Sandis Wright

Age (as of Election Day)

52

Position sought (including ward or district number if applicable)

School Committee

Party Affiliation

Local elections are non-partisan, though I’m registered as a Democrat.

Family

Spouse (Brent) with 2 daughters (age 10 and 12)

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

BS Business (Westbrook College at the University of New England)

Occupation

I’ve worked with Blue Cross Blue Shield for over 25 years. Currently, I’m a Managing Director, Information Management, for the Federal Employee Program at the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. In this role, I serve as a data owner to deliver insights to our business users and I help translate business needs to our technology partners. I’m also responsible for data governance, ensuring our information is governed and in compliance with policies.

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

Andover DEI Commission Member, appointed

Campaign website

www.wrightforandover.com

Why are you seeking elective office?

I’m running for school committee for a number of reasons. I’m excited by the chance to have a role to shape the future of Andover Public Schools. I’ll be a critical and reasonable voice to represent the needs of the broader Andover community, including parents, students and educators. Like many families, we chose to live in Andover, primarily because of its longstanding reputation for quality public schools.

My volunteer and professional experience has provided me with a solid foundation which prepares me for this new challenge of being on the school committee. This is a logical next step to continue giving back to make Andover a better community and to strengthen our schools.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

The School Committee focuses on many complex issues that impact our community and families. Currently, one of the top issues facing our schools is the pandemic and the impact it has had on students’ learning. While the pandemic may be viewed as a single pressing issue, the impacts and how we respond are multi-faceted. The impacts of a prolonged period of uncertainty, isolation and anxiety are acutely present in classrooms. As we emerge from this difficult period, staying laser-focused on students’ academic needs and social-emotional needs must be a priority.

I was pleased to see in the proposed FY23 school budget, we made investments in the right areas by expanding supports for students social/emotional learning (to help those students with emotional and behavioral needs), expand coaching and instructional support for math (K-8) and provide additional support for professional development for staff/teachers.

I look forward to hearing how these investments pay off for our students and support the superintendent and her team in refining and bolstering these efforts in the future.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

There are a number of characteristics which set me apart from other candidates. I have extensive experience throughout my healthcare career in consensus building and negotiating. Listening to customers to understand their needs is one of the core functions in my role. I also have experience with strategic planning, formulating policies and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.

I’m very engaged in our community through volunteering, ranging from being on the Town of Andover Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) commission and various working groups. I’m also on the boards of A Better Chance of Andover and Parent to Parent Andover. I co-lead our Andover Public Schools Community Service Day held on the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr holiday to provide service giving opportunities for youth and community members. I’m involved in leadership roles with parent teacher / parent advisory groups through both of my kids’ schools. At my work, I also lead our Pride Employee Resource Group and participate on our diversity council.

Given my involvement in community activities in Andover coupled with my professional experience and passion for service, I have a keen sense for listening and to strive to make our community and culture better.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

While there has been progress in recent years with the school committee, communication still can be improved. Given communications is central to what we do, I’ll work to improve transparency in communications between the school committee and stakeholders across Andover. I recognize there are inherent challenges to effectively communicate within the constraints of open meeting laws. But there are other steps that can be taken to keep the lines of communication open. Examples of steps I’d consider to help improve communications include:

• Create a communications plan for the school committee, as part of the district’s strategic planning efforts.
• Continue the monthly Informal Forums
• Expand regular working groups of parents, educators and students (where appropriate)
• When new initiatives are explored, expand ways for parents to provide specific feedback to help the School Committee evaluate the impacts of potential decisions. This could include expanding parent membership on any working groups or sub-committees or offering Informal Forums focused on a particular question or topic. Doing so would help improve transparency and would also engage more community members in the process.
• Work with existing community-based groups, such as PTO/PAC meetings or other established groups to provide updates to the ongoing work of the school committee to provide more opportunities to hear feedback.
• Create standard civic engagement materials to educate the community on how to work with and interact with the School Committee vs. School Operations (and other town government resources) and to clarify roles and responsibilities.
• Host regular office hours or meet ups to hear directly from community members on topics of interest.
• Work with the communications director to provide regular updates from the School Committee in current district publications so parents and community members can be kept apprised of their work.
• Explore best practices from other school districts.

As someone who is constantly focused on continuous improvement, I welcome other ideas and suggestions to improve how the school committee communicates with its stakeholders.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

There are four main themes that I’ve committed to throughout my campaign:

• Community: I care about Andover Public Schools – it’s one of the main reasons many of us live here and is why I have become so involved in our community. Along the way, I’ve learned so much about Andover and have gotten to know many wonderful and talented people. I’m eager to continue on this path forward of community-building so our schools can excel.
• Excellence: While Andover Public Schools has a long-standing reputation for innovation and excellence, we must always look for ways to raise the bar.
• Collaboration: I thrive on collaborating with people and bringing people together with like interests. Collaboration is critical to learning, to appreciate different perspectives and to work towards common goals and priorities.
• Equity: Every student must have equal access to a quality education to be prepared for what tomorrow brings. Educational equity can’t be achieved unless each student is supported based on their individual needs, which must be a top priority.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

Throughout my career, I’ve led a number of large-scale enterprise initiatives, which have been highly complex and transformative in nature, requiring in-depth impact assessments and building consensus from stakeholders. Impacts have ranged across financial, staffing, technical and operational process changes, all of which required me to lead teams through change. One of the main characteristics essential to leading through change is listening to those impacted, a skill that will be beneficial on the school committee.

Another example of an accomplishment is my role with Andover DIVERSE. When this initiative was ideated early on, I collaborated with other community members to help articulate a vision for this work and recommended a framework to bring this vision to fruition. I was subsequently appointed to the Town of Andover Commission for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and have played a key role working with other commission members. Progress to date include analyzing results from a town-wide assessment conducted through surveys and focus groups and I helped create a multi-year strategic plan with detailed action steps. The strategic plan is now being elaborated on with support from various working groups, with a focus on implementation. I’m actively participating on three working groups: Communications, Supporting Andover Youth and Community Engagement. My experience with Andover DIVERSE and the working groups is transferable to the School Committee since it involves listening with empathy, building bridges with other organizations and stakeholders, evaluating issues from diverse points of view all while working towards a broader goal to improve our community and culture.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

An executive at my work recently shared their perspective on leadership and its impact on culture. The discussion was focused on “walking the walk” and the importance of leadership setting the tone for the rest of the organization and its culture. During this discussion, the executive stressed “the power of a conversation comes from collaboration, not control”.

This simple statement resonated with me. Too often, when we disagree with others, our instinct is to try and control the discussion by taking an even firmer position and to push own agenda forward. But when we listen to each other with empathy and respect, we can build strong and effective relationship that can lead to truly meaningful conversations.

In many instances, it’s easy to forget that we have more in common because the focus of the conversation is on what divides us. I’ll bring a collaborative approach to the school committee and will work to improve how the school committee works with the community.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

As a first-time candidate, I won’t have answers immediately to every question or issue raised to me. As a life-long learner, the more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know and continuously approach issues with curiosity and tenacity. I commit to working with the right people and subject matters experts, listen to all perspectives and consider all sides to ultimately make an informed decision on school committee issues.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.