Hello! I’m Megan Samborski.
Dear Stoneham Residents,
Thank you for electing me for a seat on your School Committee on April 4th, 2023. I look forward to serving our town for the next three years and working hard on behalf of our students, educators, and community. Please reach out to me at my new email address listed on the Stoneham School Committee Website HERE.
For more information about my background and campaign, read through my website and about me section.
I have been a Stoneham resident for 10 years and I have two children who are enrolled in Stoneham Public Schools. I am currently employed as the Director of Community Relations at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Stoneham & Wakefield, where I implement programs that support Stoneham youth and families. I care deeply about our children and community and want to continue to invest my time and energy to make our district, students, and town succeed. I have been a volunteer, employee, and community organizer in Stoneham for a decade, and look forward to using that experience to move our schools in a positive direction and further connect our valuable community resources to our schools.
Bridging the Gap: Connecting our Community & Schools
Successful Schools >>> Successful Communities
Successful schools and successful communities go hand in hand. One of the ways I can contribute to our district is by using my experience to help "Bridge the Gap" in further connecting our greatest resource- our community– with our school administration, staff, and students.
In my experience working with various Stoneham community groups, nonprofits, and coalitions over the last decade, I've noticed opportunities where we could better connect the assets in our community to our schools. These connections can help enhance positive youth development programming including, but not limited to: mental health, substance use prevention, and safe & healthy relationships.
Such School–community partnerships play an essential role in successful schools. Research* shows schools that develop strong community partnerships have:- Higher percentage of students performing on grade level- Increased parental volunteerism- Increased student test scores- Increased student attendance rates- Increased connections for students to learning opportunities outside of school (*School Community Journal, Vol. 25, No. 2)
We have valuable resources right in our Stoneham community who want to help provide knowledge, training, and enrichments to staff and students without placing additional burden on our hard-working school staff. I hope that if I am elected to the school committee, I can help support these programs and find ways that students can access more of them as they grow up through our Stoneham School District.
Partner with me
Please feel free to reach out to me at meganforstoneham@gmail.com with any questions. I view this elected position as a partnership, and I hope to partner with you! I would appreciate it if you could take a moment to take this brief survey here so I can learn more about your priorities and concerns.
I will be setting up more opportunities to meet in the coming weeks, and share updates on facebook.com/megansamborski.
// Stoneham Community Organizer// Stoneham Youth Advocate// Stoneham Experience, Involvement, Results
Led the implementation of a grant funded program recognizing Stoneham Public Schools as ”Grief Sensitive”, committed to providing a supportive environment for students who have experienced the death of a loved one.
*What are a few examples of local groups that can connect positive youth development and mental health programs from our community to our schools?- The Nan Project: Peer-to-peer model to open up the conversation concerning young adult mental health- Stoneham Alliance Against Violence- Training surrounding safe & healthy relationships - Mental Health First Aid (MHFA)- a nationally recognized program offered locally that teaches community adults how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges. - Stoneham Coalition & Drug Free Communities Grant- Youth substance use prevention and mental health programming
*My Past Experience Making these Connections:- Worked with Stoneham High School Youth Coalition to host mental health trainings from the NAN project and Samaritans Inc, that could be offered more widely to students. - Integral role in obtaining INTERFACE mental health referral service, a free helpline for Stoneham students, families and residents in partnership with Stoneham Coalition, Town of Stoneham & Boys & Girls Clubs.