Letters of Endorsement
Read what people have to say about Jessie, or follow the links to read the full letters of endorsement.
Hank Manz: "Working with Jessie can be exhausting it is true, but what I like is her desire to include everybody, to hear from everybody, to bring as many people into the mix as she can. Walking around with Jessie is instructive because the first thing you notice is how many people greet her by name. They know her. She is not a faceless member of town government. People know who she is and even if they do not agree with her, they talk to her."
Deb Mauger: "She works well with parents, staff, teachers and students . . . She is able to tolerate differences in opinion, and will listen to and consider various points of view. While she is a passionate advocate for quality public education, she is also able to consider the municipal needs of the community as well, and can understand how strong municipal services benefit our children.
Kim Coburn: "I can say without hesitation that Jessie Steigerwald is one of the most hard-working, creative, compassionate, intelligent, tenacious people that I have ever met. She sticks with problems until they are resolved and has an amazing ability to come up with creative, outside the box solutions."
Sue Rockwell: "We should all care about maintaining the excellent reputation of the system and that means choosing the right people to guide that system.
I met Jessie when she was recommended to me to be a member of the 300th Anniversary Celebration Committee. She immediately impressed us all with her passion and organization skills as she and Tanya Morrisett took over the lion’s share of the work of the Programs and Events for our celebration – the very heart of our activities. Our goal was to involve everyone in the festivities and her efforts included making sure our school children were a big part. She spearheaded the efforts to have mini-ceremonies at every school, and to revive the Mock Town Meeting. The publication of the Lexington, Then and Now instructional comic book was also led by her."
David Horton: "For three years, I have worked with Ms. Steigerwald to plan and implement the teaching of our town meeting form of government to all eighth graders in our middle schools. . . . Ms. Steigerwald is most definitely the linchpin in this terrific program for our eighth graders, organizing the volunteers, creating myriad materials to implement it, and working closely with our able and collaborative middle school social studies teachers in the process."
Jessie has the ability to work collaboratively with other members of the School Committee, as well as with the administration, teachers and parents. Jessie also possesses the uncanny ability to know what students need and then works to make sure that the students of Lexington get the best.
I am always impressed by her knowledge of critical issues that affects all of us. She understands the importance of being an able communicator, who listens well, is a problem solver, can anticipate needs, is concerned about the school’s welfare and insists on transparency in all interactions.
As an educator, I am impressed with Jessie’s knowledge of complex educational issues and her desire to be a part of the solutions. She is rational and can be trusted to weigh what is important so that everyone in our community benefits.
I am voting for Jessie Steigerwald for School Committee because not only does she believe in transparency and inclusion in government, but she acts on it. For the past six years, Jessie has organized and attended school and community events with a goal of working to bring together different constituencies to benefit our students and community.
Jessie has been instrumental in creating a more approachable School Committee that is open to the community.
Jessie’s welcoming, open-minded manner has allowed her to hear from a broad group of residents when reviewing issues and making decisions. She is willing to have discussions and regularly solicits feedback from parents and residents. Her approach is inclusive and collaborative.
Jessie’s value of inclusivity is readily apparent in her work on the School Committee.
When she took office six years ago and championed restoring annual public evaluations of our superintendent, Jessie went further and recommended a survey of community members. For six years, Jessie has continuously advocated to allow the community to speak and be heard at School Committee meetings. What’s more, she communicates with citizens who contact her.
I’m frequently stopped by people who want to tell me how Jessie helped them or pointed them in the right direction with a school-related issue. Most recently, Jessie supported an open and inclusive process for hiring our next superintendent.
