On May 16, I’ll be voting for Rebecca Sassouni and Joanne Chan, two incredibly intelligent and thoughtful women, for Board of Education Trustees and I will vote “yes” to support the school budget.
I worked with both Rebecca and Joanne during my time as a parent leader in Great Neck. I was UPTC Co-President from 2019 to 2021 and, before that, was PTO President at Great Neck South High School for three years. A few years earlier, I spent four years as PTO President at E.M. Baker. My children are now in college.
It’s an interesting perspective to look back at your children’s education once they are in college, looking back at the children that they were and the adults that they’ve become. I know that there’s a lot I learned about my children along the way, through their years of elementary school, middle school and high school, things that I didn’t fully understand until they got to college. I can clearly identify what experiences and classes had the most positive impact on them. Rebecca and Joanne both have this perspective as parents of graduates of our district.
Not only can I look back at my children’s time at E.M. Baker, South Middle, and South High, I can also look back at my own experience as a parent and a parent leader in those schools and at UPTC, reflecting on the knowledge and experience that I gained over those years, taking on leadership roles that most shy away from. With each role over 16 years, I learned a little more.
Like me, Joanne Chan is a past co-president of UPTC, although her term was a few years
before mine. Joanne also served on the executive board of Great Neck South High School and Great Neck South Middle School with me and, together, we served on various other school committees. It was in those roles that I saw how well Joanne listens to others, asks thoughtful questions, considers the different opinions and ideas offered, and is able to synthesize the information into something that everyone feels comfortable with. Two of Joanne’s children have graduated from college, one is in college, and one is in high school. Joanne has perspective that is invaluable in the role of trustee. She also has all of the knowledge gained through her many roles in parent leadership.
I’ve known Rebecca Sassouni for about 15 years. We met on the Religious School Education
Committee at Temple Israel and then co-chaired that committee together for a couple of years.
Rebecca served as a Vice President of Temple Israel when I was on the Board of Trustees there, so I continued to see her in action, watched her interactions with others, and how she made careful and thoughtful observations. We also interacted on school district related matters, especially during the time that I was a PTO President and then UPTC Co-President after Rebecca was elected to the Board of Education. Rebecca has the ability to take everything in, digest it, think about it, and offer solutions. She is looking out for what is best for our district, for all of us, for all of our children.
Both women are intelligent, thoughtful, and insightful. Most importantly, they are experienced leaders in the district. Rebecca Sassouni and Joanne Chan will both get my vote on May 16th.
I hope for the sake of the future of our school district that they will get your vote as well.
-Miriam Kobliner
Great Neck
