Ed

Update: final decision

As many of you know I announced I was running for Ward 8 School Committee a few weeks ago, got my signatures, then backed out.

I originally decided to run because as a former Chicopee Public Schools teacher, I’ve had a chance to see up close and personal the issues we face in our school system. Since then, I’ve been knocking doors and meeting with voters to hear their concerns and those conversations have inspired me.

However, this past week, I became aware my work schedule may be a roadblock to my candidacy. I get out of work most nights at 7pm, and the School Committee meetings begin at that time. I would like to be up front about that. I would have to miss 2 or 3 meetings before April, be late to a couple, then my attendance should improve after that.

Over the last few years we’ve lost hundreds of teachers, including my self, to other districts, or in my case, entirely different fields all together. I am still dedicated to doing the work necessary to improving our schools. With my background in education, I think I can bring an important and professional perspective to the table.

After careful deliberations and discussions with friends and family, I have decided that despite not having 100% availability to make these meetings, I will still go forward and run for the seat. I’ve already gotten the signatures and if voters choose my name, they have chosen someone with a known work conflict.

I am a sort of perfectionist and the thought of doing something this way is not ideal, but if it’s what the voters want, the decision is up to them.

Yours,

Elonia Lamontagne, M.Ed

Door-to-Door: Chapel St

This time I was fully equipped with business cards in case people weren’t home:

Quite a few people got one because the only time I could go was on a Friday at 1pm while people were probably working. I did get 7 more signatures and rewarded myself with a cheesecake sundae to share with my boyfriend from Mr. Cone! It was a hot day so they were getting plenty of business!

Yours,

Elonia Lamontagne, M.Ed

Collecting signatures: Part 1

Yesterday I embarked on a journey with my cousin to walk the streets of Ward 8 to begin collecting signatures for School Committee. It went well, I got 23 signatures and was only rejected twice. Many people were not home or ignored the doorbell, but it was a good start.

I was actually dreading this part. I hate the idea of unexpectedly disrupting people while they’re going about their business. I expected people to say “no, thank you” and shut the door in my face, but people are nicer than I thought which overall left me in a happy mood afterwards. Not that I particularly enjoy interrupting people’s lives, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought.

There were people who had legitimate concerns about the schools, people who told me they would like to see more women on the school committee (since the field is predominantly women), and people who just wanted to talk about people we knew in common from Chicopee High School or about their own families. I can tell some people were happy just to chat out on their porch on a beautiful day. It was an experience that could only come about in these particular circumstances. One woman even told me that I made her day after chatting with her for a few minutes about her granddaughter and learning Polish! I look forward to revisiting to remind them to vote for me and to give them a business card, while also likely chatting about completely unrelated things.

I surprise myself with how naturally I was able to talk to people and they felt good that they had an opportunity to help me out, or they just signed it so I would go away. It was a feel-good experience and I’m glad that I can be someone that they can feel comfortable contacting to share their concerns if I get elected to represent them.

Yours,

Elonia Lamontagne, M.Ed

School Committee candidate