Dear Neighbor,  

Hello!  My name is Mark Niedergang, and I am your Ward 5 representative on the Somerville School Committee.  Thanks to voters like you, I am now eagerly starting my third term on the Committee. 

I have lived in Somerville for almost 30 years.  I met and married my wife Marya here.  Our daughter Rae is a senior at Somerville High School and has received a great education in the Somerville Public Schools.  

Since 2006, I have served on the School Committee and represented our schools in and around Ward 5 - the Brown, Kennedy, and Winter Hill.  I've learned a lot about what makes our schools strong and how we can make them even better. 

This January, my colleagues elected me Chair of the School Committee. The Chair has additional duties, such as collaborating with the Board of Aldermen on budget and other issues.  One of my most important jobs will be to help lead the school budget process.  Last year, as Vice Chair, I led the Committee through what some officials thought was the most difficult budget situation in 20 years.  We had to make cuts no one wanted to make. 

Due to the continuing impact of the global economic recession on state and city revenues, this year’s school budget will probably be even more challenging.  But I will help Vice Chair Adam Sweeting make sure, as I did last year, that the budget process is open and transparent and that there are many opportunities for public comment.

And despite budget cuts, we will continue to move forward in improving our schools.

Right now, the School Committee's top goal is to establish a groundbreaking, exciting middle school instructional program for 6th, 7th, and 8th grades.  Administrators, principals, teachers, and other staff have already begun to implement the first part of this new program. 

I will work hard to reach other key goals, such as increasing inclusion opportunities for our special education students, improving after-school programs, and re-establishing foreign language instruction before 9th grade. 

And I'll continue to listen carefully to the concerns and ideas of parents, guardians, teachers, other staff, and community members.    

I am grateful for the opportunity to help our students thrive and our schools succeed.  

Sincerely yours,

 

Mark Niedergang

29 Conwell Street

P.S.  If you'd like to talk, please contact me at 617-629-8033 or mark@markniedergang.com


Many thanks to David Crosbie for volunteering to create and manage this website.