Ryan W. Carrie
September 26, 2011
Honors English
Mayoral Candidate Paper Final Draft
As a Renaissance Student, I am persuading you, a Renaissance teacher on how education in
Urban Cities and Towns has always been a hot rising issue that is highly debated by political candidates
on all levels. The topic of discussion: how urban districts fail to meet the requirements or standards that
states and school departments pressure them to meet. Springfield, Massachusetts is a city that has
struggled to meet the standards set by state officials and school district officials. The student population
will struggle if voters do not pay attention to the rising issues that are in the city and pay attention to
which candidate has the best solution. This is why education in urban districts should be a serious issue
that you should consider while making your decision on whom to choose for mayor in Springfield.
Based on the mayoral candidates for the 2011 elections for the city, current Mayor Dominic J.
Sarno and mayoral candidate Jose Tosado have separate approaches on what they think is best: best for
the city, best for the schools, and best for the students. Since Dominic Sarno has been in office,
significant gains have been made and state mandated programs and restructuring have been
implemented to improve the city’s elementary and secondary schools. Under Sarno’s leadership with
help from the Springfield Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Alan Ingram, the Springfield Public Schools
have made significant gains in many categories such as attendance, truancy, drop-out rates, and MCAS
scores which include special education and English Language Learners (ELL) subgroups. Under their
leadership, the state deemed Level 4 Schools in Springfield have made much growth in some or all
areas.
While the progress that Mayor Sarno has made in education reform has been tremendous,
Tosado thinks Springfield has much more potential, and is proposing an idea that brings education back
home to the City of Springfield. The mayoral candidate is proposing that Springfield teachers should live
in the city that they teach in. In an economic report presented to residents of Springfield recently,
Tosado stated that nearly 40% of Springfield Public Schools employees approach I-91 with their salaries
in pocket at the end of a school-work day. He believes that bringing education “back home” to the city
will benefit the city and contribute to improving education here.
Both candidates present great facts about the education in the city. What Sarno has
accomplished can be duplicated and continued, what Sarno has accomplished has been recognized, and
what Sarno has accomplished shows there is hope.