Toben Asklar
Please share your skills, qualifications, and experiences that will make you a great member of the School Committee. Do you have a candidate website or social media page where voters can learn more about you?
Voters can learn more about me on my candidate website: https://www.tobenforsharonschools.com/
My educational background, work experience, and community/municipal government involvement will make me a great addition to the Sharon School Committee. My public school education began in Florida, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. I completed my BA at Purdue University, and my MFA in poetry at UMass-Amherst. I worked as a residence counselor and staff resident (supervisor of counselors) at Purdue and as a teaching assistant and publications work study at UMass.
My work after college—as a public relations/publications professional, adjunct professor, and media liaison—has been at educational institutions. I have managed ad buy/budget for print publications, print & radio ads, as well as billboard series. During my 15 years of teaching, I have evaluated countless students on individual assignments and cumulative performance. I believe my years working in education will give me strength as part of the superintendent evaluation team, as well as insight into policy and budget oversight.
During the pandemic, I created curriculum enrichments and ran a home camp for my three kids. I headed a learning pod with 3rd graders and 6th graders during the hybrid school year. I also shifted to stay-at-home parenting and added volunteer work to enrich Sharon— joining municipal government with the Sharon DEIC, becoming a registered leader with Scouts BSA, and organizing Sharon Pride.
The Sharon School Committee has to deal with a budget deficit of $1-1.5 million dollars every year. How will you handle these difficult choices?
As I have said before, we will need all hands to achieve workable —by no means painless—solutions that do not directly impact student success and wellbeing. We need solutions that don’t add to the tax-payer burden in this town. I plan to work with the rest of the School Committee, Dr. Botelho, and the town to identify priorities early as we face the difficult road ahead. If you look at my campaign website press release page “Thoughts on School Committee Budget,” you will see what I was viewing (albeit from the outside) as possible choices for the 2025 budget. It is important to keep in mind the School Committee has seven members and ultimately acts as one voice.
Deleveling is a popular trend nationwide to eliminate advanced and honors classes. The Sharon superintendent has proposed to eliminate advanced math at the middle school and advanced science classes in early high school. What is your position on deleveling?
I believe there are specialists examining deleveling. As a School Committee member, I would study the information presented by the experts in order to make an informed decision. My focus is on the students and student success.
Many Sharon parents feel they are forced to hire private tutors or enroll in outside classes because either their child is not being challenged enough or is falling behind. What can you do as a School Committee member to help all children achieve their full academic potential?
I will work on the School Committee to help all students reach their full academic potential by
Supporting teachers and administrators to achieve best practices at all levels with responsible oversight
Providing a steady and thorough consideration of district policy and, as mentioned above
Setting budget priorities that center student access and success.