Dan Dauplaise
STAMFORD — Dan Dauplaise knows the value of a being bilingual, and he wants to equip more Stamford students with that skill.
The 34yearold Stamford resident, who grew up in a Spanishspeaking home, is running for a seat on the Stamford Board of Education. Among his goals is instituting more foreign language classes for English speakers and better English learning programs for children who speak Spanish or another foreign language at home.
If elected, Dauplaise also said he hopes to expand services and supports for the school system’s English language learners.
According to the school district’s annual report, about 4,800 students in the system speak Spanish at home, compared to about 9,500 English speakers. The next most spoken language at home for students across the district is HaitianCreole, as 355 students list it as their primary language.
Dauplaise wants to ensure that such students are being served by the schools. He’d like to see more effort given to track the performance of English learners in schools.
“We have to have a way to deal with folks who are coming from any number of places,” he said. “Early on, if you transition them from one language to another, and if it’s not done with care and planning, it can cause an educational impact for the person.”
He also wants to see the district offer foreign language classes for all students at an earlier age, producing more bilingual students.
“It would be a tremendous boost,” he said.
Dauplaise did not go through the Stamford school system, but his mother was formerly the district’s director of bilingual education. Before that, she was a teacher in multiple Stamford schools, including Northeast Elementary School.
Out of college, Dauplaise worked in New York City Public Schools as a teaching fellow for a year.
“That gave me some exposure to on the ground teaching, and seeing how education policy translated to classrooms,” he said.
He got his start in Connecticut politics in 2006 as an intern for Diane Farrell, a congressional candidate for the state’s fourth congressional district, a position currently held by U.S. Rep. Jim Himes.
After graduating from college and teaching for a year, Dauplaise worked in Washington, D.C. for thenArizona congressman Ed Pastor.
In 2010, he was invited to join thenGov. Dannel P. Malloy’s campaign.
Two years after, he challenged L. Scott Frantz for the 36th state Senate District, and was defeated. That seat is currently held by state Sen. Alex Bergstein.
As a lawyer, Dauplaise counsels clients across the globe on employment matters, with a focus in Latin America. He is a member of the CrossBorder Practice Group, which provides labor law support in more than 140 countries.
He is recently married and purchased a home in
Daniel Dauplaise
Party: Democrat
Age: 34
Incumbent: No
Current job: Attorney with Ogletree Deakins
Education: Trinity Catholic High School, Cornell University, and postgrad at UConn Law School.
The most important issue in this election: Addressing the needs of students of all backgrounds, especially learners of English as a second language.
Other issues: Improving the perception of Stamford’s school system.
Family: I live with my wife in North Stamford. My mother worked for the Stamford School system for 30 years as a classroom teacher and later administrator.
Previous elected offices, community group affiliations: Board of Directors of Stamford EMS
Stamford. Dauplaise has served as a volunteer with the Long Ridge Fire Company for 20 years.
If elected, he said he’d like better promote Stamford schools to help attract potential home buyers to the city.
“We’re surrounded by towns very wellknown for educational achievement,” he said. “Stamford achievement is just as great, if not better.”