2011 Town Election Profile: Westwood School Committee

Editor’s Note: The following article is part of a series profiling several incumbents on various boards running for reelection this year.

It’s looking to be a rather quiet Town Election this April, especially on the end of this year’s School Committee race, which involves two incumbents who are running unopposed. Each recently spoke to Westwood Patch about how they think the School Committee is working these days, as well as their thoughts on running without any challengers.

Josepha Jowdy

One of the incumbents up for reelection is School Committee Chair Josepha Jowdy, who recently said she feels that the current Committee is doing a great job and doesn’t need much change. She also said that her own passion for, and experience with, the school system has been a driving force behind her work.

“I care deeply about our schools,” said Jowdy. “My history as a school board member provides me with a great deal of experience and a strong working relationship with school administrators, teachers and my fellow committee members.”

Jowdy has been a member of the Westwood School Committee for 18 years and is also a mother of three children who have all gone through the school system. She is also a partner at Keller Williams, working as a team with her son, Alex. For more 20 years she has been a real estate agent working in Westwood and surrounding communities.

Aside from School Committee, she has been a member of Westwood’s Long-Range Planning Committee and the .

Since she has been on the School Committee for almost two decades, Jowdy has seen what the system has to offer and how the administration has gotten to where it has today. Westwood has been recognized as one of the state’s top schools, based on academic standings and MCAS scores, and Jowdy feels that these high standards are essentially what help the school progress in the right direction.

“I think the best thing we can do is to maintain the extremely high standards we have set for Westwood schools while working within the budget constraints that we face in upcoming years,” she said. “Our school system has come a long way, and consistently ranks among the top schools in the state. I think all Westwood residents can be proud of that fact.”

Ellen Mason

Ellen Mason has been a member of the Westwood School Committee for six years, and she previously served for one year as Vice President and two years as President of the Hanlon School Parent-Teacher Organization.

Looking at the election this year, Mason said she feels that she is a good candidate for the School Committee because she strives for the Westwood School System to be the best in the state.

What’s more, she said she feels that a School Committee member should be willing to work hard to advocate for the needs of the schools while also being fiscally responsible.

“Having two children in the schools gives me the perspective of being a parent, being an attorney gives me the legal and creative thinking skills that are important for the position, and being a taxpayer in town gives me an incentive to carefully and prudently review the school budget,” said Mason.

Since 2002, Mason has lived in Westwood with her husband and two children. Her grandparents, Roger and Ellen Pierce, were longtime residents of the town. She said that she spent many happy summers and vacations in Westwood as a child.

When Mason is not working with the School Committee, she is a civil litigation attorney at a law firm in Newton.

Mason first started working with the School Committee at a time when it was in a period of transition. The board had just lost an operational override, Mason said, and that new Westwood High School was just getting ready to open, with some work remaining. Also, she said, the administration was in the midst of looking for a superintendent.

Since that time, the Committee has worked with the School Administration and Superintendent John Antonucci to complete Westwood High School and put modular additions on the Hanlon and Middle School on time and under budget. She also said that they have improved the use of technology to facilitate learning at all grade levels, as well as move the schools forward in a tough fiscal situation.

“I feel the School Committee and the administration works very well together and I look forward to that good working relationship continuing in the future,” said Mason.

Adding to that, Mason said she feels that the current Committee is taking things in the right direction and has been happy with the schools as a whole. However, she said that she would like to see the Board take a more active role in the curriculum review work.

“The Committee, as a whole, sees this work at the end of the review stage and again at the end of the implement stage,” said Mason. “I would like to see a member of the committee participate in the entire review process, as I think that having a School Committee member participating on the curriculum review committee would bring an important perspective in earlier in the process.”

The Westwood School Committee meets tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the professional development room at Westwood High School. For the full agenda, click here.