By Geena Monahan
For the North Star Reporter
North Attleborough residents Lyndsey Benharris, Colleen Endres and Cari Orsi are on the ballot for School Committee in next month’s Town Election and look to bring a collaborative approach through their varied educational backgrounds and personal experiences with their own children currently in the school system.
The election will be held on April 1, with the two seats on the School Committee previously held by Ethan Hamilton and David Chee up for grabs. However, if Keith Lapointe is elected to the Town Council and resigns from the School Committee, an additional seat will become available.
Lyndsey Benharris
Lyndsey Benharris is a lifelong resident of North Attleborough and self-proclaimed townie; her father owned Attleboro Farms when she was growing up and her grandfather, James DeWitt, owned the animal clinic in town. She now lives in the same house she grew up in, with her husband and 8-year-old son, who attends Amvet Elementary School.
“We have so much family here and so many friends here,” said Benharris. “We love this community, and really want to support it and make it all it can be. We’ve really invested a lot through multiple generations to make this somewhere where we want to live.”
Benharris brings with her a strong background in education, attending Salve Regina for her bachelor’s degree and working at the Early Learning Center in North Attleborough as a special education teacher for 13 years. She went on to get her masters in special education from Lesley University, and then a doctorate in education from the University of Rhode Island. After eight years working at the collegiate level at Fitchburg University, Benharris recently accepted a position as chair for the education department at Stonehill College, where she trains future educators and reforms curriculum.
“I really believe in the power of education to shape futures for our students and our community,” said Benharris. “Having spent my entire career as part of it, I think it’s a natural progression to want to help the community as well. In this new position, I’m a lot closer to home and have more time to do work in the community.”
As someone who works in the field of education, Benharris noted the importance of giving each student a voice and meeting the needs of the distinct, along with supporting teachers, who sometimes work with limited resources.
“I know the struggle, and I know the budget’s tight,” said Benharris. “So the question is, how can we help and what can we do as a community to help our teachers when we don’t have giant budgets to get them the things that we need?”
Benharris listed communication and listening as the qualities that she and a majority-female School Committee could provide to the community, calling attention to how diverse the three candidates’ backgrounds are, and that 90% of all Massachusetts educators are women.
“It’s going to be a really exciting time with a lot of collaboration,” said Benharris. “Community members want someone who listens, and that’s something all three of us have as our main focus. We need to listen first, and I’m committed to ensuring that every child in North Attleborough has access to the resources and opportunities that they need to succeed.”
Colleen Endres
In 2019, Colleen Endres and her husband were looking for a town with a good school system, a welcoming environment and a strong sense of community to raise their two daughters in — they fount all of those qualities and more in North Attleborough. Since their move, Endres has given back to the community by volunteering with Keep North Attleborough Beautiful and Our Open Umbrella, where she helped with cleanup days around town and ran a weekend arts program that provided over 140 backpacks filled with art supplies for children in town.
“I’ve been thinking for a while of ways that I can help out more, and I feel like the schools are the heart of the town,” said Endres on her decision to run for the committee. “It’s a really exciting time for North Attleborough, with the vote for the new high school in June and a lot of discussions around the future of the schools and the town.”
Endres earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Providence College, followed by a masters in education from Lesley University, eventually working for the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress, a statewide non-profit. In her 10 years there, Endres worked with teens and young adults with down syndrome, doing program management, grant writing, fundraising, advocacy work and strategic planning in the face of constrained budgets and limited resources.
“It was a well-rounded position that I was able to learn a lot from,” said Endres. “I’m very detail-oriented, but am also able to see the big picture in things, and felt like I would be able to contribute as part of the School Committee and really help the positive direction they’re headed in.”
When asked what she wanted to achieve while on the committee, Endres focused on communicating with the town to bring awareness to all that the North Attleborough school system has to offer its students.
“We’re a very sports invigorated town, which I think is tremendous because the teamwork and commitment and problem-solving involved with sports really aligns with what we want our education system to look like as well,” said Endres. “But I know there’s so much more going on with band, choir, invention conventions and science fairs. It would be neat to think about ways we can make sure our community as a whole sees the well-rounded, thriving group of students we have within the schools.”
Endres looks to bring a collective approach to leadership if elected, honing in on the importance of having members deeply involved in the community at the forefront.
“I think having parents involved is a crucial component, because the School Committee is the tie between parents and school administration; I don’t know that you can get a more committed level of involvement,” said Endres. “I think it’s really exciting to see that there are more women getting involved, and I would love to continue the great work of the School Committee and be a positive driving force.”
Cari Orsi
Hailing from Maine, Orsi grew up in an education-centered household and said her goal was always to be a teacher or an engineer. With a Bachelor of Science in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Maine and a masters in civil engineering and construction project management from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, she went on to combine her two passions by working in an engineering consulting firm that worked on Massachusetts School Building Authority projects.
Orsi currently serves as the president of Amvet Elementary School’s Parent Teacher Organization and on North Attleborough’s new High School Building Project Committee.
“That ramped up my desire to help out and learn about the high school and other schools from meeting with the administration more frequently,” said Orsi, when asked what drove her to run for School Committee. “When it was time to run for School Committee a few members approached me to see if I had interest; I thought it would be a great fit for me and a way to become more involved in all of the schools throughout the district.”
Orsi spoke positively of North Attleborough’s focus on education, citing engaged teachers and staff as something she witnesses regularly at Amvet, where her 8-year-old son attends and 12-year-old son previously attended. She feels that running for School Committee would give her the chance to further communicate and listen to educators and parents, while also using her engineering background to maintain and improve current facilities.
“Having kids in the school district is a huge advantage if you’re a School Committee member, because you’re personally invested in the education of not only your children, but all students,” said Orsi. “You have a pulse on other parent’s perspectives, because we’re in the community and hearing their concerns and needs. It gives a real life touch and feeling to why we are there and what our purpose is.”
When asked what she hopes to accomplish if elected to the committee, Orsi brought up her commitment to the long-term success of students and teachers in North Attleborough and excitement to join a team with shared values of making all schools in the district the best that they can be.
“I think my professional skills and experience volunteering and being involved at the community level will help me,” said Orsi. “I have a strong passion for diving right in and getting involved if there’s an issue I believe in. I’m not afraid to address it and pull together a committee to research it, further evaluate the situation and make some changes.”