I write this letter in support of Rebecca Sassouni for a renewed term on the Board of Education, and in favor of Joanne Chan for election to the Great Neck Public Schools Board of Education.

I have worked with Rebecca and Joanne in numerous capacities within our school district and community over the years.

I have witnessed first-hand Rebecca’s dedication to cohesive team building within an organization.

Through her presidency of SHAI, through her work with the district’s UPTC Total Community Involvement Committee to bring topics of educational concern to the community at large, through her leadership as an executive board member of Temple Israel, and through her unwavering prowess in leading this district’s BOE through increasingly challenging times, Rebecca’s leadership has been defined by class and grace.

Rebecca is a wealth of institutional knowledge and know-how. She has helped steer this district to continued excellence over the years. Having navigated four children of her own through our school system, and with expertise in education including but not limited to academic integrity, special education, and state mandates and guidelines, Rebecca is a visionary unto her own.

She is a seasoned author and presenter on educational matters and is the strength that Great Neck needs.

I served as executive vice president under Joanne’s UPTC presidency. Joanne is thoughtful and all-encompassing in her decision-making approach.  She, like Rebecca, is a community builder who reaches across the spectrum to hear collective voices.

Joanne‘s skill set has been and will continue to be an asset to our district and her experience directing her own four students through our schools (three having already graduated) brings expansive knowledge as to the skills that are necessary for our graduates beyond Great Neck as well.

My husband and I are alumni of the GNPS. We chose to raise our children in Great Neck for the critical thinking skills bestowed upon us through a Great Neck education.

Rebecca and Joanne’s greatest superpower is to gracefully allow for exposure to an array of thought and the ability to think through complex issues with empathy, compassion and visionary insight. This is the definition, I believe, of critical thinking.

There are many changes that lie ahead for us as a school district. We are at the brink of choosing a new superintendent and new assistant superintendent for elementary instruction.

Consistency, breadth and scope of knowledge hand-in-hand with a worldly, sophisticated, expansive outlook are needed right now. Rebecca and Joanne bring all those skills and more to the table. I simply cannot think of two more capable and experienced candidates.

I urge you to see the long-term ramifications of our collective decision making and to join me in voting for Rebecca Sassouni and Joanne Chan on May 16.

Pargol Khadavi

Great Neck