Name and address: Andrew M. LaPlaca, 5 Musket Drive
Education: Advanced Regents Diploma – South Jefferson High School
Employment: Regional manager Premier Technologies; 10+ years of retail experience.
Personal information: Our family moved to Gorham in early 2019. We chose Gorham after visiting multiple schools.
Political and community experience: Volunteer firefighter and youth wrestling coach
Why are you running for office and how will your experience benefit the School Committee?
Over the past year, I have been active in partnering with our schools’ leadership and I have been able to impact policies already in place and facilitate improved transparency in the Gorham School District. I believe the superintendent’s 2022/2023 Goal #2 was a direct response to my concerns. My leadership experience has taught me to be an engaged listener, a direct communicator, and an advocate for policy and procedure that represents every team member. These strengths will facilitate the best outcomes for teaching with direct feedback from the community while advocating for students.
What do you see as the major issues for the Gorham schools and how might they be addressed?
I will advocate for fiscally responsible capital improvements including school expansion at all levels. Creating a safe and welcoming environment for every student is crucial for success. I believe every school should have a resource officer; the impact of SRO at Village has been outstanding. Parents want to be partners in their children’s education. School districts need to focus on transparency, communication, and partnerships. I will continue to focus on improved transparency and facilitate community forums where you can speak with me directly as well as with educators from the Gorham schools.
Name and address: Stewart B. McCallister
Employment: United States Postal Service
Political and community experience: Six years on the school committee serving in chair and vice chair roles. Part of all three subcommittees and various ad-hoc committees including Little Rams Early Childhood Education
Why are you running for office and how will your experience benefit the School Committee?
I am running for re-election because I want to continue to be an advocate for our students and support our teachers. We are in the midst of so many great things and I’d love to see those come to fruition. Public/private Pre-K, diversity, equity and inclusion work, revisioning, and facilities improvements are just some of the examples.
What do you see as the major issues for the Gorham schools and how might they be addressed?
The top issues facing Gorham Schools should be introducing new curriculum like world language, addressing overcrowding in our schools and expanding access to Pre-K and early childhood education.
Right now, however, preserving access to learning materials in our schools and libraries has become the main focus as we deal with repeated attempts to limit selection available to our students. I believe that it is the school’s role to provide information to students in a controlled and safe environment. I would prefer they get their information from the professionals in our schools and not strangers on the internet.
Name and address: Jennifer Whitehead, 30 Gateway Commons Drive
Education: MA in Psychology and dual M.Ed in Special Education & K-6 General Education
Employment: Realtor with Coldwell Banker Realty
Personal information: Married to Elijah Whitehead and children Kai (15), Isaiah (13) and Zoe (11).
Political and community experience: School Committee member 2017-2020, active community member on the School Committee’s Anti-Racism and Equity Subcommittee, former co-director of the Narragansett 5K & Fun Run and Partners in Education (PIE).
Why are you running for office and how will your experience benefit the School Committee?
I am running for School Committee because I believe that public education is foundational for a happy, healthy, and productive community. As a former teacher and parent of three school age children, I will bring a valuable perspective to the school committee. My former experience as a School Committee member will allow me to get right to work without a huge learning curve.
What do you see as the major issues for the Gorham schools and how might they be addressed?
The great reputation of the Gorham School System is well earned, and it continues to attract wonderful families to our town. The issue is that we have limited space and resources and continued growth. The most pressing issue is the overcrowding at the high school. I would advocate for a new, state funded high school. In the meantime, we need to provide additional space through modulars or use of other public and private spaces.
Research of the cognitive and social-emotional benefits of pre-school has been well documented. Because we currently do not have the required space, I would support partnerships with local pre-schools that provide an excellent education.