Kendal’s Achievements on BOE Have Significantly, Positively Impacted Community
To the Editor:
I am writing to support Dafna Kendal’s candidacy for re-election to the Board of Education. One of my children is a junior at Princeton High School and the other is a freshman in college; both were Princeton Public Schools students since kindergarten. I have known Dafna for more than 11 years, and throughout her Board terms I have been continually impressed by Dafna’s incredible work ethic (she is a lawyer in her day job), her profound appreciation for our hard-working teachers, and her deep commitment to providing a first-rate public education to all of Princeton’s children.
Dafna’s achievements during her six years on the Board have significantly and positively impacted our community, including measures to improve Board transparency, to a strong and consistent focus on student achievement across all groups, and to diversifying revenue streams for the district which has saved taxpayers millions of dollars in the process.
As a family physician, I would like to focus in particular on Dafna’s achievements with regard to students’ physical and mental health. I have been in touch with Dafna over the past three years, and I have seen firsthand the amazing amount of effort she has put into keeping our students safe and physically in the classroom as much as possible throughout the pandemic. Dafna connected with health experts, worked with local institutions of higher learning, spoke with colleagues throughout the state, and stayed in constant contact with our administration and our teachers. Dafna’s clear focus on the well-being of our school population, together with her tireless efforts on their behalf, was crucial in the district’s efforts to get our children and teachers back in the classroom as quickly and as safely as possible.
More recently, Dafna has turned her attention and energy towards students’ mental health, which — as I know from my own practice — has suffered in Princeton over the past three years, just as it has all around the country. This fall, for instance, Dafna and the other members of the Board moved quickly to hire another mental health provider to supplement our existing staff, adding an essential resource for our children and their families during this difficult time. Dafna’s quick response to this evident need in our community is just one example of the ways in which her care and attention to our students, and her “roll-up-her-sleeves” approach to governance, has helped all of us over the past six years.
I am grateful for all that Dafna has done for all students in the Princeton Public Schools, and I encourage you to join me in voting for her this November!
Abigail Rose
Wheatsheaf Lane