Meet Christa McNamara, Candidate for Board of Education

One of the biggest issues facing the Board of Education and the town in the next four years will be adjusting to the new "Common Core" educational standards and the assessments related to it, according to board candidate Christa McNamara.

"Darien needs to make sure we maintain the highest standards for our students and not sink to a lowest-common denominator with these new standards," said McNamara, one of two Republican candidates running for three open seats on the board.

In light of the problems that Darien Public Schools have had with special education, McNamara said more communication between the Board of Education and the public is needed.

"We have to do a better job of communication," she said. The board should have a regular public comment period at meetings to encourage people to tell the board about problems or about what they think, "whether it's restricted to agenda items or an open-mic type thing."

The board should regularly make copies of documents it uses for board meetings public on its website before meetings, McNamara said. Even if someone can't make it to a board meeting, the documents would help them understand what the board and school system are doing, she said.

McNamara is also worried about the school district's math curriculum. "I'd like to see the younger childsren develop the same appreciation and fluency with numbers as we see with reading and writing," she said. Perhaps more math homework would help, she said. As a parent, she sees more reading and writing homework than is assigned for mathematics.

McNamara says she likes the lack of partisanship on the Board of Education. "The Board of Education really shouldn't be a partisan political body. It's really about finding the best solution for children."

Biographical information submitted by candidate:

Christa McNamara did not send in biographical information, but spoke about her background in an interview.

She worked for Bloomberg Business News "as one of his first 12 reporters" and covered bond markets. She later led a team selling financial software for Bloomberg. At another point in her career, she worked for Kidder Peabody.

At night, she worked on getting a master's degree in elementary education, receiving her degree in 2002 from Manhattanville Collage in Purchase, NY. She had moved to Darien in 2001 with her husband, John, and she became a full-time mother after her first child was born. All three of her children attend Royle School.

McNamara was involved in the YWCA of Darien/Norwalk and sat on the group's parent awareness board, then volunteered with the Royle Parent Teacher Organization, serving on the executive board as vice chairman for two years.

She has also served on the allocations committee for the Darien Community Fund, on the benefit committee for the Darien Technology and Community Foundation, and on the RTM Education Committee for the past six years, since her election to the Representative Town Meeting in 2007.