Candidate profile: Wendy Oliveira

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Democrat

Beacon Falls

Board of Education

Wendy Oliveira

Age: 42

Occupation: Nursery School/owner

Past political posts: Board of Education

Education: Southern Connecticut State University and Naugatuck Valley Community College; early childhood education

What should be the educational priorities of the school district?

“To provide each child with the best education we possibly can. Each and every child is different. We need to provide educational opportunities for all of them. We need to think of the children first.”

How do you plan to approach the next budget cycle?

“I plan to approach the next budget cycle that same way I have for the past four years: to provide the children of Beacon Falls and Prospect with the best education we possibly can while also thinking of the taxpayer’s ability to pay for this education.”

What are your qualifications for this position?

“I have worked in education since my teenage years. I worked myself up from after school aide to owner/director. I have a degree in early childhood education. I truly love working with children and want to help provide them with the educational opportunities they deserve.”

What do you feel is the most important issue affecting students today? And how would you address it?

“I feel there are many issues affecting students today. I feel that peer pressure and the pressure to succeed in everything they do weigh equally on our students today. Times are different than they were just 20 years ago. Children today are expected to learn more at earlier ages, are expected to be involved and do well in sports and other activities. Our children have no down time where they just get to be kids. Add peer pressure to this and it is even harder. We need to remember that these children are just that – children. They can get overworked and stressed out just like adults. We need to balance the need to teach them what they need to know while remembering that they are children who need our love, care, and understanding.”