{news} Trish Dayan profiled in Stamford Times

[David Bedell]

Stamford Times, 10/16/05

Dayan promises collaboration and consensus

By Meghan Barr
Staff Writer

STAMFORD--As the sole Green Party representative on the Board of Education's 
slate of candidates, Trish Dayan wants to bring a fresh look to the Stamford 
school district.  The clinical social worker believes she can help teachers, 
administrators and parents communicate more effectively.

"Serving on the school board struck me as the most important [volunteer] 
job," said Dayan.  "I'm coming into this with all kinds of questions."

Dayan, 64, worked closely with the school system for several years as 
director of Stamford's Young Parents Program, which serves pregnant teens 
and their families.  She left the public sector fifteen years ago and has 
been treating families at her private practice ever since.

Though Dayan represents the Green Party, she doesn’t believe that party 
affiliation makes much of a difference on a school board.  "We're all here 
for the same reason--the children," she said.  After spending her childhood 
in Rochester, N.Y., Dayan received her bachelor's degree from Duquesne 
University and later earned a master's in social education from Bryn Mawr 
College.  Her two children both graduated from Westhill High School.

"I'm concerned that teachers feel left out," she said.  "I want to see their 
expertise involved in the [system]."

Dayan hopes to increase community awareness of special education issues.  
She treats many families that have handicapped children and said that a 90 
percent divorce rate exists in that population subgroup.

As for the No Child Left Behind Act, Dayan said that, though still trying to 
learn more about it, she's not sure testing should be the district's main 
focus.  She would also like to expand the magnet school model and improve 
relations between the new superintendent, Dr. Joshua Starr, and school 
employees.

"I'm sorry to see an adversarial situation immediately develop between the 
new superintendent and the teachers," she said.  "I think the teachers feel 
disrespected, which they felt even before [Starr] arrived.  That is a major 
part of the problem."

Dayan disagrees with the school board's decision to merge with the city's 
health insurance provider, Health Net.  "I am a provider and I have not had 
good experiences with Health Net," she said.  "They have a poor reputation.  
We should've gone to bid with other companies."

She believes that her experiences as director of Concord Family Servicing in 
Concord, MA, make her a good candidate because she already knows the 
difficulties of working within a budget.

"Stamford could be a symbol for new ideas and greatness," she said.  "I 
think we can do much better."