Board of Education, District C: Diana Carpio

District C, Democrat

• Describe how your occupation assists you in serving on the Board of Education and give three brief but specific examples. 

I am the Norwalk Branch Office Manager for Sav A Tree. In this role, I must possess the leadership skills to organize and make sure the branch meets the expectations of Corporate and their protocols.

Just like being the chair of the BOE, I make sure all voices and concerns are heard. As a Latina, I also communicate with the staff that are non English speakers. I help to translate during safety meetings and discussions providing explanations of benefits and protocols.

Also as the Office Manager, I hear the concerns and complaints of our customers, and it is my responsibility to address those concerns and help to give them a better experience. I equate the voice of my customers to the voices of NPS families and students, and they are all important. I need to hear from them to make decisions for the betterment of our children.

My company was acquired four years ago, and I thought I would lose my my job as acquisitions have many changes. However, in less than a year the Office Manager position opened up and I was convinced by the current veteran staff to apply. It was humbling to know they had faith in me to run the office. I went through a rigorous interview process through corporate and was quickly promoted.

I have shown that I am a hard worker and leader. I have won the respect of my colleagues and was voted in unanimously as the Norwalk Board of Education Chair in November 2022. The staff in my office have children in Norwalk Public Schools. They are my constituents and I listen to their concerns as well as ask them questions for how we can make NPS better for all.

• What do you see as the top three issues facing our school system?

The top three issues facing our school system are providing the necessary social emotional supports to address our students’ mental health issues and concerns: providing interventions to accelerate student learning in areas of math and reading due to the impact of the pandemic; and improve the safety and security of our schools so our students and staff have a safe place to learn and grow.

• Teacher burnout is a real issue for districts around the country. What do you plan to do to alleviate this in Norwalk?

We want to continue investing in our teachers, organizing professional development that helps them do their jobs more effectively and provides them with the opportunity to collaborate so they can give meaningful feedback on these PD opportunities. We also want to support the school administrators to help them build a school culture that is collaborative and gives them the tools and resources to best support their teachers and staff.

• There is a constant public battle between city government, the school board, and concerned citizens. It seems that all are “dug in” with their positions, eager to “defeat” the other to win their own agenda. What would you specifically propose to bring all groups to the table to solve issues rather than fight about them? Policy changes and revisions can certainly be part of your answer.

With upcoming budget cycle, we tried to pull the important stakeholders to the table early, holding joint finance meetings and inviting the public to give us their early thoughts on what the city and BOE should focus on while developing the FY 2024-2025 Operating and Capital Budget. We hope to continue these conversations throughout the budget process, and we encourage everyone to attend and provide public comment during meetings of the Norwalk Board of Education, Norwalk Common Council, Norwalk Board of Estimate and Taxation, and Norwalk Common Council’s Finance and Claims Committee.

Information compiled by Bob Giolitto, a volunteer.