I will be voting for Jeff Thielman for School Committee this April. I have known Jeff largely in his capacity as a member of the School Committee since I became very involved with the Arlington Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC). I have been the co-chair of that organization for the past four years. I can’t speak for all the parents of special needs children in town but I can tell you a little about my own personal experience with Jeff over the past few years and why I support him strongly for re-election to the School Committee.

Jeff has a strong commitment to all the children of Arlington as well as to the town as a whole. Whenever there has been a problem that needed to be addressed by the School Committee, I have always felt totally comfortable approaching Jeff. He is always very responsive and has replied to all emails quickly. He listens with an open mind and asks pertinent and astute questions when he is learning about something he may not have had experience with before. As a result, Jeff has been our primary “go-to” person for the SEPAC board. I totally trust him to have the best interests of Arlington Public Schools’ students at heart. His commitment to make special education better in Arlington Public Schools has been demonstrated over and over in our dealings with him both in the full School Committee and in sub-committees.

Over the years, I have learned about some of Jeff’s amazing background that uniquely qualify him for the School Committee. Although he is trained in law, he has had an interesting career involved with education for many years both as a high school teacher in Peru (he’s fluent in Spanish) and establishing high schools for underprivileged urban youth. Jeff also has demonstrated a strong commitment to the Arlington community in other ways such as the leading the committee that raised funds for the renovation of the Spy Pond Park. He has been a town meeting member and was actively involved in the 2005 campaign for the override. These are more than enough reasons for me to support and vote for Jeff. I urge you all to give Jeff one of your votes on April 4.