My name is Niloufar Tabari and I’m announcing my candidacy for the Great Neck Board of Education. I would like to introduce myself and educate the residents of Great Neck about my intentions as we prepare for this important election.

Before immigrating to the United States, my family and I lived in Iran. During our time there, we were prevented from enjoying the fundamental rights afforded to Americans, such as freedom of speech, freedom of press and freedom of expression.  Moreover, minorities were treated as second-class citizens.

As Jews, we were treated as second-class citizens and had to maintain a low profile. I still remember being attacked by women on the street because a strand of my hair had fallen out of my hair cover. My mother, who was a teacher of 20 years, was routinely harassed by her school administration for being Jewish. Eventually, my family made the courageous decision to leave Iran, escape a repressive regime and move to the United States in the hopes of experiencing basic civil and human rights.  Therefore, the freedoms afforded to me, my family and all citizens of this country are not lost upon me.

I do not support “book banning” in any form. I support equal rights for all humans. I strive to treat everyone with kindness, dignity and respect and expect my children to do the same. I am so grateful for the education that I was able to receive and want to make sure that future generations are afforded the same opportunities.

I have been a resident of Great Neck for over 19 years. My husband and I are privileged to be raising our 4 four children in this beautiful community – we have one child at North High School, one at North Middle School, one at Saddle Rock Elementary, and our youngest child is at Parkville. Professionally, I have been working as a pediatric speech-language pathologist since 2006, upon graduating with my master’s degree from Queens College.

When the opportunity arose to run for the school board, I felt compelled to run to have a chance to give back to this wonderful community and to continue to improve upon our superb public schools. I am a parent, an educator, and a resident of this community that I admire, respect and love.  I intend on bringing this perspective to the Board of Education in order to ensure that our schools succeed to the benefit of our children, students, staff and educators. I personally believe that the diversity of this community needs to be celebrated and not used to divide and hurt.  No matter how diverse this community is, we share one singular goal: best in class education for our children.

So now you know who I am and why I am here.  But I’m sure many of you want to know what I can and will do if elected to this board.  Too often we hear people claim promises and then once elected fall short of those empty words. I am not that person. I believe there are a lot of amazing things happening in our district.

I am personally familiar with many of the educated, hardworking teachers that are dedicated to the success of this school district, both private and public. I am also personally familiar with many families and parents who are concerned with the future our children are inheriting.  I believe there is an awesome opportunity now, more than ever before, to bridge the gap between the schools, educators and administrators and our parent community.

A truly successful district arises from cooperation between community, parent, student, administrators and educators. As any parent will tell you, children adopt the behaviors they experience.  Likewise, our district is fundamentally shaped by the members of our Board of Education. There is a clash between teachers and administration.

There is a clash between parents and teachers.  And it is the students who ultimately suffer.  In order to protect our community and our children’s education, we need to rise above the clashing and bring true compassion, kindness and thoughtfulness back to the table.  Politics has seeped into every area of our lives and education has not been spared.  Our administrators and staff are leaving this community and there has been significant turnover.  The divide we are seeing in other areas of Long Island and even nationwide has infiltrated here.

We need change in order to remove the toxicity and division on our board and start setting the right tone. We need board members who can put aside their personal differences in order to focus on a common goal – a supportive environment for teachers and a protective environment for our children.  We need to provide more meaningful opportunities for parents to be involved in their children’s education.

We need more partnership between school administration and parents. This is not about micromanaging or putting teachers in a box.  I am a teacher and would not advocate for such treatment.  But the divide will continue until we create bridges between the interested parties.  We need to rise above and that will only be accomplished through change.

On May 16, I hope you all come out and vote.  I hope your voice is heard.  And I hope you vote for me, Niloufar Tabari, for trustee to the Great Neck Board of Education.