Letter from Dr. Margaret Dowd

Dowd Seeking To Serve on Board

My name is Margaret Dowd. I am a physician, the mother of three children at Cooperstown Central Schools, and I am running for the Board of Education.

I love living in and serving this community. As an invested parent, I have volunteered extensively at our school, including founding and overseeing our first elementary school newspaper, the “Walnut Street Journal,” and fundraising for and volunteering in the Kid Garden.

As a doctor with a background in finance, I have been able to work closely with hospital leadership, members of our school board, and school leaders to collaborate on showcasing our amazing school and enhancing our enrichment offerings.

One result is a new student research pilot program pairing Cooperstown high-school students with mentors at Bassett Research Institute, which is scheduled to launch this month and, we hope, will ultimately become an elective at the high school. Another result is successfully retaining a dedicated communications director, a position wholly funded by Bassett Healthcare and The Clark Foundation, to celebrate our students’ accomplishments with the community. These successful collaborations between the hospital, local foundations and the school demonstrate ways to enhance offerings for students without any impact on the school budget.

In working directly with school leaders and teachers, it has become abundantly clear to me how special our school and teachers are—as well as how many opportunities there are for growth.

Our teachers are the foundation of our school, and we need to support them entirely. I have a demonstrated interest in building our school into the best it can be, but I believe I can do even more from a position on the school board.

As a board member, I would be uniquely positioned to foster partnerships between the hospital and leaders of local organizations to create opportunities to support our school. I would likewise promote greater transparency between school leaders, the school board, and the community, which is imperative for an environment of trust and collaboration.

I would encourage our board to establish a policy for more intentional use of educational technology in our classrooms; one that favors hands-on learning and teacher-led instruction, especially for our youngest students.

And I will fight to maintain robust offerings in academics and the arts, because I believe our students are the future of this region. If we can develop critical thinkers and doers who love our community and are loved by our community, they will go on to serve our community in the future.

Dr. Margaret Dowd
CCS BOE Candidate
Cooperstown