School board service is a complicated endeavor. It requires vision, integrity, balance, compromise, knowledge, time and, perhaps most important, an unfaltering commitment to doing what is best for our students.

Not everyone is the right fit for this important and demanding position. The Haldane community is lucky to have found such an effective trustee in Peggy Clements and even more lucky that she is willing to raise her hand to serve for another term.

Peggy has demonstrated her dedication to our school throughout her child’s time at Haldane as a parent and a school volunteer, and more recently as a Board of Education trustee from 2015 to 2017. Her doctorate in child psychology and professional career in educational research provide her with a unique and impressive set of qualifications to serve our students. She works tirelessly to see all sides of every issue and always makes fair and balanced decisions. She asks tough questions, shares her professional expertise, and understands her role implicitly.

Haldane is in good hands with her as part of its leadership team. I look forward to continuing our work together.

Jennifer Daly, Cold Spring
Daly is president of the Haldane school board.

I’m writing in support of Haldane trustee Peggy Clements, who is seeking re-election. I believe that Peggy is the most qualified candidate for this position, and I am extremely grateful to her for sharing her talent and expertise with our community. Peggy has a doctorate in developmental psychology from NYU and more than 20 years of experience in education research and child development.

In her day job, Peggy is a senior researcher for a large nonprofit education research organization, and is responsible for monitoring multimillion dollar budgets on contracts which are regulated by state, local and federal laws. She has significant experience in developing education policy. Much of her work focuses on math and science education, and includes research on using technology to support student learning.

Peggy is extremely good at understanding complex, nuanced situations, and is able to thoughtfully and systematically address them. Her background gives her insight into methods schools can use to educate all different kinds of kids. She is able to see more than one side of a problem with a view to finding the best way to support the student and the school community. Peggy believes in public education and public service.

In addition to her work with the board, Peggy has been on the Nelsonville Zoning Board for the past decade and a resident for 15 years. She and her husband, Chris Duffy, have long been Haldane parents and volunteers. Their son Peter, a 2016 Haldane graduate, is in his freshman year at SUNY Stonybrook.

Kim Conner, Cold Spring

Behind The Story

Type: Opinion

Opinion: Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.

This piece is by a contributor to The Current who is not on staff. Typically this is because it is a letter to the editor or a guest column.