Stacy Winchell moved to Old Lyme in 1988 and graduated from LOLHS in 1991. She returned to the area in 1996 where she and her husband, Casey (a life-long resident of Old Lyme), would raise our now 11 year old daughter, Paige. In addition to being a personal injury paralegal for the past 20 years, Stacy has also served as an alternate on the Zoning Commission since 2014 and currently is the President of the Lyme-Old Lyme Junior Women’s Club. Stacy encourages a fair and fiscally responsible educational and extracurricular system that accommodates every child’s individual abilities, goals and socioeconomic background so that every student graduates with the tools to achieve successful and independent lives, either into and through college or directly into the workforce.
Why are you running for the Region 18 Board of Education?
Not only do I have a child in our public schools, but I and my family have all attended our schools for decades. I am well invested to ensure that our families are provided every tool for success regardless of the post graduate path the student chooses. Board members need to acknowledge and identify the need to keep the focus of its responsibilities on the students and in the classroom, anything outside that is the responsibility of the administration to whom the Board should demand accountability. I will ask questions, seek clarification and I will not conform to popular vote. The Board’s goals are to ensure that our schools operate at a level of excellence that encompasses our entire student body, regardless of the size, the front of the class and the back of the class, the gifted and the learning disabled. Independent thinking, sensibility and relatability is what I offer to our community. The future success of our District on a whole depends on the necessity to put education back in the classroom and on the talent of our educators to express and implement creative methods that suit the abilities and individuality of each child. It is now the right time for me to become a team member of the Board of Ed.
Why should someone vote for you?
The Board of education needs to be as diverse as the families in our community it serves. Our towns consist of many types of collared workers, the blue, the pink and the white. This is the fabric of our community. We need a member who can identify with our families from all education and socioeconomic backgrounds. I have worked and/or lived in Old Lyme since 1988 and have sat at many different tables, waited in lines and attended local events with our residents, having informal discussions about budgets and the challenges each generation faces as they cross the doors of our schools. I hope to be part of a team that characterizes the spirit of our community. I look forward to being the relatable and identifiable representative on our Board.