Hello! My name is Mark Niedergang, and I am the Ward 5 representative on the Somerville School Committee. Thanks to the voters of Ward 5 and hundreds of other friends and supporters, I am now completing my third term on the School Committee. I will be a candidate for re-election on November 8, 2011.
I have lived in Somerville for almost 30 years. I met and married my wife Marya here. Our daughter Rae graduated from Somerville High School last spring and just finished her freshman year at Tufts University. She was well-prepared for college because she received a great education in the Somerville Public Schools.
Since 2006, I have served on the School Committee and represented our schools in and around Ward 5 - the Brown, Kennedy, and Winter Hill. I've learned a lot about what makes our schools strong and how we can make them even better.
In January 2010, my colleagues elected me Chair of the School Committee, and I served as Chair for that year. The Chair has additional duties, such as collaborating with the Board of Aldermen on budget and other issues. In 2009, as Vice Chair, I led the Committee through what some officials thought was the most difficult budget situation in 20 years. We had to make cuts no one wanted to make.
Due to the continuing impact of the global economic recession on state and city revenues, this year’s school budget will also be challenging. But I will work hard to ensure that the budget process is open and transparent and that there are many opportunities for public comment.
And despite budget cuts, we will continue to move forward in improving our schools.
Right now, the School Committee's top goal is to establish a groundbreaking, exciting middle school instructional program for 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. Administrators, principals, teachers, and other staff have already begun to implement the first part of this new program.
I will work hard to reach other key goals, such as increasing inclusion opportunities for our special education students, improving after-school programs, and re-establishing foreign language instruction before 9th grade.
And I'll continue to listen carefully to the concerns and ideas of parents, guardians, teachers, other staff, and community members.
I am grateful for the opportunity to help our students thrive and our schools succeed.
Sincerely yours,
Mark Niedergang
29 Conwell Street
Somerville, MA 02143
P.S. If you'd like to talk, please contact me at 617-629-8033 or mark@markniedergang.com
Updated May 6, 2011
Many thanks to David Crosbie for volunteering to create and manage this website.