Leadership Matters November 2013

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funding that fall. By April 2010 we were taking bids with an astonished FAA representative who soon realized that the total would surpass $24 million. She gulped and we shrugged our shoulders. Eventually, the total grant for sound insulation would surpass $28 million and construction would take more than two years to complete. In June of 2013, Ridgewood hosted a “Sound of Silence” celebration to showcase the $68 million in renovations that have taken place in the last six years. We are astonished to have achieved this against all odds. In my short speech at the time of the celebration I thanked all of the people who had brought us to that moment, but reserved my greatest praise for Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, who refused to let us give up. I had the privilege to witness firsthand what a member of the United States Congress can achieve when dedicated to a cause. It was a stark lesson in politics and power. I would urge you to remember our story when you are asked to contact your representatives in Springfield and Washington. Building that relationship is crucial. I had been going to meetings and symposiums chaired by Rep. Schakowsky for several years before the events recounted above. We had met on several occasions with her aides on a variety of topics. They had called on us to support some of her causes and attend some of her functions. So, when we called on her office for assistance, her aides knew us by name and could speak intelligently about our situation. Even though we were by far the smallest school in her district, tucked away in a corner of her district that usually votes Republican, she could associate names with faces and causes. This made all the difference in the world.

“I had the privilege to witness firsthand what a member of the United States Congress can

achieve when dedicated to a cause. It was a stark lesson in politics and power. I would urge you to remember our story when you are asked to contact your representatives in Springfield and Washington. Building that relationship is crucial. I had been going to meetings and symposiums chaired by Rep. Schakowsky for several years before the events recounted above. We had met on several occasions with her aids on a variety of topics. They had called on us to support some of her causes and attend some of her functions. So, when we called on her office for assistance, her aides knew us by name and could speak intelligently about our situation. Even though we were by far the smallest school in her district, tucked away in a corner of her district that usually votes Republican, she could associate names with faces and causes. This made all the difference in the world. “ Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky

—Dr. Robert Lupo, Superintendent of Ridgewood Community 234

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