Allison Samuels Letter to Gazette - April 2, 2025
To the Editor:
I am a public educator who has lived in Croton for 15 years with my husband and two children who have gone through all three schools. I'm thankful for the excellent education they received. Now that I have a fuller experience within CHUFSD, I am running for a seat on the Croton-Harmon Board of Education.
My son (CHHS ’23) is studying engineering and my daughter (CHHS ‘25) will study film production in the fall. I am a long-time volunteer for Croton schools, from serving pizza lunches to hungry CET students, to advocating for large school grants as a CHEF (Croton Harmon Education Foundation) board member.
I believe it’s time to take a fresh look at how we are doing things. I want to understand how things have been done and do my best to support what is working well. I also think it’s time to explore what needs to be approached differently given who we are as a community today.
A BOE member is elected by the community to represent their priorities, concerns, and hopes in the governance process with the goal of giving all CHUFSD students an excellent K-12 education.
To do this effectively, I want to engage with all stakeholders, including staff, teachers, senior administration, students, families, and taxpayers. It’s essential to understand the many different perspectives and to have open lines of communication. This means pushing beyond our preconceived notions of each other and having dialogue with CHUFSD families and residents even if we don’t always agree on the issue.
In these polarizing times we need decisive and inclusive leadership that puts the needs of student educational needs first. I have spent my career dedicated to public education as a professor in Entrepreneurship & Innovation at the Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College, the City University of New York, where I have educated thousands of students in one of the most economically, socially, and ethnically diverse student bodies in the country.
I’ve experienced firsthand how the leadership at the top (BOE and Superintendent) impacts what happens every day in the classroom, from making sure the appropriate resources are in place to promote student learning, to upholding and developing policies that are timely, relevant, and student-centered, to setting strategic priorities that take into account who we are and who we want to be.
For seven years I was in an administrative role as Director of the Baruch Center for Teaching and Learning which oversees the college’s faculty development for 1,000+ faculty and two educational technologies.
I served in this role during the pandemic, so I have a lot of practice listening to stakeholders with different needs and developing solutions through shared governance to develop policy and plans under rapidly changing and complex circumstances. My priorities have always been student-focused and supporting teachers and staff to be the best they can be.
There are two seats open in a contested election. I believe this is a good thing! It opens up richer discussions as a community to explore different approaches to complex and pressing matters.
I endorse Leslie Pollak for Croton Board of Education for the second open seat. We are building a coalition of people who want to talk about what it means to put Croton kids first when it comes to how we run our schools even if it can get complicated. To do this, we need to better understand as many different perspectives as possible. A BOE member should advocate for all students, whether or not they agree with how a resident votes.
Our grassroots platform is www.crotonkidsfirst.com. We have aligned priorities and goals for the Croton Harmon School District and together we would have a real and profound positive impact on the students of this community. They include:
✅Excellent academics for students across grades
✅Schools where ALL kids feel safe & supported
✅Budgets that prioritize kids and teachers
✅Real accountability to Croton families
✅Action-oriented leaders
Please reach out to us at crotonkidsfirst@gmail.com to share your thoughts and concerns so we can best understand the needs of Croton as a whole and we hope to represent those needs within the Board of Education.
Let’s talk!
Best,
Allison Samuels
Leslie Pollak Letter to Gazette - April 2, 2025
To the Editor:
Croton Schools excel at providing a warm and inclusive environment that recognizes the whole child – this is a hallmark of our district that makes it special. As a mother of three children who have attended all our schools, I know first-hand the impact of the excellent educational experience they have received. In fact, the reputation of the Croton-Harmon schools was one of the primary reasons my family settled in Croton-on-Hudson. Many others chose Croton for the same reason.
My eldest is a recent graduate of Tufts University engineering, my middle child attends Cornell University, studying pre-med and playing club lacrosse, and my youngest is a junior at CHHS, soon to go on the school trip to China. They are all thriving, and I credit the many wonderful teachers who have inspired them and helped them on their future paths. Every child should also feel supported on their journey, and I am committed to making that a reality for our wonderful community.
The Board of Education serves a more diverse population of students and families than it did 25 years ago when my family became residents, and it’s more important than ever that our district evolves with the times and the needs of constituents to ensure it maintains the high-quality public education students here deserve. The board must be nimble, responsive, transparent, and focused on its responsibilities. It needs creative thinkers to solve problems, innovate, and ensure our children are in safe, supportive, inclusive environments that support their learning journey. Further, the board must support faculty, staff, and aides, provide competitive salaries and offer professional development. It is also responsible to taxpayers, whose real estate values are directly tied to school ratings, positive press coverage, and who deserve a clear understanding of our district’s priorities and goals for students.
I’m running for the Board of Education because I am deeply committed to this mission. I firmly believe that high-quality education opens doors for success and creates a stronger community. As a graduate of the New York City Public School system who has become a results-driven professional in the nonprofit and education sectors, I know the impact of a strong foundation of literacy across academic disciplines. Education is also part of my daily life – my husband is a public school teacher in Yonkers.
The bedrock for successful futures begins in elementary school. At every level, curriculum, co-curriculars, enrichment opportunities and sports all have profound impacts on our students. Throughout the years, I have met regularly with parents representing CET, PVC, and CHHS to learn about their concerns to better understand how I and other parents can be a resource to them. I’ve also listened to teacher’s needs and concerns, and am dedicated to ensuring they have the resources they need to do what they do best: educate our children.
I have worked with the last three administrations, meeting with board members, administrators, and faculty to advocate for:
Curriculum development
Access to enhanced academic resources and enrichment
The importance of measurable outcomes
Better communication with parents
Individualized plans for students with special needs
Athletics, the arts, and extracurriculars
Prioritizing long-term outcomes for post-graduation success, whether students pursue higher education, trade careers, or other pathways
Along the way, I helped to drive discussion and ultimately achieved results including: the implementation of a supplemental first grade math program (that no longer exists); the founding of the the Annual Croton Harmon District Wide Chess Tournament; strengthening of the newly acquired online PVC math program (7 years ago) and have been a staunch supporter and advocate of the district’s Mandarin Program.
I believe in putting Croton Kids First and am proud to be part of a grassroots effort for this year’s election, in which two seats are open. Further, I endorse Allison Samuels for the second open seat in this year’s election. Our aligned priorities are based on our own experience with the BOE and feedback from community members.
Our platform includes:
✅Excellent academics for students across grades
✅Schools where ALL kids feel safe & supported
✅Budgets that prioritize kids and teachers
✅Real accountability to Croton families
✅Action-oriented leaders
Please visit crotonkidsfirst.com to learn more about our platform and our credentials or contact us at crotonkidsfirst@gmail.com to share your thoughts and concerns about our schools. We are committed to open conversations so we can represent you on the Board of Education and always put Croton Kids First.
Sincerely,
Leslie Pollak