Jennienne Burke
STAMFORD — Jennienne Burke is the type of person that likes to make change at the ground level.
Burke volunteers as a mentor with LiveGirl Inc., a nonprofit that works to builds confidence and leadership capacity in young women, and said she also takes individual students in the city under her wing and keeps a careful watch to ensure they’re reaching their potential.
This ontheground approach made Burke’s accession to the bureaucratic Board of Education a jolt when she won a spot in the group three years ago.
“I think I was surprised as a novice coming in to see just how big our system is and what all the pieces are,” Burke said. “A big eye opener was all the processes and procedures in place that have to be followed and understood.”
Nonetheless, Burke, a Democrat, did her best to work within the system, especially in her passion area of student college and career readiness.
“It’s important for me to see that students have something they’re prepared for when they graduate high school,” said Burke, who herself works for Aetna.
When Burke first joined the board, however, she didn’t see a focus on what Stamford Public Schools wanted its students to be ready for upon graduation.
“We have tons of programming around college and career readiness but there was no cohesiveness to bring it all together,” said Burke, 55.
In response, Burke worked to define college and career readiness as a goal in the district’s strategic plan and she said she fought hard to secure funding for a new position of district coordinator for college and career readiness and school counselor services.
The new position and centrality of college and career in the district helps connect students with existing resources that can aid in establishing their future plans and also serves as a springboard for new programs, such as a successful pilot to combat the attrition of firsttime college students coming out of the district that launched this spring, Burke said.
Outside the college and career readiness realm, Burke said she’s sought to establish metrics in the board’s other areas, such as curriculum, where Burke helped implement targets for literacy and ninthgrade algebra assessments.
The annual budget and Stamford’s facilities crisis are two other areas where Burke said she’s provided close scrutiny.
“I don’t blindly accept things. I’m known for followups. You have to
Jennienne Burke
Party: Democrat
Age: 55
Incumbent: Yes
Current job: Aetna, CVS Health
Education: City Honors High School, bachelor’s degree from The State University of New York at Buffalo and graduate degree from New York University
The most important issue in this election: Postsecondary Planning and College & Career Readiness
Other issues: The issues I find most important in this election are the focus on teaching, learning and curriculum as well as the facility management and oversight of our school buildings. In Stamford, resources for our school district are alway pitted against priorities. Regardless of the limited funds, it’s the learning, teaching practices and community collaborations that we help students navigate into the real world that shapes our students choices and ability to thrive and be continuous learners. Learning goes beyond the classroom. The combination of supportive and effective teaching practices, innovative learning tools and community partnerships helps a student connect a lesson on government to, if or how a park gets built. This education triad approach card demonstrate how English language arts and a computer graphics arts course can produce media content in print or online. These are the connections for Stamford students I’d like to see implemented to launch the interest of each and every Stamford Public School student.
Secondly, facility maintenance of buildings is a concern for me and is priority for many Stamford families and residents. With the new facility model, Stamford Asset Management Group, all stakeholders are looking for accountability, efficiency and a comprehensive approach to maintaining our school buildings and facilities.
Family: My husband and I live in Stamford We have two sons.
Previous elected offices, community group affiliations: Co-Chair Transition from High School, Cradle to Career, United Way Western CT, Vice President, Board of Education, Stamford Public Schools, Board Member, Stamford Public Health Foundation, Mentor, Live Girl Inc.
question when you don’t have certainty,” said Burke, adding she generally supports Superintendent Tamu Lucero’s implementa
tion of an inhouse Asset Management Group to oversee school facilities.
Three years into government work, Burke said she
keeps in mind a motto that grounds her in the grassroots: “Start where you are, use what you got and do what you can.”