Home

My name is Jenna Vendil, and I’m a candidate for the Portland School Committee in District 1. Thanks for visiting my website. I hope to earn your vote on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009.

I’m running because I understand education’s potential to transform our children’s lives. As a product of a single-parent household, I found that public education was my pathway out of poverty. I took college-level classes at Brown University while still in high school and earned scholarships to move onto higher education. Without strong teachers and mentors, I wouldn’t have had those opportunities. We need to achieve greater educational equity in our public schools so that everyone has the same opportunity to succeed regardless of their family’s income or background.

I’m running for this position in order to bring vision to District 1. We’re in the midst of a profound economic recession and we will face more difficult budget times ahead. Our own community is a tremendous resource that we can use to help our youth. Over the last three years I sought to bring organizations, businesses, and community members together through my work as an organizer. I’ve seen how hard work and collaboration can make Portland achieve incredible things and find common solutions to meet our greatest needs.

I’m committed to greater accountability so that the decisions our School Committee makes will put our kids first. We need to ensure our programs are meeting our educational goals. We need to seek input and solicit feedback from parents, educators, and the public. With more information and input, the School Committee and the administration can be more effective on placing our resources where we can have the most impact.

Together, we can ensure excellence for our children and our community.