To The Editor:

As a candidate for the Board of Education, I would like to take this opportunity to further introduce myself to the community by expressing a bit more about my history. As before, I want to do that in a format of gratitude.

The first expression of my gratitude is to all the workers who mentored me in their own unique way as I worked part-time at the M. Aaron Necktie Factory in South Norwalk while attending two -and four-year colleges. They were a treasured group of hardworking people where I was welcomed into a diverse yet unified beauty of race, ethnicity, and culture all in one place.

The mixture of traditions, work ethics, cuisine, and indelible friendships were treasured gifts bestowed upon me in preparation for the rest of my life. In a wonderful irony, the “sweat shop” conditions that had caused me to be indifferent to neckties at the time, morphed into one of the signature features of my teaching 30 years later in Newtown (thanks to a very creative student at Newtown Middle School who actually designed a lesson plan involving “Necktie Manufacturing”)!

The second expression of gratitude is to all the students in the Norwalk Public Schools who entrusted me with their education and confidence for the first 25 years when I was just beginning my teaching career. Especially those at the alternative high school who were experiencing difficult and often heartbreaking conditions and yet who still gave me a chance to guide them.

It is not hyperbolic to say that students in that urban setting taught me far more about the deeper meaning of positive connections and serving others than the other way around. Indeed, it is that form of learning that has prepared me for the important position of Board of Education member more than any course work accomplished with my three education degrees.

This is the time for voters to get to know each team member of Larkin, Kuzma, and Ramsey for the Board of Education. If you would like to know even more about me or have further questions, please feel free to contact me at moxieboardofeducationcandidate@gmail.com. In the meantime I look forward to the PTA/PTSA Public Forum where we can meet in person.

Donald H. Ramsey

Newtown