Who Am I?
Hi everyone! My name is Elizabeth, or Lizzie, Lewis. I'm currently 17 but will be 18 by the time of the election. That said, please don't be disillusioned by my age, because I can do as good of a job as anyone else. I graduated from Mohonasen Senior High School in January of 2025 (a semester early) with an Advanced Regents Diploma. I'm currently attending SCCC and taking pre-requisites before moving on to UAlbany in the fall to major in biology. I currently work at Ellis Hospital in Schenectady within the admitting department in which I manage patient paperwork and help patients navigate their healthcare within the hospital.
For my connection to Mohonasen, I've lived in Rotterdam for almost 17 years, going through all grades within the district, allowing me a better idea on the internal school culture and education than anyone else. I've learned just how great a lot of our educators and faculty are, and how they truly want the best for all students. I admire the dedication that so many have for our students.
Despite being young, and possibly inexperienced in some residents' eyes, I would do a great job. I have unique insights that would improve our schools and education within the three year term.
As many are aware, our school does not rank that well in terms of Regent exams results, routinely within the bottom 1/3-1/4 of New York State districts. This, combined with Mohonasen being one of the lowest paying districts within the Capital Region are significant concerns that require attention and caution from someone like me who can exercise not only logic, but understanding too.
If anyone has any questions whatsoever, I would be glad to answer them! I aim to win a spot among the Board so that I can improve the district the way I know I could if I won. Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing any insights you may have! I appreciate and consider all types of perspectives, so please feel free to share. As we get closer to the election, I will speak with more and more residents and gain an even greater understanding of the needs of the district.
Thank you again, and I look forward to hearing from all of you!
Lizzie Lewis
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I believe that:
We need to refocus on education!
It’s all about learning in accepting environments conducive to student comfort and sense of belonging. COVID and the related shutdowns leading to remote learning took a toll on students, and parents! Mohonasen test scores repeatedly show us that students are underperforming. Please see the links below for examples of recent rankings relative to other NY districts. We have some fantastic people working in our district. Let’s let our educators do the things they know and love to get us to a better place in terms of student preparedness for life.
Public schools must accommodate all.
We are all different. Our differences help define us, and shouldn’t divide us. I prefer to be pro-people than anti-anything that others find important and hold dear. We all have varying beliefs and opinions but they do not have to be sources of conflict… at least not in our public schools. Respect matters. Personal beliefs should not enter into decision-making or become factors in creating dysfunction. I have personally seen the negative effects of this firsthand.
School climates matter.
Chronic absenteeism is a problem in schools across America. We need to make our schools places that students want to go to, and not have to go to. Places where they be (and feel) safe, and can build relationships that may last for a few years, or for life! Places that make learning interesting, and maybe even fun. It’s not just about students either. Mohonasen has great employees, but staff attrition affects every district. An inviting workplace helps draw the best and brightest, and can give us a competitive edge in recruiting and retaining employees - the district’s most valuable assets (right behind our students)!
That fiscal responsibility is our duty
We face a lot of uncertainty in our future. Federal changes, a possible economic downturn, inflation, skyrocketing health care costs, and timed mandates that we simply can’t or shouldn’t proceed in meeting. The largest of the mandates is the mandatory conversion to electric busses. While I think that’s a great goal, it is not for today. Our district has done an amazing job with keeping costs down and finding efficiencies, but our financial picture is likely not pretty if some of the things we fear will happen, happen.
I have a unique perspective.
I just spent about 13 years working my way through our district and all of our buildings. I have firsthand knowledge of programs and systems that work well, and not so well. I have great relationships with many of the staff in our buildings, and I can work well with almost anyone to meet our common goals. I have personally engaged in efforts to make our schools better places through advocacy. I believe that I could be a difference maker when it comes to lobbying for district and student needs.
School reputations matter.
The fortunes of most any town are dependent upon the reputation of its schools. Neighborhoods thrive. Real estate values increase. Businesses thrive. The tax base remains stable. We should not take these things for granted. We will need to do some work to get to where we need to be in terms of results and our standing among our surrounding communities. We can be so much more.
Facts/Links:
I love them, but sometimes dislike what they tell us. Please interpret them however you would like.
This is just a fraction of the information on Mohonasen that is available online. Please do your own searches and see what’s out there. When people get involved, we all win!
School Performance Related
There is so much to see here. Choose your specific criteria here within this Mohonasen-specific NYSED data and run a report. I think we can do better. We need to do better.
Check out proficiency levels by grade, graduation rate, chronic absentee rates, and a lot more. This is a single link to across the board Mohonasen-related data that is customizable based on your selections.
US News and World Report Rankings - 2024
2025-2026 Mohonasen Budget Summary - March 24, 2025
Recent School Climate Related (some good, some bad, some may be behind a pay wall. Sorry.)
Asylum Seekers Enter the District 2023
Indigenous Imagery at Mohonasen 2022/2023
Mental Health at Mohonasen 2024
Mental Health at Mohonasen 2024 (2nd)
Mental Health at Mohonasen 2024 (3rd)
NYSED Petition Response regarding BOE member McFarland 2024
Mohonasen Board of Education Meeting Video Library:
See our district at its best, and worst. Transparency is important.