West Hempstead Board of Education election: Meet the challengers

Cynthia Di Miceli:

    Having lived in West Hempstead for 15 years and sending her two sons, who are 11 and 7 years old, to the district’s public schools, Cynthia Di Miceli is familiar with the school board’s methods of operation. She thinks it’s time to change them and that she’s the right person for the job.
    If elected to the board, Di Miceli said she would expand on the district’s three-year strategic plan and create forums for communication. “I want to change the disconnect many residents feel towards the school district,” she said. “I would like to see communication improved with community members and a greater effort to include parents, teachers and the public into the decision-making process.”
    Di Miceli, who has been a PTA member for six years and coaches two West Hempstead Chiefs Soccer Club teams, believes that when each branch of the school community shares input and ideas, and makes recommendations or suggests alternatives, the entire school community benefits. She said she would serve as a “new set of eyes” on the board and contribute a parent’s perspective on existing and potential educational programs.
    As a business woman, Di Miceli knows a thing or two about managing finances and wants to “work in collaboration with the other board members to challenge us to spend our money wisely,” she said. “I want to ensure that the children in West Hempstead benefit from every dollar that we invest in their future.”

    Di Miceli, who owns a consulting company that works with those seeking to adopt children, said the board needs to work harder to cut waste from the budget without cutting programs. “To effectively educate our children, the district must ensure our tax dollars are spent wisely,” she said.
    Scrapping school programs because of budgetary restraints is something the board should seek to avoid at all costs, Di Miceli said. To thrive and reach their fullest potential, children must be fully engaged in a wide range of school activities, from academics and music to art and sports to computer technology, according to the candidate. If she were to become a member of the school board, Di Miceli said she would “look for greater insight on programs and their impact on students before deciding to consolidate an existing educational program.”
    In addition to being a working mom, a PTA member and a soccer team coach, Di Miceli is a member of the Adoptive Parents Committee of Long Island, where she also serves as speaker, making television and other appearances. But her busy schedule is no impediment: “I get involved because of my children. It is important in my life because my children are important,” Di Miceli said.
    When asked why she wants to sacrifice her time to volunteer on the board, Di Miceli said: “I do not consider it a sacrifice of time when you strongly believe in something. I believe in our schools and the children of our community.”
    In preparation for election day, and in order to entice voters to choose her, Di Miceli is using campaign literature to get out her message: “join me in making the changes by voting for Cynthia Di Miceli.”

Nathalie Crosland:

    Nathalie Crosland likes to think ahead, to prepare for the future. Knowing that children are the future, the accountant and mother of three spends much of her time and energy working to ensure they get all the tools they need to succeed.
    Crosland’s foreward-thinking ways were evident as early as 2001, when she relocated to West Hempstead from Queens. Her eldest daughter, now 11, was 2 years old when Crosland decided to move: she had been searching for “a better educational, recreational and social environment” for her growing family — even though her second child wouldn’t be born until 2004 and her third until 2008. As is her nature, Crosland had begun planning ahead early and building the nest that would support her family’s future.
    This quality of Crosland’s spills into other areas of her life, particularly into her involvement with her children’s education. Her daughter Nalae, the 11-year-old, attends West Hempstead Middle School, and 6-year-old Xandria goes to Cornwell Avenue Elementary School. Crosland’s youngest daughter, Thalia, is two-and-a-half years old.
    The commitment and dedication with which Crosland approaches her own children’s education is that with which she would approach the education of all district children, she said. “My most important concern is ensuring the academic aptitude of all students to compete in this constantly changing global arena,” Crosland said.
    To achieve that, she believes, the community must collaborate. “We need to increase communication within the community that pertains to maintaining excellence and improvement of our educational system in West Hempstead,” Crosland said. “We — parents, teachers, administrators, board members and the community at large — need to work together to sustain a lucrative future for our children.”
    Crosland believes that in order to be successful, children must be challenged academically, physically and socially. “Likewise,” she added, “our teachers need the proper tools and training to prepare our children to succeed along with a full commitment to implement set initiatives.” While she said the district is “on the right track” with many of the activities and programs it already has in place, Crosland wants to improve on them and implement new ideas to further increase student achievement.
    It is essential that the board revisits programs often, Crosland said, in order to re-evaluate their effectiveness and relevance to student needs and changing times. “The fact that many students are opting for a private school education in lieu of public school affirms that the time has come for change,” she said. But, Crosland added, change cannot be made in vain: “The changes need to be effective.”
    Crosland said she’s excited to have the opportunity to be in a position that would allow her to “effectuate change” in the community.  “I am hopeful for our children’s future in West Hempstead as I plan to be in this community for many years to come,” she said, adding that  she is committed to bringing improvements to the school district as long as she can. Crosland urged voters to join her in “building our children’s future.”

Rudolph Schindler:

    In the 18 years he’s lived in West Hempstead, Rudolph Schindler has kept busy, getting involved in various community causes and organizations.
    The German-born father of three said he was instrumental in obtaining a change in the district’s school-busing restrictions that allowed more students access to district transportation. While establishing a U.S. subsidiary for a German manufacturer and working as CEO to manage it, Schindler still found time to join fellow members of the West Hempstead civic association in the fight to close the crime-ridden Courtesy hotel.
    Somewhere in the midst of working and spending time with his 14-year-old daughter and eight-year-old twins, Schindler also finds time to volunteer, serving as track-and-field coach for the West Hempstead Police Activity League and as chairman of the West Hempstead Rotary Club’s Student of the Month program.
    He wants to take his volunteering to the next level by holding a seat on the school board. Schindler’s main objective is advancing the district’s use of computer technology, particularly because it will have a ripple effect.
    When used properly, video conferencing, for example, can have a far-reaching affect on students. Schindler noted that at St. Thomas the Apostle School, a Catholic school in the district, students use video conferencing to interact with students in other countries, learning with them and about their cultures. In addition to that, Schindler said, “St. Thomas students have learned that there is a world outside of West Hempstead and to think outside the box.”
    Smart boards are another technology that, if better utilized, can provide children with a fuller education, according to Schindler. Fewer smart boards means less integrated teaching methods, he said, citing the notion that if homework assignments, teachers’ assistance to students and electronic textbooks were organized and established through websites, they would be more accessible to students.
    “We need to focus on technology that is here today and may be discovered tomorrow to benefit our students,” Schindler said. “Extra help is crucial, regardless of grade level, subject or students’ performance. The amount of qualified instructional material available for free on the internet is remarkable, but such information needs to be reintroduced and reinforced to our students.”
    The school board needs new members who are willing to question the status quo and envision new ideas, according to Schindler. It also needs to manage the district more like a business — something for which Schindler said he is well-qualified. “We need to seek ways to maximize the district’s resources while minimizing its costs,” he said, adding that a well-managed school district can succeed in helping all students excel.
    Schindler believes that as an engineer and business professional, he knows how to research problems and craft effective solutions. “We need lots of ideas and solutions to prepare our students for a challenging future,” he said in his bid to voters. “But we need change and bold vision on the school board to do it.”