Letter: Gaetane Francis is Patient, Collaborative, Open-Minded

letter to the editorOctober 20, 2015

To the Editor:

We are thrilled that the voters of Greenwich have the opportunity this year to elect Dr. Gaetane Francis to the Board of Education. It is rare to encounter someone who combines her qualities of intelligence, innovation, persistence, and passion for education. In addition to serving the health needs of our community for two decades, Dr. Francis has used her time and unique array of talents to advocate for improvements in our public schools. Like many of us who volunteer extensively in the Greenwich Schools, she began by getting involved with her own children’s experience, expanded her contributions to the school, and found her way to the PTA and the Town’s PTA Council.

Dr. Francis was a frequent commenter at Board of Ed. meetings even prior to her three years as spokesperson for PTAC’s Advanced Learning Program Committee. Her goals have been transparency and consistency, seeking logic and clarity in the design and delivery of learning to the students of Greenwich. She is patient and collaborative, developing new ideas and ways to approach areas of our schools that stand in need of improvement. In addition to her constructively creative suggestions, she is open to the thoughts of others, and looks to consensus as the path forward. To the many PTA representatives who served on her committee she was an inspiring and empowering leader.

From a family of teachers, a graduate of MIT and Yale, and parent to students at both Western Middle School and Greenwich High School, Gaetane Francis is particularly well-poised to contribute to the Greenwich Board of Education. Her interest in the Board is a product of her educational advocacy, rather than participation in the political structure. That she aims both to reassure taxpayers of fiscal conservation by the BOE and to assure families that all students will receive an equally high quality of instruction, without gaps, is reason to recommend Dr. Francis as a most worthy candidate. Her commitments to her family, the medical profession, the PTA, and especially the Greenwich Public School system, affirm her dedication to excellence in education for every one of our children. We urge all citizens to vote, and to vote for Dr. Gaetane Francis for Board of Ed.

Sincerely,

Lisa Beth F. Savitz
Adam J. Savitz, MD, PhD