After 12 years on the Board of Education, I have decided that it's time to pass the baton. I whole-heartedly endorse Will Begeny and Theo Oshiro as candidates for election to the Board of Education of the Croton-Harmon Schools on May 20, 2025.
Because every child deserves a great education supporting their talents and desires.
For the past twelve years, I have served our community as a member of the Board of Education — but it is now time to pass the baton — and I will not be seeking re-election to the Croton-Harmon Board of Education. While I remain committed to every student receiving the high-quality education that they deserve, honing academic practices and standards, and ensuring that the community’s tax dollars are spent in ways that actually forwarded those goals, it is time let others take of the mantle of leadership.
I write to you today to endorse the candidacies of Will Begeny and Theo Oshiro.
Please remember to vote on May 20, 2025!
Theo Oshiro has been a diligent, thoughtful, and progressive member of the board for the past three years, contributing greatly to our advocacy efforts, developing policies that ensure that every student in the district is treated fairly, and sharing his experience in ways that forward board discussion and action alike in bringing effective education to every student in the district. Through Theo I have learned about the needs of families whose heritage is different from mine, and whose kids face challenges far different from my own. Having children in the Croton-Harmon schools, Theo is deeply attached to our schools, and will be for years to come. In a time when powerful forces are seeking to tear down the institutions, ideas and concepts that make our diverse community great, he stands for reason, inclusion, equity, fairness, and kindness. Theo’s contribution to date has been significant, and I heartily hope that you will vote to re-elect him to a continuing three-year term.
I first met Will Begeny in a discussion over coffee with friends about how to preserve the effectiveness of local schools in the face of anti-progressive forces that would set education back years, if not decades. In Will, I see an individual who believes (as I do) that we must ensure that all students thrive — not just those who are in the “in” group — and not just those who have high test scores at a particular point in time. I applaud his commitments to insight (honestly understanding what’s happening in our schools), action (taking bold and timely action to ensure iterative improvement) and accountability (ensuring that we effectively assess results and use those assessments to inform practice). Will too has kids in the Croton-Harmon schools, giving him connection, and a forward-looking interest in school effectiveness — but I know from our discussions that it’s not just about his kids, rather, about all of the students in the district. Will brings a sense of rigor, a devotion to thoughtful, well researched, action, and a logical approach to everything I’ve ever discussed with him, and I know he will bring that to his Board service. As such, I plan to vote for his election to the Board, and I hope that you will, as well.
In conclusion, I believe that Will and Theo will work together — in concert with the rest of the Board — to ensure the academic growth, improvement, and fiscal stability of the Croton-Harmon Schools. With them on the board, I will feel comfortable, knowing that the children of our community are in good hands.
Sincerely,
Josh Diamond
Don't forget to vote for me on Tuesday, May 17, 2022!
Polls will be open from 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM at Croton-Harmon High School.
Here are the topics that are most important to me as a school board member right now, that I will continue to pursue if re-elected to a new 3-year term on the Board of Education:
Fostering brilliance: We must create an environment in which students are empowered to go beyond the questions that they already thought to ask, and are exposed to new ideas, new possibilities, and new perspectives, which will allow them to go beyond the limits of their current thinking. Brilliance is when students can bring their critical thinking skills to bear on the problems that they never even thought of before, to achieve amazing results.
Providing the best possible education to every student in our district. This includes addressing the negative impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on learning over the past two years, and of course, ensuring that our curriculum resonates with all of our students, no matter who they are, where they come from or what they look like.
The physical well-being of our students: We must give students greater opportunity for physical activity, foster healthy lifestyle habits, and build teamwork, through athletics, physical education, etc. We must invest in improving our athletic facilities, and in building a highly effective corps of coaches and athletic staff.
Supporting the social and emotional well-being of our students. It is important that we teach students how to be confident in their own abilities, sure of their chance for success in life, resilient in the face of difficulty, how to be kind and passionate friends, and that all human beings are worthy of our respect and kindness, regardless of our differences.
Teaching our students to be creative: Art, music, engineering, drama, writing, etc. are among the ways in which students learn creativity, teamwork, and problem-solving skills — inventing new possibilities. We should invest in support for these endeavors.
Sustainability: We must bequeath our kids a world that is livable, and we must teach our kids to be effective stewards of the planet. That means making sure that everything from our bus fleet to our ventilation systems to our use of resources like paper and fuel and electricity is as efficient and clean as possible.
Please let me know your ideas on these topics - and please let me know if there are others that you feel I should be thinking about!
All human beings deserve fair opportunities to succeed, regardless of their family background, culture, religious affiliation, or personal characteristics.
Knowledge, history, and science should form the foundation of public school curricula; they should not be driven by assertion, superstition, politics or religious dogma.
Social and emotional learning is key. Every student has differing needs with respect to their mental, social, and interpersonal health.
Freedom of speech, and academic freedom, are paramount. We must not limit the destinations which our students seek, nor should we limit the materials that they can use in that pursuit.
If we fail to teach about the past truthfully, we are doomed to repeat its mistakes in the future. The past is imperfect; history is often uncomfortable. Schools must support discussion of those uncomfortable truths, so that our students may be empowered to grow beyond them.
Supported a focus on every child, leading CHUFSD to continued improvement in school ranking in NY, and in the US as a whole.
Maintained a strong focus on academics and knowledge, driving budget dollars to where they matter most.
Insisted on fair funding for drama, art, music, and other co-curricular activities while also supporting strong and vibrant athletics.
Led a complete revamp of district policy on electronic device use and use of technology in education.
Led advocacy efforts seeking to bring additional state and federal funding to our schools.
Participated in the hiring of several new administrators, including two superintendents, an assistant superintendent for curriculum, an assistant superintendent for business, principals in three school buildings, and other directors and managers.
As chair of the communications committee, presided over major improvements to the transparency of CHUFSD operations, and the implementation of effective channels of communications to parents and other community members.
During my nine years on the board, I have learned in detail how this and other school districts operate. I stand as a resource and mentor for new board members as they grow in their board service.
Technical Program Manager at Google, Inc.
New York Destination Imagination (Affiliate Director)
Advocacy for walkable communities, public spaces, good public transport and safer roads.
