Candidate Announces Run to Rep Ward 6 on Newton School Committee

Cypress Street resident Ruth Goldman has announced she will run for the open Ward 6 Newton School Committee seat in this fall's municipal election.

The current Ward 6 representative (and School Committee chair), Claire Sokoloff, is not seeking re-election due to term limits; Sokoloff has served four 2-year terms. [Editor's note: this paragraph has been changed; the original version said Sokoloff had served only three terms.]

Ruth Goldman brings an extensive background in nonprofit management, youth development programming, and experiential education, including more than 10 years in Canada running Outward Bound programs for at-risk children, according to her press release. As a School Committee member, Ruth says she will work to ensure that:

• Learning needs of every child are met
• Appropriate technology is available to every teacher and child in all classrooms
• Class size and program breadth remain optimal for high- quality education.

“The strength and reputation of Newton has always been the schools and their rolesas leaders and innovators,” said Goldman in the press release. “That is what attracted my parents and my husband’s parents to this city more than 40 years ago and it’s what brought us back to Newton to raise our children. I am committed to working hard to ensure that our school system continues this great tradition.”

“Ruth’s professional and educational background, together with her experience as a student and parent in Newton’s school system, help give her the experience needed to be a strong contributor to the next School Committee”, Matt Hills, School Committee Vice-Chair, is quoted as saying in Goldman's press release.

Goldman is a graduate of Dartmouth College and holds a Masters in Education from the University of Toronto. The press release says she is a consultant to philanthropy and specializes in designing programs related to youth leadership and the urban environment, as well as a former PTO Co-Chair, member of the PTO Council, and a long-time volunteer at Bowen Elementary School. She was the Bowen school liaison for the 2013 override campaign. Ruth and her husband, Patrick Powdermaker, are graduates of the Newton public schools. They have two children, a daughter at Bowen and a son at Oak Hill Middle School.