My practice arena for Listening to Diverse Voices starts at home. And I say that not simply because some of my children are multi-racial, but moreso because we value the diverse opinions and unique life experiences that each of us brings to the table. Despite busy schedules with 2 parents working outside of the home and 5 kids involved in many activities, we make time to eat dinner together very regularly and the conversation is always lively. We have debated big issues, such as the Black Lives Matter and Defund the Police movements this summer, and we had a multi-day tiered voting structure to name our rescue dog a few years ago ("Frodo" was the winning name we finally all agreed on). One of my favorite sayings is "We aren't raising children, we are raising adults" and I tell my kids that our goal is for them to be happy, healthy contributing citizens in the world. This is also my view of public education - as a community, it should be our goal to raise happy, healthy, contributing citizens for our world!

My oldest child is JoJo who is now 21 and about to start her 5th year at URI. She has always challenged us to think deeper as parents. As a 2nd grader, JoJo said from the back seat "I used to like school, but now it's just boring so I don't like it anymore." I did a bit of a double take, caught my breath and asked "Why." It turns out they did a lot of multi-page math packets and the teacher would be explaining the first page, but JoJo would already be done with the whole thing. So, we talked with the teachers and principal, who worked out a plan for her to skip 3rd grade. I am grateful that she attended a school that recognized "meeting kids where they are" includes kids at all levels. Now this kid is triple majoring in biomedical engineering, Italian, and biology. She was part of the first graduating class at SKHS that offered a Seal of Biliteracy, spent time volunteering as a camp counselor in Italy, and later returned for 1 full year through URI's International Engineering Program. She's also a founding member of URI's new club for "Badminton and Cryptozoology."

My second oldest child is Skye, who is 20 and graduated from SKHS as part of the infamous class of 2020. She moved in with us at the end of 5th grade, and started at Broad Rock Middle School the next fall. Middle school is not exactly the best time to jump into a new school where you don't know anyone, but I give her a lot of credit for trying new things and getting involved. She tried quite a few different sports, and throughout high school stayed active with horseback riding and softball. She bravely tried out for the tennis team at SKHS without ever having played before! And, she had the most fun being involved with the SKHS Rebel Theater Group where she learned how to operate theater lights, soundboards, and assisted the tech crew with everything from props to set changes. She finished High School during the very first COVID lockdown, and we could not possibly be more proud.

Mariah is 18 and is probably the most social of all of my kids, although we're a pretty friendly bunch overall. She attended 4th grade at West Kingston Elementary after moving in with us, and then continued on to Broad Rock and Curtis Corner Middle Schools. She is now completing her senior year at Chariho High School, as part of their cosmetology program in the Career and Tech Center. It was a tough decision for her to leave her friends at SKHS, knowing that she would only see them occasionally on weekends, but her dream of having her cosmetology license by the end of 12th grade and someday working in a spa or salon won out. She is very ambitious and even made a business plan to start her own online store, while still working 2 part-time jobs as camp counselor and housekeeper. In the Fall she will be headed to Wheaton College to major in Business.

Kyla is just turning 17 and starting her senior year at SKHS. She loves gymnastics and one year she accidentally ended up a bit over-booked all winter. She had planned to be on the competitive team at the gym where she takes lessons, and then Skye told her that the High School theater group really needed some skilled dancers and tumblers for their production of "Newsies" so she signed on as part of the ensemble cast. Then, her coach asked her why she wasn't showing up for SKHS gymnastic team practices! So, she juggled all 3 activities for a few months and the show was a great success. She plays violin in the orchestra, and is also in the Studio Art CTE (Career and Tech Education) program, with dreams of becoming an architect someday. Based on my experience seeing Mariah and Kyla both enrolled in these types of programs, I firmly believe that our district needs to continue to develop more CTE programs to stay competitive with other area schools.

Elanor, age 12, is the "baby" of the family, but try not to remind her of that. I can sympathize quite a bit, because I was the youngest of 4, with an age gap of 9 years to my next closest sibling. So, she's growing up fast, always wondering why she's not allowed to do all the things her older siblings can do. She's part of the Dual Language Immersion (DLI) program at SK, and I suppose it is her fault that I'm running for School Committee. I started going to more and more PTO, DLI, and SC meetings when she started school, just to find out what was going on with the program, and wondering why there was not more of a clear plan as she progressed through each year. She loves speaking Spanish, and dreams of visiting the Dominican Republic someday, and also becoming a Spanish teacher.

Alfred is my husband of over 25 years. We married young, while he was serving as an officer in the Navy and I was still an undergraduate in college. We both studied engineering at different universities, so we had a long distance relationship and marriage for awhile. When I started graduate school, he pursued a Master's degree in Human Computer Interaction and worked as a website usability specialist until I accepted my job as a professor at URI. Then he was a stay at home dad for 2 years before starting to work part-time at the URI University Computing Systems group. He went back to work full-time and eventually moved over to the College of Engineering where he manages the computer labs there. He is also an avid Lego fan, and if you visit Providence Place Mall, you can see one of his designs on display which is a replica of the city skyline and statehouse.

Paid for by the Campaign to Elect Valerie M. Speredelozzi

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