Apr. 28, 2021

Dear Bronxville Community,

My name is Liam Heraty, and I am running for the Board of Education at the Bronxville School District. I have three younger siblings and have been at the Bronxville School since third grade, and next year I’ll be attending Yale University to study Mathematics and Education. Each time I tell someone my intentions for running, I get the same response, “why?” In writing this, I hope you’ll see the strong passion and unique connection I have with the Bronxville School and understand the reasons I’ve decided to run.

But I might first begin with the more logistical question of “how?” While attending Yale in the fall, I will be spending more of my time in New Haven, but my proximity to Bronxville will allow me to attend all monthly board meetings, a time in which I look forward to seeing my family. I intend to stay in contact with the district and the community and give the same respect and commitment to the Board as any member in a working profession. But logistics aside, the far more important question is “why?”

In my almost 10 years at Bronxville, I have woven myself into the fabric of the school community and reaped its benefits. I’ve seen firsthand the cognitive impact of the arts department through playing violin in the orchestra for the last nine years. I’ve benefited from the social community of varsity athletics and I’ve experienced a rigorous academic curriculum where I've taken 13 AP courses and four post-AP undergraduate classes.

I’ve developed bonds with the guidance department who helped me navigate the college admissions process. And I’ve held significant responsibilities through my role as student body president—representing my peers, meeting with faculty, department chairs, and building principals, and working with the superintendent and other members of the administrative team. I’m listing these not as qualifications but rather to show my interconnectedness with the school as a dedicated student who wishes to represent the missing piece to the Board’s mission of student success.

So to answer the question, “why?” I say this: The Board of Education has quite possibly the greatest role in shaping the education of our students, from which various viewpoints and perspectives are critical. I don’t have expertise in finance or accounting, nor in management or administration. What I do hold expertise in is experience: the specific experience the Board wishes to directly support and foster. As a recent student with the utmost desire for the success of the school, it would be both a privilege and an honor to serve the teachers, coaches, parents, administrators, staff, and students of the district who have impacted me so much.

I would greatly appreciate your consideration when you vote on May 18th.

Sincerely,

Liam Heraty

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