Katherine Lewis Sarsfield: Springfield Township School Board Candidate

What brought me to Springfield?

I was raised in metropolitan Los Angeles, California.  My mother was a 2nd grade teacher for 40 years and my father worked for the Los Angles Chamber of Commerce.  Growing up my parents always held the belief that through education and learning you grow and become a better, more complete person.  And because of this ethic, my two brothers and I all excelled academically.

I found my way to the east coast to go to Bryn Mawr College in 1986.  At Bryn Mawr, I was an economics major like my father.  My interest focused on public policy.  While at Bryn Mawr, I met my best friend and soon to be husband, Stephen Sarsfield.  After graduation, we married and bought our house in his hometown of Wyndmoor.  It is hard to believe that I have been in Wyndmoor now for over 15 years.

What experience do I bring to the School Board?

After college, I worked for a not-for-profit on several large federal initiatives on behalf of the US Department of Justice.  These initiatives worked around providing education and work experience to at-risk youth.  I also had the opportunity to work collaboratively with cities ensuring that key stakeholders were represented when tackling large public safety initiatives in urban areas such as Philadelphia.

During this time, I received my Master’s degree from Temple University in Urban Studies with a concentration on Urban Education.  My Master’s thesis examined three classrooms in Philadelphia schools and asked which of the classes worked best for girls and why.  Simultaneously, I was also volunteering my time on the Springfield Township Planning Commission.  During my time as a Planning Commission representative, we worked on the Township’s Open Space Plan and revised some the out-dated code.  

My next job was that of Education Director at a national not-for-profit animal protection organization.  In this capacity, I worked directly with students, parents, community members, principal, and superintendents.  I developed, implemented, and delivered in-services and workshops.  I also created and marketed materials at national teacher conferences, where I spoke to hundreds of teachers.

For the past seven years, I have had the wonderful opportunity of being a stay-at-home-Mom caring for our two sons.  During my time as a stay-at-home-Mom, I have been actively involved with our sons’ schools.  Our oldest son is now in Kindergarten at Erdenheim.  I have been a room parent both at his pre-school and now in Kindergarten.  I am also actively involved in many of the PTO activities at Erdenheim and at Saint Thomas’ Nursery School.

My Campaign Platform

As an Erdenheim parent, I know that we are privileged to have truly wonderful teachers here in Springfield. I hope be an informed board member, learning what our teachers and students need to better our schools. By listening to all of the stakeholders in our community, I believe we can forge new relationships and increase dialogue.  By doing so, it is my hope that we might work together on some important issues, including taking financial responsibility and examining the issue of sustainability in our schools.

If elected, I would hope to continue some of the good work which has been started with the new Erdenheim and the Middle School’s LEED certification by focusing our efforts on sustainability in our schools while keeping in mind our fiscal responsibility.  As you all know, schools are made up of much more than just walls and infrastructure. From paper and computers to food scraps and yard waste, schools can be made more green. By incorporating certain food service choices, recycling, composting, and waste reduction, our schools can benefit from reduced cost, our students can benefit in many ways from increased teachable moments to learning ways to be good stewards, and the Earth benefits as well through reduction of carbon and waste.   And these changes need not cost anything more, in fact some of these can cut costs even in the short run.