Gardner Would Advocate for School Librarian
I am a bit embarrassed to admit that until School Committee candidate Laura Gardner told me, I was unaware that Fairhaven Public Schools employs not a single school librarian! As a lifelong educator (and the son of lifelong educators), I am well aware of the crucial role played by school librarians in educating students at every level. They can instill a love of reading by recommending the right book for a particular child based on interest and reading level, and they teach research skills that can help to counteract the misinformation and disinformation rampant in our modern world.
Laura is herself a school librarian, in Dartmouth, and she is committed to advocating for Fairhaven Schools to provide this important resource to its children. But Laura is not a one-issue candidate. She’s recognized the troubling trend of the town losing its best teachers to neighboring communities. She’s also concerned about slow and nonexistent responses when parents reach out to school and district administration.
What makes me confident that Laura will work tirelessly and effectively to address these and other issues is her track record in our community. Laura is a doer who seeks to make the world a little better place by fighting for worthwhile change. Her leadership of the Southcoast chapter of the Climate Reality Project is a perfect illustration of this. Her concern for the environmental legacy we are leaving to our children and grandchildren has compelled her to act, and to involve others in acting.
If you want an idea of who Laura Gardner is, check out the Climate Reality Southcoast webpage, ask her students at Dartmouth Middle School, or better yet, meet and talk with her. You will be impressed. She has my vote. Please consider giving her yours.
Larry DeSalvatore, Fairhaven
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